Ground Segment Engineer
Noordwijk, Zuid-Holland•Full-time
About the Job
Serco is a leading Space Services Provider with thousands of skilled resources that has supported over 50 space missions on behalf of more than 10 Space or Government agencies around the globe, including the ESA and NASA. Serco offers space capability across the full space lifecycle from satellite testing to Launch services, LEOP to spacecraft operations, space surveillance to data management, and supporting downstream application development.
With this in mind, we are seeking a European-based Ground Qualification engineer who is responsible for supporting the definition, integration, verification, validation, and qualification of the ground segment, ensuring it meets all technical, operational, and regulatory requirements.
You would have the opportunity to plan and support integration activities and test campaigns, define verification and validation strategies, acceptance criteria, and requirement traceability, and ensure that acceptance milestones are properly executed and documented. You would coordinate complex multi‑component system integration across hardware, software, and operations, manage interfaces and integration risks, and drive anomaly investigation and resolution in a structured and traceable manner. Acting as a key technical interface between system engineering, operations, and industry, you would also supports audits, certification activities, and stakeholder coordination to demonstrate full ground segment compliance and readiness for service.
Main Responsibilities:
- Provide ground system engineering support for the definition and execution of integration, verification, validation, and qualification (IVVQ) strategies for the ground segment.
- Support ground segment integration activities and test campaigns, ensuring coherence across hardware, software, and operational elements.
- Plan, coordinate, and ensure execution of acceptance milestones, including proper preparation, witnessing, and documentation.
- Define and manage integration strategies for complex multi‑component systems, identifying interfaces, managing dependencies, and mitigating integration risks early.
- Define Verification and Validation plans, acceptance criteria, requirements traceability, and test strategies at system, subsystem, and component levels.
- Manage test execution activities, assess compliance against requirements, and structure objective evidence to support acceptance and qualification.
- Interpret applicable standards and regulations and design qualification approaches demonstrating system conformity.
- Prepare and maintain qualification and acceptance documentation supporting regulatory, customer, and programme needs.
- Interface with auditors, certification bodies, and external stakeholders during qualification and acceptance processes.
- Coordinate stakeholders across engineering, operations, suppliers, and customers to ensure aligned qualification activities.
- Drive anomaly, deviation, and non‑conformance investigations, leading reviews, and ensuring issues are resolved in a structured and traceable manner.
- Assess industry deliverables related to ground segment integration and qualification against technical and programmatic expectations.
- Produce regular progress and activity reports demonstrating qualification support and status.
Successful Candidate:
- Proven experience in ground segment IVVQ activities covering system, subsystem, and component levels.
- Ability to define and execute integration strategies for complex hardware, software, and operational systems.
- Strong competence in planning and managing verification, validation, and qualification campaigns.
- Demonstrated capability to establish acceptance criteria and maintain end‑to‑end requirements traceability.
- Experience producing and reviewing test plans, procedures, reports, and qualification evidence.
- Solid understanding of applicable standards and the ability to translate them into compliant qualification approaches.
- Capability to assess supplier deliverables and provide structured technical feedback during reviews.
- Proven skills in anomaly, deviation, and non‑conformance analysis and resolution to closure.
- Ability to coordinate multidisciplinary stakeholders and act as a technical focal point for qualification activities.
- Strong documentation and reporting discipline, delivering clear, auditable, and decision‑oriented outputs.
Technical:
- Work experience in the Space domain will be an asset
- MSc, or equivalent qualification, in a relevant technical or scientific discipline will be an asset
- Need to be an EU national and eligible to obtain EU Personal Security Clearance.
- Requires travel (approx. 20 European business trips per year)
Personality:
- Effective management of self with a track record of involvement in change in complex and demanding environments, interacting with individuals at all levels of the organization
- Methodical and proactive, with initiative and capability to work autonomously
- Problem-solving and a creativity-oriented attitude
- Excellent communication skills, including relationship development and stakeholder management;
About Serco
Serco is a leading Space Services Provider with thousands of skilled resources that has supported over 50 space missions on behalf of more than 10 Space or Government agencies around the globe, including the likes of ESA, CNES, EUMETSAT, EUSPA, ASI and NASA.
We offer space capabilities across the full space lifecycle from satellite testing to Launch services, LEOP to spacecraft operations, space surveillance to data management, and supporting downstream application development. With over 55 years history in the space sector Serco is well placed to contribute to National strategies across Europe and the globe
We work within the heart of the space sector so understand the challenges our customers face. When it comes to recruitment we are experts in sourcing the very best talent within space engineering, earth observation, satellite communications and cyber security.
We have placed hundreds of people from post graduates through to C-suite executives into space agencies, satellite operators, manufacturers, system integrators, consultancies, earth observation/remote sensing, launch providers and much more.
We offer space capabilities across the full space lifecycle from satellite testing to Launch services, LEOP to spacecraft operations, space surveillance to data management, and supporting downstream application development. With over 55 years history in the space sector Serco is well placed to contribute to National strategies across Europe and the globe
We work within the heart of the space sector so understand the challenges our customers face. When it comes to recruitment we are experts in sourcing the very best talent within space engineering, earth observation, satellite communications and cyber security.
We have placed hundreds of people from post graduates through to C-suite executives into space agencies, satellite operators, manufacturers, system integrators, consultancies, earth observation/remote sensing, launch providers and much more.