Polar Oceanographic Scientist

Job Introduction

At Serco not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services.
We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world, we are innovators,committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.

Serco and Proud - Make a difference every day.

We currently have an exciting opportunity for a  Polar and Ice support Scientist, based in Frascati (Italy).

Role Responsibility

Within the Data Quality and Algorithm Management Office, the post-holder will join the Quality Assurance For Earth Observation (QA4EO) contract and will work on the Cal/Val support area, directly responding to the Area Manager with the objective of exploring a new methodology assessment and scientific analysis of in situ data and a combination of field measurements and numerical process modeling over polar ocean and coastal areas with particular emphasis on small scale dynamics in conjuction with satellite altimetric data analysis  (low and high resolution). 

We are looking for a bright, young, post-doc like scientist, working in close liaison with ESRIN and with MIO (Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography). 

The post holder will perform the following different domains of activities:

• Coastal altimetry
• Multimission Polar (ice) 
• Support the organization and execution of intercomparison exercises and international workshops

• She/He will perform the following main activities, under the direction and guidelines of the Work Package leader and Area Manager:

• Processing, Quality Control (QC), formatting and analysis of in-situ and field campaign data;

• Processing and validation of ocean model outputs with the use all the available in situ and field campaign data and altimetry over selected areas of interest in the coastal regions and over polar ocean.

• Contribute to coastal and polar Altimetry data analysis and comparisons with in situ measurements and model;

• Sensitivity study, optimization and error assessment of the developed altimetric methods.

• Use ocean circulation model outputs in support to the interpretation of slope currents positioning and intensity variability as depicted by altimetry;

• Exploring and pre-processing available satellite, model and in situ datasets on the distribution and variability of sea-ice regions;

• Contribute to the writing of scientific papers and presentations in international conferences

• Attendance to European progress meeting or conferences

Successful Candidate

Applicants should have a high level of self-motivation, the capability to work effectively in a team and autonomously, and have excellent organisation skills. A strong proactive attitude is required in identifying problems and proposing solutions. 

Mandatory knowledge and experience requisites are:
• University degree, or equivalent, in oceanography or a related discipline.
• Good knowledge of ocean dynamics and ocean physics
• Development of tools for analysis of large set of data and data visualization
• Proven experience in the field of oceanography (list of publications).
• Experience in polar sea ice processes and sea ice modeling is of advantage.

• Hands-on experience with ocean validation methods and scientific analysis of in situ data; 
• Hands-on experience with ocean ice and multimission satellite polar data; 
• Experience with high-frequency radar or glider data being an advantage;
• Good experience in the scientific exploitation of ocean numerical modeling;
• Basic knowledge of altimeter mission and their applications would be an advantage;
• Good oral and written communication;
• Spatial, temporal and other statistical analyses of EO data;
• Scientific publication and reporting (including oral presentations) of results;
• Good Working proficiency in English.
• Good scientific programming skills (e.g. Matlab, IDL, C, Pyton or Fortran);

In addition, the candidate shall have:
• Attitude to follow guidelines and to require minimum supervision, proactively requesting help when needed
• Ability to plan and report and to work to deadline.

• Experience with Altimetric Earth Observation Satellite mission data

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Important

Any offer of employment is contingent upon you providing documents to verify your identity and employment eligibility, as required by law.

Applicants are reminded that they will be requested to produce such documentation during the recruitment process.

Please contact a member of the recruitment team if you require further details of acceptable types of documentation required for verification of identity and work authorization. 

Data Protection:

When creating a profile on the Serco Career Centre you agreed to the Data Protection policy, a copy is available upon request.

You may submit a written request revoking your consent to this agreement at any time.

Package Description

Excellent Salary 

Corporate Benefits Package 

Relocation Assistance (if applicable)

Further information available from the Serco Europe Recruitment Team

About the Company

Serco is one of the world’s largest providers of public services to Governments employing over 50,000 people in over 20 countries In Belgium and Luxembourg we work closely with the European Institutions providing crucial Services with over 220 staff members.

The services we provide are often of critical importance to the communities and nations we serve, Providing public services is one of the most satisfying and rewarding careers you can have, you have an ability to make a real positive difference to people’s lives and to your community and country.

As a business which delivers “front-line” public services, employing tens of thousands of people, we are constantly developing and promoting people; our need for skilled professionals is insatiable and few companies can offer as many opportunities for individuals to grow their careers

What connects the ever growing Serco workforce is a passion for delivering great service – To keep ahead we have to constantly evolve and enhance the way we deliver our services and everyone in Serco has a role to play here.

Serco provide the right environment to encourage ideas and a comprehensive Best Practice support network that enables them to put their ideas into action.

If you share our values then join with over 50,000 colleagues globally who are equally as passionate about delivering great service as you

A career with Serco offers the chance to work with both inspirational people and innovative contracts, in a dynamic and exciting environment.

We have a mandate to execute brilliantly and our people lead and inspire based on our core values, Trust, Care, Pride and Innovation.

Take pride in what you do.

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