Intern in the Science Operations Dept., data reduction pipeline for the Ariel exoplanet mission

Job Requisition ID: 19861

Date Posted: 1 November 2025

Closing Date: 30 November 2025 23:59 CET/CEST

Publication: External Only

Type of Contract: Intern

Directorate: Science

Workplace:

Villanueva de la Cañada, ES

Location

ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain

Our team and mission

Under the direct authority of D/SCI, the Head of the Science Operations Department is responsible for the development of the science operations infrastructure under the Directorate responsibility, the operation of the Directorate’s missions once successfully commissioned, and the curation of all scientific data in the missions’ legacy phase. These responsibilities are discharged in full coordination with the Directorate’s Departments and Offices and as appropriate, with the Directorate of Operations (D/OPS).

In implementing his/her duties, SCI-S is supported by the:

• mission Management and Science Operations Division (SCI-SO).
• science Operations Development Division (SCI-SD).
• data Science and Archives Division (SCI-SA).
  
  
  

Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: Exploring the data reduction pipeline for the Ariel exoplanet mission

For the detailed topic descriptions please go to this web page:

https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/science-internships/exploring-the-data-reduction-pipeline-for-the-ariel-exoplanet-mission

Ariel is an upcoming ESA exoplanet mission, designed to perform a large survey of diverse exoplanets (goal >1000 planets observed) and to characterise their atmospheres during the nominal four-year mission. The telescope will observe each planet during multiple transits of and/or eclipses by its host star: during a transit, a fraction of the starlight is blocked by the planet and an even smaller fraction is filtered through the planet’s atmosphere; during an eclipse, the reflected and/or emitted light of the dayside of the planet’s atmosphere is blocked by the star. Both types of observations can be utilized to deduce the composition of the planet’s atmosphere by analysing the obtained transit/eclipse spectra.

The atmospheric signatures of exoplanets are typically very small, often measured in parts per million (ppm). Achieving the level of precision required to detect such faint signals involves 1) collecting vast numbers of photons per spectral bin to reach an extremely high signal-to-noise ratio, and 2) applying sophisticated data reduction and calibration techniques. These techniques must correct for numerous factors, including detector artefacts (e.g., dark current), instrumental effects (e.g., throughput variations), spacecraft influences (e.g., pointing errors or jitter), and astronomical phenomena (e.g., limb darkening, stellar variability). In recent years, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has set new benchmarks for near-infrared exoplanet spectroscopy, demonstrating the power and necessity of advanced data pipelines to extract atmospheric information from such challenging observations. Building on lessons learned from JWST, the Ariel Mission Consortium (AMC) is developing a dedicated data reduction pipeline to address these challenges. The pipeline, designed to deliver transit and eclipse spectra of the highest possible quality, will be deployed at the Science Operations Centre (SOC) at ESAC in Madrid, Spain.

Your goal is to explore and assess the AMC-developed pipeline within the SOC environment, using both simulated data and ground-based test datasets. The selected intern will become familiar with the Ariel pipeline’s structure and algorithms and will have the opportunity to directly compare its performance and methodology to those of JWST. By offering feedback on pipeline development and deployment, you will contribute valuable insights for the Ariel mission, while also gaining a deeper understanding of ESA as an international organisation and about ESAC’s science operations in particular.

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You must be a university student, preferably studying at master’s level. In addition, you must be able to prove that you will be enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional Requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another ESA Member State language is an asset.

During the interview, your motivation for applying to this role will be explored.

For this position you should have:

Some experience with command line computing (e.g. terminal, Unix) and a scripting language (e.g. python) is beneficial.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness

ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics.

At the Agency we value diversity, and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us via email at [email protected].

Important Information and Disclaimer

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests.

The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding internship conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.

Nationality

Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Applicants from Canada as a Cooperating State can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta as European Cooperating States (ECS).





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