Working Student - FOX Support

Job Introduction

We have an exciting (and challenging) opening for a Working Student in support to FOX (Facility for Operations Experimentation) at ESOC in Darmstadt.

Dynamic, Energetic, Entrepreneurial, Highly Motivated, Resilient … If this describes you then we would love to hear from you :) Come and join talented diverse Serco team at the European Organisation for the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) based in Darmstadt, Germany. 

European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), Darmstadt, Germany, tracks and controls European spacecraft, and develops and manages ground systems. As Europe’s centre of excellence for satellite operations, ESOC is home to the engineering teams that control spacecraft in orbit and build the systems on the ground that support missions in space.

More here

Discover the offer below and click on ‘Apply’ if you know that your skillset and talents are a suitable match for this opportunity.

Serco – The employer of choice for a career within the Space Sector.

Serco are a trusted provider of services to National Space Agencies and the European Space Agency (ESA), we have over 40 years’ experience supporting the space sector and providing services for all stages of our customer’s space missions.

Join our community of space specialists across Europe

We are proud to support the European institutional Space landscape: Serco boasts an extensive network of Space professionals located at our offices in Darmstadt, Noordwijk, Frascati, Paris and Madrid, all within close proximity of our two largest space sector customers, European Space Agency/European Space Operations Centre (ESA/ESOC) and European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).

Supporting Women in Aerospace

Diversity and Inclusion is extremely important to us. Supporting women's opportunities, development and visibility in the space sector is key and that is why we are proud members and supporters of Women in Aerospace Europe, a dynamic and global network supporting women's careers in Aerospace.

Key Responsibilities

Serco are delighted to offer a rare opportunity for students interested in the Space sector to gain valuable experience and skills whilst directly supporting live operations at ESOC.

Serco is looking for a student to support operations, maintenance and evolution of FOX (Facility for Operations Experimentation) ESOC, Darmstadt.

Objective of the role

As a Werkstudent (Intern), you will be working with the team to support the preparation and conducting of ground facilities operations with a particular focus on small satellite missions.

Please note - Students need to be currently enrolled at university and have finished at least three years of studies (Bachelor).

We are looking for two part time Werkstudent positions to support routine tasks. The workload is highly flexible with the understanding that students will be studying alongside the work with up to a maximum 20 hours per week foreseen. The work will be carried out onsite at ESOC in Darmstadt. There will also be the possibility for the student to increase the workload for a short amount of time (e.g. during the Semester break) to further support operations.

The project will last a minimum of 12 months and will run until September 2027.

Successful completion of this assignment could potentially result in the offer of full time employment with Serco.

Ideally the candidate will be able to start as soon as possible, however we are flexible to accommodate different start dates based on prior Semester commitments.

The Werkstudent positions are paid, further information will be available upon application

European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), Darmstadt, Germany, tracks and controls European spacecraft, and develops and manages ground systems. As Europe’s centre of excellence for satellite operations, ESOC is home to the engineering teams that control spacecraft in orbit and build the systems on the ground that support missions in space.

Successful Candidate

We are looking for highly-motivated students with a strong interest in the Space sector to undertake this Werkstudent role alongside their studies. The technical skills and requirements are seen as desirable but not mandatory, with the expectation that students will learn these skills on the job.

Mandatory requirements: (there are no real mandatory requirements other than being a student having completed Bachelor’s and having English language skills – the most important thing for us is that

• A strong interest in the Space industry and/or Space operations
• Students need to be enrolled at university and have finished at least Bachelor studies
• Proficiency in written and spoken English is required as the working language of ESA is English.

The following are also considered as desirable – These are NOT mandatory – but if you have knowledge in any of these areas then please advise on your CV.

• Knowledge of programming languages, e.g. Python.
• Knowledge of networking, firewall administration and management of virtual machines.
• General understanding of ground segment systems for satellite communications.

About FOX

The “Facility for Operations Experimentation (FOX)” is a flexible mission control and validation facility located at ESA’s Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. Comprising an operational control room and several ground station antennas, FOX supports ESA internal users as well as universities, research institutes and companies prototyping, testing and validating innovative operations concepts and technologies by fostering innovation, experimentation, and cross-functional collaboration in the domain of ground operations. Typical users benefitting from FOX services span from traditional space missions to CubeSats and SmallSats manufacturers and operators, as well as Ground segment developers and Ground station service providers.