Innovation System Engineer

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 System Architect Engineer who will support our activities in the Serco office in Rome and work on a full‑time, permanent position with a hybrid working style and excellent opportunities for career progress within the Space industry.

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 specialised 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.

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 manage spacecraft operations, analysing mission data, or supporting software and systems development, your expertise will help move Europe’s space ambitions forward.

You will join the EODIS contract as an IT specialist providing engineering support, bringing experience in system engineering, ideally in an Earth Observation context. In this role, you will contribute to cloud‑based solutions and EO processing pipelines while supporting technical requirements definition, solution reviews, and cross‑sector collaboration. You will work with data scientists, software engineers, and domain experts to integrate EO data workflows, ensuring interoperability across systems. You will also collaborate with ESA IT teams to resolve infrastructure issues and support system integrations, helping maintain reliable and efficient technical environments. As part of an agile team, you will participate in Scrum, Sprint Planning and Reviews, progress meetings, and User Group sessions, where you will manage and report on your activities. You will contribute to technical documentation and support workshops, publications, and knowledge‑transfer activities when needed. You will work both autonomously and within an international, multicultural team, using your solution‑oriented mindset and strong communication skills to collaborate effectively and contribute to successful project delivery.

In this role, you are expected to have strong system engineering skills with a focus on cloud platforms and services such as S3, EC2, Lambda, Cloud Functions, and similar systems. You are familiar with different data formats and metadata standards, and you have a solid understanding of interoperability standards such as OGC APIs, STAC, and WMS/WFS. You have proven experience in testing and validating platform components and deploying them in production environments. You have good programming skills and actively contribute to internal development by coding and maintaining tools and services in Python, Java, or similar languages. You are comfortable working with Earth Observation data and common geospatial formats such as GeoTIFF/COG, NetCDF, Zarr, and related metadata standards, and you have experience processing them, including with AI/ML tools and methods, which is considered an advantage. You communicate fluently in English, both written and spoken, and you bring at least 3–5 years of relevant professional experience. You have hands‑on experience with EO data workflows and cloud‑native technologies, as well as containerization tools such as Docker and Kubernetes. You are familiar with data cataloguing approaches, including STAC and cloud‑optimised formats such as COG, Zarr, and GeoParquet, and you follow good storage and data‑management practices. You also have experience testing and validating platform or system components, including using version control and CI/CD tools such as GitHub Actions or GitLab CI.

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.