Astronomy jobs

Introduction

Serco is a trusted leader in Space Services, with a proud history spanning over 55 years and a track record of supporting more than 50 space missions for world-renowned agencies like ESA and NASA. Our expertise covers the entire space lifecycle - from satellite testing and launch services to spacecraft operations, space surveillance, and data management - making us a key partner in advancing national strategies and driving innovation in the New Space era.

The position holder will work within the contractual framework of the Swarm Data Innovation and Science Cluster (DISC), supporting our client, the European Space Agency (ESA). The role is based at ESA’s Earth Observation centre, ESRIN, in Frascati, Italy, with partial teleworking options available.

The ESA Swarm mission, launched in November 2013, uses a constellation of three identical satellites to provide survey of Earth's magnetic field, its evolution, and the atmosphere's electrical environment. The mission aims to understand the Earth magnetic field's origin, monitor its changes, to analyse ionospheric plasma parameters and electric fields, and to monitor space weather events.

The post-holder will be supporting the data quality assessment of the Swarm different instruments, taken from a subset of: magnetic field instruments, composed by an Absolute Scalar Magnetometer (ASM) and a Vector Field Magnetometer (VFM) and Electric Field Instrument (EFI), composed by a Thermal Ion Imager (TII) and two Langmuir Probes (LP) and of Swarm higher level geophysical products, e.g. Level 2 and advanced products.

The main activities will be:

1) Performing product quality monitoring activities and provide Mission sensors technical support:

• Operations of the Quality Control (QC) tools for systematic and on-request product quality analysis and reporting.
• Support to data reprocessing campaigns: dataset definition, analysis of reprocessed data.
• Support the Swarm Instruments Performance and Product Quality Expert, the ESA Post Launch Support Office (PLSO) and the ESA Flight Operation Segment (FOS) on sensor and data anomaly investigations and resolution.
• Support in the QC tools software verification and validation.
• Mantain and development of ad-hoc data analysis routines
• Weekly/Cyclic Reports compilation.
• Support answering general end users requests via ESA Earth Observation Help Desk.

2) Support to Instrument Processing Facilities (IPF), including:

• Support implementation and validation of data processing algorithms
• IPF verification (plan definition, execution and reporting)
• IPF Anomaly investigation
• Support to IPF transfer to operations
• Participate to technical coordination meetings with the Payload Data Ground Segment (PDGS) and DISC teams.

3) Prepare scientific documentation / posters for workshops or conferences as agreed within the DISC and with ESA.
4) Support the preparation of periodic service reports on the activities performed and reporting to line manager

5) Partecipation at meetings with ESA, DISC partners, Cal/Val community for mission status, instruments performances, data and processors evolutions.

Applicants shall have a high level of self-motivation, the capability to work effectively in a team and autonomously, and have good organisation skills. A strong proactive attitude is required in identifying problems and proposing solutions.

Requirements:

• Strong teaming attitude
• Very good interfacing capabilities towards external interfaces: customer, scientific and technical
• Proactive approach to problem identification and resolution.
• Ability to plan and report on proposed problem solutions and to work to deadline.
• Availability to travel to attend meetings.

In addition, the candidate should have:

• Attitude to follow guidelines and to require minimum supervision, proactively requesting help when needed
• Ability to follow different concurrent activities
• Attitude to be propositive in suggesting new opportunities of research or solutions leading to scientific improvements of satellite data quality

Mandatory knowledge and experience:

• University Master degree, in physics, mathematics, engineering , data science or a related discipline.
• Fluent in English (equivalent B2 or higher) and have good writing and communication skills.
• Basic knoweledge in Earth Observation satellite data processing and exploration
• Experience in the development of utilities for supporting the analysis and visualization of Earth Observation dataset preferentially in Phyton or MatLab, or other programming languages and scripting (Linux) for data manipulation / analysis automation purposes.

Other skills:

• Basic knowledge of Earth's geomagnetic field, magnetosphere, ionosphere data and measurements is considered an important asset
• Previous experience with Swarm mission and/or data from other scientific spacecraft is considered an important asset

What We Offer

• National Collective Labor Agreement (CCNL Commercio)
• Hybrid working model
• Fixed employment contract
• Salary range: 35K-40K
• 13th and 14th monthly salary payments
• Discounts at ESA canteen
• Health insurance coverage, also extended to family members
• Company-sponsored training programs
• Meals, snacks, free coffee, and discounts at shops and restaurants in the nearby shopping centre when at the Serco Rome Office.

The Company reserves the right to evaluate the appropriate job level and compensation package based on objective criteria emerging during the selection process, in line with the candidate’s seniority and the role requirements, and in compliance with principles of fairness, transparency, and equal opportunity as set out by applicable law.