Graduates: National Graduate Trainees

Traineeships are offered in fields such as space science, Earth observation, telecommunications, navigation, mission control and human spaceflight. NGTs receive on-the-job training under the supervision and guidance of a tutor at one of the ESA Establishments. Traineeships last for one year, with the possibility of extension for a second year.

All ESA Member States, Associate Members and Cooperating States can sponsor National Graduate Traineeships. The participating countries for 2025 are Belgium, Luxembourg and Poland.  

Who can apply?

To be eligible for the National Graduate Trainee Programmes, you must be:

• A student in the final year of a Master’s degree or have just graduated
• A citizen or permanent resident of one of the participating countries.

What we offer

• A unique opportunity to gain highly valuable experience that could launch your career within Europe’s space sector or research institute, or ESA itself.
• An international, multicultural and friendly working environment.
• A one year contract (with possible extension to a second year) with 2.5 days’ leave per month.
• Guidance from a tutor who helps you integrate into the ESA environment and provides guidance throughout the traineeship.
• Excellent employment conditions, including a monthly salary exempt from national income tax in ESA Member States.
• Travel expenses reimbursed at the beginning and end of the contract.
• Expatriation allowance and/or an installation allowance on arrival if you move from another country. Excess luggage costs are also reimbursed.
• Affiliation to ESA’s comprehensive social security scheme and pension scheme.

More about life at ESA

Find out everything you need to know about life at ESA and what we offer.
For more information about ESA sites, check out ESA Establishments.

Recruitment process

• Explore our National Graduate Trainee opportunities on our recruiting site.
• Select the national opportunity that you are eligible for and find a topic in the opportunity that most interests you and fits best with your academic background and aspirations. If your profile is well-suited to another topic, we will share it with the hiring manager.
• Register and create your candidate profile with your CV and motivation letter.
• Apply! You will be able to track the status of your application throughout the process.

Throughout the year, additional NGT posts may be published. Be sure not to miss a single chance to launch your career at ESA by signing up to receive job alerts.

If you would like to apply to the EGT Programme as well

You may apply to the ESA Graduate Trainee and National Graduate Trainee programmes separately. Please note that if you have already benefited from one programme, it may not be possible for you to subsequently participate in another.

Looking for more learning and hands-on opportunities?

ESA Academy is open to university students from undergraduate to PhD level coming from ESA Member States, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

ESA Academy joins forces with European universities, space institutes, and national space agencies to offer exceptional learning and hands-on opportunities, in a vast portfolio of different programmes. ESA Academy is designed to complement academic education. Its objective is to enhance students’ educational experience and help them develop both practical and theoretical know-how and expertise in various disciplines, ranging from space sciences to engineering, space medicine, spacecraft operations, project and risk management, product and quality assurance, standardisation and much more.

Learn more about ESA Academy.

Find your path at ESA

ESA offers a number of entry-level programmes targeting students (Master or PhD), recent graduates and young professionals, alongside its vacancies for experienced professionals. One of them could be your path to space! Quickly find out which programme could be the best fit for you by following the pathways at ESA on our careers flowchart.