Our team and mission
Reporting to the Head of the Explore Office in the ESA Φ-lab, you will work in close cooperation with other staff in the Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes. You will also cooperate with scientists and engineers from EOP-FA (the System Architect Office) at ESTEC, and potentially with staff in other parts of ESA.
Location
ESRIN, Frascati, Italy
We Offer
- a stimulating multinational, interdisciplinary and open work environment;
- access to high-performance computing infrastructure and unparalleled EO and technology expertise;
- a unique opportunity to work on innovative solutions to address global challenges;
- freedom and focus to conduct creative research while making an impact in relation to ESA’s strategy;
- a wide network of relationships and collaboration with top academia, industry and research centres;
- the opportunity to contribute to the Φ-lab strategy and activities.

As an internal research fellow within the Φ-lab,



you will invest your time mainly in the agreed research topics but will also provide support to the Φ-lab’s industrial and internal activities, mentor members of our research network and engage in outreach activities, all generally but not exclusively related to your research topic.
You are encouraged to visit the ESA website at
Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship
The objective of this research fellowship is to advance intelligent, agentic AI-driven, goal-oriented mission planning for EO satellite constellations, with a strong focus on autonomy, responsiveness, and coordinated execution across multiple space assets. The research will centre on the design and implementation of onboard AI systems that enable the autonomous management of mission planning, data acquisition, and satellite tasking in real time.
The fellowship will investigate how mission planning can evolve from static scheduling to an adaptive, intelligence-driven process executed directly on board satellites. This includes the development

📌 Internal Research Fellow (Frascati)
🏢 ESA Space Mechanisms
📍 Frascati