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Working at ESO
Are you interested in working in areas of frontline technology and in a stimulating international environment? Do you feel your profile matches our requirements? Learn more about our current vacancies and apply online. Read more..
The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries.
ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in northern Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor (home to ALMA and APEX), and the ESO Headquarters are located in Garching, near Munich, Germany.
At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory, and will host and operate the southern array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array, the world's largest and most sensitive high energy gamma-ray observatory. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky" and whose operations will be fully integrated into the Paranal Observatory.
Within its Directorate of Engineering at its Headquarters in Garching near Munich, Germany, ESO is offering
Internships for MSc Projects in Engineering at ESO
Garching
Deadline 31/12/2020
The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere has as its primary mission to build and operate state-of-the-art facilities for the advancement of astronomical research. A strong Research & Development (R&D) programme is therefore at the core of ESO's activities.
What are we looking for?
Students ready to take an active part in the ESO R&D projects with a good deal of team spirit, curiosity, dynamism and eagerness to learn.
What are we offering?
- Several possibilities to work on a MSc Project of 5 to 6 months at ESO HQ Garching in an engineering field and in collaboration with the student's university.
- An international, multi-disciplinary environment, situated on the Garching science campus close to Munich, Germany, next to the best German universities and world-renowned research centres.
- Working in collaboration with ESO's partner institutes and high-tech industries.
- Three observatories at the forefront of ground-based astronomy and of technology: La Silla, Paranal and ALMA. And one of the most challenging telescopes under construction: the Extremely Large Telescope.
Current ESO active R&D projects:
- Advanced visible and infrared detectors for astronomical instrumentation (modelling, testing, development of CMOS fast detectors, curved detectors...);
- Gigahertz receivers, cryogenic first-stage amplifiers for ALMA (development & testing);
- Adaptive optics and related components including laser guide stars, deformable mirrors, wavefront sensing, tomographic techniques, interactions with segmented mirrors...;
- System simulation and modelling including deformable mirrors, telescope seeing effects, exposure time calculators, instruments, model-based system engineering;
- Optical metrology and photonics for (sub-)micrometric large structure characterisation, interferometry;
- Mechanics and cryogenics;
- Real-time computing.
For more details and examples of research and MSc projects please see the following page.
Applications:
If you are interested in enhancing your early career through a MSc Project at ESO, then please apply via our ESO Recruitment Portal.
Include the following documents in your application:
- A motivation letter including the desired period of internship and an outline of why you wish to join one of the proposed subjects (maximum one page);
- A curriculum vitae;
Applications are reviewed on a bi-monthly basis throughout the year.
For any additional questions in particular with regards to project and conditions of the internships please contact: Francoise Delplancke-Ströbele, Tel. +49 89 3200 65 10, email: fdelplan@eso.org.
No nationality is in principle excluded, however, recruitment preference will be given to nationals of Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Chile irrespective of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, race or religion.