Satellite and Ground Segment Engineer

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 a Satellite and Ground Segment Engineer to join our international team in Rome and work on a full time, permanent position with hybrid working style and excellent opportunities for career progress. The position is framed within the Serco Copernicus Services, unit responsible for supporting all Copernicus Sentinels missions in erogating operations, maintenance and coordination services.

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

You will take on the role of Copernicus Space Component Ground Segment Engineer, where you will contribute to the orchestration of operations across the services supporting Copernicus Space Component activities. You will monitor the overall operational performance of the ground segment, ensuring that services operate as expected throughout the full data flow, from planned instrument observations and satellite downlink activities to the availability of data for end users through the data access interface. In this role, you will monitor the operational performance of the ground segment data flow. You will perform end-to-end monitoring, analysis, and reporting to ensure that CSC services will behave in line with expected outcomes. You will oversee the overall data flow to ensure completeness and timeliness across all stages, including data acquisition, production, dissemination, and archival. When deviations from expected performance occur, you will identify them, analyse their causes, and report your findings. You will also coordinate and support operations across the CSC ecosystem. You will plan, track, and manage tasks and activities to coordinate CSC services and the maintainers of Data Processors involved in Sentinel mission operations. You will manage interfaces among different CSC operational services, ensuring clear communication and effective coordination. In addition, you will maintain operations documentation, support configuration management activities, and update website content related to the Sentinel missions. You will manage action trackers and handle requests submitted through the Copernicus End Users Helpdesk. As part of anomaly and maintenance management, you will process and manage anomaly and maintenance reports, coordinating with all involved entities and following up on actions until issues are fully resolved. You will use ticketing systems to track and manage incidents and maintenance activities. You will act as the primary point of contact for the client, ensuring clear communication and alignment between the client’s expectations and the services delivered by CSC. You will also support the development team by contributing to monitoring and reporting requirements, including the preparation and improvement of operational dashboards. Your responsibilities will also include preparing regular reports, such as weekly and quarterly summaries of operational performance and activities. You will attend and organize key meetings—including progress meetings, Anomaly Review Boards (ARB), and coordination boards—to ensure alignment with operational decisions and follow-up actions. Finally, you will participate in on-call rotations during Extended Working Hours (EWH), contributing to the continuity and reliability of CSC operations.

What You Bring to the Mission

You bring expertise in performance monitoring and reporting, tracking, analyzing, and reporting mission performance trends to ensure data completeness, timeliness, and accuracy across complex systems. You pply strong problem-solving and analytical skills to interpret complex mission data and respond effectively to operational and technical challenges. You coordinate operations involving multiple services, entities, and stakeholders, planning, scheduling, and tracking operational tasks across distributed teams. You rely on strong organizational and leadership skills to manage complex workflows and enable seamless collaboration between all involved teams. You use Atlassian tools, including Jira for action management, issue and anomaly tracking, and Confluence for documentation and knowledge sharing. You also produce technical documentation, such as operational procedures, anomaly reports, and progress reports, while communicating effectively in English at B2 (Upper-Intermediate) level, both written and spoken. You leverage your knowledge of Copernicus Sentinel missions and the ground segment end-to-end data flow to monitor and report performance trends, analyze data, and derive actionable insights from complex datasets and technical documentation. You participate in incident and anomaly management processes within mission-critical environments, ensuring timely resolution and continuous operational reliability. You have a relevant educational background, such as a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, IT, Computer Science, or a related field. You gain hands-on experience with monitoring tools like Grafana, using dashboards and advanced features for performance monitoring, and work with OData, STAC APIs, and SQL databases. You contribute to aerospace projects, ideally involving Earth Observation systems or satellite missions, applying strong communication and mediation skills to coordinate with diverse stakeholders. You work independently, manage priorities effectively to meet deadlines and operational requirements, and apply familiarity with ITIL and Agile methodologies to support service management and project execution.

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.