The European Space Agency (ESA) is offering an internship in its Science Operations Department at ESAC in Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain, on AI-based automation of product assurance and quality engineering. Applications close on 30 November 2026 at 23:59 CET/CEST.
The Vacancy in Brief
🆔 Job Requisition ID: 20955 | 🎓 Type of appointment: Intern | 🏛️ Directorate: Science | 📍 Workplace: Villanueva de la Cañada, ES | 📅 Closing date: 30 November 2026, 23:59 CET/CEST
The Science Operations Department and Its 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, the operation of the Directorate's missions once successfully commissioned, and the curation of all scientific data in the missions' legacy phase.
Internship Topic: AI-Based Automation of Product Assurance and Quality Engineering
Product Assurance activities increasingly rely on information distributed across multiple repositories and tools, including Jira, Confluence, Git-based repositories, SonarQube, software release documentation, and configuration management systems. This internship will investigate how recent advances in Artificial Intelligence and Automation can be applied to support and automate process assurance and software quality.
What You Will Do
You will analyse existing workflows and identify areas where AI can provide benefits in terms of efficiency, quality, consistency, and traceability.
Six Activities in the Spotlight
🎫 Automatic creation of Jira tickets from user inputs, engineering artefacts or meeting outputs
🏃 Generation of Scrum sprint summaries
📝 Production of software release notes
✅ Assessment of Jira ticket completeness and quality
📈 Extraction and interpretation of software quality metrics from SonarQube
📚 Verification of the completeness and consistency of software release documentation
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Who Can Apply: Education
University student, preferably in your final or second-to-last year at Master's level. You must be able to prove enrollment at your university for the entire duration of the internship.
Technical Knowledge Required
🛠️ Knowledge of the Software Engineering process | 🧠 Knowledge of Artificial Intelligence and Automation technologies | 🐍 Programming skills in Python | 🧪 Knowledge of testing processes and tools | 🔄 Knowledge of CI/CD and relevant tools such as Jira, Confluence and SonarQube | 🔬 Knowledge of software quality assurance practices and techniques
Eligible Nationalities
Applications are only considered from nationals of: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, 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, and from Bulgaria, Croatia and Malta as European Cooperating States, can apply as well.
Duration and Start
An internship lasts between 3 and 6 months and starts from February 2027. The exact start date is agreed with the ESA tutor. One candidate can apply for a maximum of 2 vacancies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this internship about?
It investigates how Artificial Intelligence and Automation can support and automate process assurance and software quality in ESA's Science Operations Department at ESAC, Spain.
Which nationalities are eligible?
Applications are only considered from nationals of ESA's listed States including Spain, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and others. Applicants from Canada as a Cooperating State, and from Bulgaria, Croatia and Malta as European Cooperating States, can apply as well.
Is the internship paid?
The vacancy does not state a stipend or allowance.
When does the internship start and how long does it last?
According to ESA's 2027 student internships announcement, an internship lasts between 3 and 6 months and starts from February 2027. The exact start date is agreed with the ESA tutor.
Deadline
⏳ 30 November 2026
Links
🔗 Full vacancy and application: https://jobs.esa.int/job/Villanueva-de-la-Ca%C3%B1ada-Intern-in-the-Science-Operations-Department-AI-Automation-of-Product-Assurance-&-Quality-Engineering/1452874133/
📘 ESA Student Internships 2027 announcement: https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/ESA_Student_Internships_2027_are_now_open
