Land Remote Sensing Scientist

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.

We are currently searching for an experienced and dynamic Land Remote Sensing Scientist who will support our activities in ESRIN and work on a full time, permanent position. Within the European Space Agency’s Sensors Performance, Products and Algorithms Section, the successful candidate will step into a story shaped by trust, precision, and collaboration, becoming part of the Quality Assurance for Earth Observation (QA4EO) contractual framework. Here, you will join an experienced team already immersed in the careful craft of data quality, calibration, and validation, working together to ensure that satellite Earth Observation optical land imaging sensors deliver information that is not only technically robust, but reliable enough to inform science, policy, and our understanding of the planet.

The Community You Will Join

You will work in an international, diverse team, surrounded by top-tier scientists, engineers, and technical experts who inspire and challenge you every day. You’ll have ongoing opportunities to grow through specialized training and professional development tailored to the space sector, all while being part of a company that genuinely values work-life balance, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to excellence. As you contribute to innovative projects and mission-critical systems, you’ll gain hands-on exposure to cutting-edge technologies and collaborate closely with major space agencies, becoming part of something truly extraordinary.

The Difference You Will Make

You will contribute directly to some of Europe’s most exciting space programmes, from Earth observation and climate monitoring to satellite navigation and space safety. Your work will play a vital role in ensuring mission success, enabling better decision-making on Earth and driving innovation in orbit. Whether you’re helping managing spacecraft operations, analysing mission data, or supporting software and systems development, your expertise will help move Europe’s space ambitions forward.

Your Mission

At the heart of the role, the successful candidate’s journey unfolds across two equally weighted projects, each claiming half of their time and attention.

In the first, you will become a key contributor to intercomparison exercises and calibration and validation efforts led by the European Space Agency, offering scientific guidance that helps refine Cal/Val strategies and algorithms for optical missions built around multi- and hyperspectral vision. You work will touche a constellation of missions — from Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8/9 to EnMAP, PRISMA, and CHIME. Along the way, you will support international Cal/Val initiatives of the CEOS-WGCV, helping to organise and lead atmospheric correction and cloud-masking intercomparison exercises such as ACIX and CMIX. Your path will also lead deep into radiative transfer science, contributing to advances across VNIR, SWIR, and TIR modelling, while supporting the coordination of the Eradiate radiative transfer model. Throughout this story, collaboration is constant: working closely with ESA teams and Cal/Val experts, and sharing progress and insights through publications, events, and presentations that carry the work beyond the laboratory and into the wider Earth observation community.

In parallel, your work will continue with a deep engagement in the calibration and validation journey of the HARMONY EE mission, where the thermal infrared sensor takes center stage. In this chapter, you will provide scientific guidance that shapes Level-2 algorithm specifications, quality control and assurance methods, and Cal/Val practices, helping to turn mission concepts into reliable, traceable data products. You will play an active role in defining the broader Quality Assessment and Cal/Val strategy for the mission, while supporting the European Space Agency in managing and coordinating projects tied to Cal/Val activities and Level-2 algorithm development. The work extends beyond analysis into collaboration and exchange, contributing to workshops and fostering international partnerships with academic and industrial actors. Along the way, you will support mission and data quality management during key preparatory phases, taking part in Mission Advisory Group discussions and Ground Segment review meetings, where technical insight helps guide the mission toward operational readiness.Top of Form

What You Bring to the Mission

The ideal candidate arrives not just with a checklist of skills, but with a story shaped by collaboration, curiosity, and resolve. You are comfortable coordinating across borders, working seamlessly with international partners and turning diverse perspectives into shared progress. Fluent in English, you will express complex ideas with clarity, both in writing and in conversation, and use communication as a bridge rather than a barrier. When challenges emerge, you will be quick to spot them, taking a proactive stance that favors thoughtful solutions over hesitation. You will plan carefully, report clearly, and navigate deadlines with confidence, knowing how to balance precision with momentum. Your journey will often take you on the road, where meetings and exchanges become opportunities to strengthen partnerships. Technically, you will bring the ability to craft advanced data analytics tools, drawing especially on Python to transform raw data into insight. Above all, you will thrive as part of a team, contributing energy, reliability, and a strong sense of collective purpose to every project you join.

Successful applicants are driven by strong self-motivation, able to work confidently both independently and as part of a team, and bring excellent organisational skills to everything they do. You will approach your work proactively, spotting challenges early and proposing clear, practical solutions. Grounded in physics or mathematics, you will have hands-on experience in Earth Observation using optical sensors across both optical and thermal infrared domains, along with a proven ability to coordinate science-driven projects and guide them toward successful outcomes.

Beyond the core requirements, additional strengths enrich the candidate’s profile and deepen your impact. Experience in scientific research, especially in radiative transfer modeling and atmospheric correction will add depth to your analytical work, while familiarity with data science and exploitation platforms for Earth Observation will broaden how results are explored and shared. Strong mathematical and statistical skills will support the development of advanced data analytics, complemented by hands-on experience in satellite data analysis and exploitation. Together with solid scientific understanding of satellite geophysical variable retrieval and validation, these assets will help transform complex observations into trusted, meaningful knowledge.

What We Offer: More Than Just a Job

At Serco, we believe your career should come with more than a payslip, it should come with peace of mind, flexibility, and opportunities to thrive. That’s why we’ve built a benefits package designed to support you and your family, both inside and outside of work.

Here, you’ll find more than just a job—you’ll step into a place where your long-term growth is planned and supported through a clear career path and continuous training opportunities that help you evolve with confidence. You can enjoy the freedom of a hybrid working style, complemented by full health and life insurance that brings peace of mind to you and your loved ones. And as an added perk, you’ll benefit from exclusive discounts at selected shops, making everyday life a little more rewarding while you build your future with us.