Thermal Test Technician

Job Introduction

For more than half a century, Serco has walked alongside the pioneers of space. Serco has supported over 50 ESA missions where our teams have helped launch satellites, guide spacecraft across the void, and turn data into discoveries that reshape our world.

With thousands of specialists contributing across the entire space lifecycle from satellite testing to launch services, LEOP to operations and surveillance, we’ve become a trusted force in national And European space strategies. And now, the next chapter could include you.

As part of our long-standing partnership with the European Space Agency, we’re seeking a Thermal Test Technician to join us onsite at ESTEC, ESA’s technical heart in Noordwijk. This is the place where Europe’s missions are born, where engineers, scientists, and innovators gather to turn bold ideas into the spacecraft that will explore our planet, our solar system, and beyond.

The Community You’ll Step Into

Every day at ESTEC, you walk into a campus humming with possibility. Around you are Europe’s most advanced testing facilities, vast thermal-vacuum chambers, powerful vibration and acoustic halls, electromagnetic test bays, spaces where entire spacecraft experience the conditions of launch and the extremes of deep space.

You’ll be part of a community where collaboration feels natural: engineers, researchers, universities, and industry experts working side by side, solving challenges that push the boundaries of physics and imagination. This is where sketches become hardware, where prototypes become missions, and where your work becomes part of European space history.

The Difference You'll Make

As a thermal test technician, your hands are among the first to truly challenge a spacecraft. You’ll help determine whether satellites, instruments, and components can survive the unforgiving realities of space, searing heat, freezing cold, vacuum, and relentless thermal cycling.

By running and maintaining cutting-edge facilities like thermal-vacuum chambers and cryogenic setups, you’ll generate the data that mission engineers depend on to validate their designs and uncover hidden risks.

At ESTEC, nearly every ESA mission will pass through your world, and your skill will help transform innovative concepts into flight-ready spacecraft. Your work won’t just support missions, you’ll protect them.

Key Responsibilities

In this role, you will immerse yourself in the heart of thermal and mechanical testing, supporting projects and external customers by verifying and assessing small-scale space hardware within the Mechanical Systems Laboratory (MSL).

From the initial preparation of tests to their execution, analysis, and reporting, you will work closely under the guidance of the service manager to ensure that every experiment delivers reliable and actionable results.

Beyond testing, you will play an active role in developing and maintaining the laboratory’s infrastructure and equipment, keeping the facilities at the cutting edge of space engineering.

You will ensure that all work complies with ISO 9001 standards, contributing to the creation and maintenance of robust operational procedures that guarantee consistency and quality across all activities.

Your responsibilities will also include planning and performing preventive and corrective maintenance, as well as calibration of equipment, ensuring that every instrument functions flawlessly.

Throughout your work, you will produce clear and accurate documentation, providing a detailed record that supports both the laboratory team and the broader mission objectives. In this way, your contribution will be integral to turning innovative designs into validated, mission-ready hardware.

Skills

You bring to this role a solid foundation of experience and expertise, having spent at least three years working in thermal and mechanical testing and verification. Your technical education, ideally from a high school with a focus on laboratory hardware, has given you hands-on knowledge of the equipment, facilities, and testing methods that make a laboratory operate smoothly.

You have a strong background in environmental testing and thermal verification by test, and you can demonstrate proven experience working in a laboratory alongside engineers and fellow technicians, contributing effectively as part of a team.

Familiarity with ISO 9001 and 17025 quality systems is a valuable asset, and you are skilled in laboratory maintenance, calibration, and data acquisition, ensuring that every test you conduct is precise, reliable, and properly documented.

Your combination of practical experience and technical knowledge allows you to step confidently into the critical role of supporting Europe’s space missions.

Package Description

What we Offer: More than just a job

At Serco, we believe that a career should come with more than just a paycheck—it should provide support, security, and a sense of balance in your life. Your salary will be paid promptly on Fridays before the 28th of each month, giving you peace of mind about your finances. To recognize your dedication over the year, you’ll also receive a Holiday Bonus, calculated as 8% of your basic gross salary, adding an extra boost when you need it most.

We support your daily life and commute in practical ways. If you travel to work, you can claim a travel allowance of €0.21 per kilometer for up to 150 km, or you can have your public transport fully reimbursed. For those working from home, there’s a small daily allowance of €2 to cover extra costs, and new employees can be reimbursed up to €500 for a desk or chair to make their home workspace comfortable.

When your work takes you on missions or travel, all business-related expenses are fully covered, and for peace of mind during tax season, our appointed advisor will assist you in completing your income tax forms. If you enjoy cycling, our bicycle scheme allows you to benefit from a tax-efficient allowance of up to €749, one year of full insurance with an additional €89 per year for accessories.

Serco also cares about your long-term security. All employees are covered under a collective life insurance scheme, and our health insurance partnership with Zilverenkruis Achmea offers discounts of 5% on basic coverage and up to 10% on additional plans. Our company pension scheme, managed via Nationale Nederlanden, follows the Dutch State Pension framework, ensuring you can plan confidently for the future.

In addition, in emergency situations, you may request an advance salary payment of up to one month’s net salary at the discretion of your line manager. To support your wellbeing and daily work, we offer up to €250 reimbursement for work glasses to reduce blue light strain and provide access to Benefits & Work, offering multiple discounts for online shopping. For lifelong learning, all employees receive a 35% discount on programs at Webster University.

At Serco, our benefits are designed to make your life easier, healthier, and more flexible, so you can focus on contributing to groundbreaking space missions while feeling supported every step of the way.