Personal information

Nationality

Belgian

Date of birth

25.06.1974

Gender

gender-variant

Desired employment / Occupational field

Earth Observation Experienced System Engineer

Work experience

Dates

April 2009 until now

Occupation or position held

SMOS Quality Control Service Operations Manager

Main activities and responsibilities

During the GSOV, commissioning and exploitation phase of the SMOS Mission, the following main duties and responsibilities have been fulfilled:

- Ensure transition to routine operations, by assessing customer furnished items (IPF and QC Tools), identifying anomalies and providing recommendations for updates.

- Coordinate and Support Integration and Validation activities of IPF and QC Tools during GSOV, Commissioning and Routine phase including preparation of test plans and test procedures

- Provide a set of QC planning and operational documents for use by QC Team and ESA during routine operations, such as Routine and Reprocessing QC Plan, Configuration Control Plan.

- Oversee the dissemination of information to ESA and users with regards to data quality issues

- Establish a set of Key Performance Indicators / Metrics that align with QC business objectives

- Define and Implement QC Processes allowing KPIs / Metrics measurements

- Collect, review, analyse and report operational QC information (KPIs / Metrics) on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly, etc…)

- Reporting to various meetings (QWG, IOP, etc…) and contributions to presentations

- Monitor and Ensure the execution of data quality assessment and sensor performance analysis service

- Ensure reporting, investigation and tracking of detected anomalies

- Ensure delivery and maintenance of all required documentation

- Identify and manage priorities to ensure customer expectations are met and exceeded

- Ensure smooth flow of communication between various operations teams (QC, DPGS and FOS)

- Liaise as necessary with software maintenance team manager for conveying efficiently client problems and queries to software development team, and for managing properly priorities

- Liaise as necessary with various SMOS stakeholders (ESA, Serco, VEGA, Deimos, Indra, INSA, CESBIO, Array, GMV) for the improvement of the service, harmonisation and information sharing

Name and address of employer

Telespazio VEGA UK c/o ESA/ESAC – Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid 28691 – Spain

Type of business or sector

Service Company, specialized in Space Technology Sector

Dates

July 2005 until March 2009

Occupation or position held

Ground Segment System Engineer

Main activities and responsibilities

During the development phase of the SMOS Data Processing Ground Segment, with a particular emphasis for the data processing, archiving and distribution sub-systems, the following main duties and responsibilities have been fulfilled:

- Support Management and Coordination activities of DPGS and DPGS Subsystems design, development and testing activities

- Responsible for proper implementation of Earth Explorer File Format Standard

- Ensure widely distributed usage of XML schemas (using BinX representation information language) through the complete ground segment and proper implementation of corresponding XML Read/Write API

- Contribution to the preparation of Customer Furnished Items, i.e. documents such as SoWs, ICDs and Subsystem Technical Requirements.

- Preparation and Review of Client DPGS and DPGS Subsystems Technical documentation such as ICDs, System Technical Budgets, System Technical Description, System User Manuals, Security Plan, Training Plan, Development Plan.

- Support AIV and GSOV activities including preparation of test plans and test procedures

- Participate in the DPGS and DPGS subsystems acceptance, verification and validation activities.

Name and address of employer

SERCO S.P.A., 24/26 Via Sicadonna, Frascati (RM) 00044, Italy

Type of business or sector

Service Company, specialized in Space Technology Sector

Dates

January 2004 until June 2005

Occupation or position held

Ground Segment System Engineer

Main activities and responsibilities

During the development phase of the GOCE Payload Data Ground Segment, the following main duties and responsibilities have been fulfilled:

- Support Management and Coordination activities of PDGS Subsystems design, development and testing activities

- Preparation and Review of PDGS and PDGS Subsystems Technical and Testing documentation such as ICDs, System Technical Budgets, System Technical Description, Test Scenarios, Test Procedures (Integration, Validation and End to End).

Name and address of employer

SERCO S.P.A., 24/26 Via Sicadonna, Frascati (RM) 00044, Italy

Type of business or sector

Service Company, specialized in Space Technology Sector

Dates

January 2002 until June 2005

Occupation or position held

Software Analyst

Main activities and responsibilities

I assist ESA in the evaluation of

- SDF as representation information language for describing ESA Earth Observation products

- DRB Java API (www.gael.fr) as software abstraction layer that would help developers in programming applications independently from the way data are encoded within files

- Derby Java Application (www.gael.fr) as generic data browser supporting a major variety of Earth Observation data formats (ERS, Envisat, Terrasar-X, Landsat,etc...) and self described containers (HDF, NetCDF, etc...)

- Gantt Explorer Tool (www.taitussoftware.com) as interactive visualisation tool of time-based (as gantt charts) and geographical information (as map overlays) from ESA Earth Observation products

My main duties have been:

- Analysing of software application and finding out defects and errors

- Exploring new technologies and coming up with new concepts

- Developing prototypes in Java

- Conveying efficiently client problems and queries to the software developer teams

- Providing help and support to the software developers in their work

- Analysing application software documentation.

Name and address of employer

SERCO S.P.A., 24/26 Via Sicadonna, Frascati (RM) 00044, Italy

Type of business or sector

Service Company, specialized in Space Technology Sector

Dates

January 2002 until December 2003

Occupation or position held

AIV and Performance Testing Engineer

Main activities and responsibilities

During the development phase of the CRYOSAT-1 Instrument Processing Facility, the following main duties and responsibilities have been fulfilled:

- Analysis of the specific algorithms in order to identify the needs for supplementary level 1 algorithm development in cooperation with the Instrument Processing Facility team

- Participate in the IPF acceptance, verification and validation activities

- Support AIV activities including preparation of AIV plans, ensuring the integration of the IPF with the CRYOSAT Ground System

Name and address of employer

SERCO S.P.A., 24/26 Via Sicadonna, Frascati (RM) 00044, Italy

Type of business or sector

Service Company, specialized in Space Technology Sector

Dates

From July 2000 until December 2001

Occupation or position held

SAR Remote Sensing Consultant & Scientific Programmer

Main activities and responsibilities

Developing computational algorithm to perform wind and rain retrieval from RADARSAT images and performing comparison studies with other sensors, in-situ measurements and models

Provide software development support to the research development team of the data fusion centre, which is a web services / application server architecture used to support real time exchange and fusion of data generated by different sensors such as sonar and satellite data

Developing computational software to perform three-dimensional reconstruction of seabed from stereo images analysis using correlation techniques

Name and address of employer

NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC), 400 Viale San Bartolomeo, La Spezia (SP) 19126, Italy

Type of business or sector

Research and technology organisation from NATO, with a particular focus on the undersea domain and on solutions to maritime security problems.

Education and training

Dates

October 2012

Title of qualification awarded

Introduction to Operation Management – Certification of Participation

Principal subjects/occupational skills covered

Business process analysis, productivity management, responsiveness management, product management, quality management

Name and type of organisation providing education and training

Coursera – University of Pennsylvania, USA

Dates

October 2007

Title of qualification awarded

Spacecraft Operation Course – Certification of Participation

Principal subjects/occupational skills covered

Space Environment, Satellite Design, Flight Dynamics, Mission Planning, Mission Operations, Telemetry Monitoring, Satellite Telecommanding, Ground Station Networks

Name and type of organisation providing education and training

DLR – German Space Operations Center (GSOC), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

Dates

May 2005

Title of qualification awarded

Project Management Course – Certification of Participation

Principal subjects/occupational skills covered

Project Definition, Project Planning, Project Control and Monitor, Resource Management, Risk Managements, Project Execution

Name and type of organisation providing education and training

ISDA, 2, Via Arno, 00198, Roma (RM), Italy

Dates

1992 – 2000

Title of qualification awarded

Engineering Degree in Physics

Specialization in Space techniques and Telecommunications

Principal subjects/occupational skills covered

Space technologies, Telecommunications, Fluid Mechanics

Name and type of organisation providing education and training

University of Liege, 7 pl. du 20 Aout, B-4000, Liege, Belgium

Personal skills and competences

Mother tongue(s)

French

Other language(s)

English, Italian, Spanish

Social skills and competences

Team Player Skills : I am able to work independently as well as an effective team player. I have been involved in corporate teams, and I made experiences in conflict prevention, mediation and resolution within the working environment. These skills were acquired and are under consolidation with the actual work experience in ESA.

Communication and public relation skills: I have been involved in project and contract negotiations on international settings and I interacted with a public environment for several years in a culture association, which is a cinema art house located in Rome, Italy. I am involved as well in the Out In Space, ESA’s new Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) social network activities such as the preparation of awareness campaign in ESA.   

Intercultural Skills : I have been living, working and interacting in multicultural and ethnical diverse environments. I have always expressed interest in and respect for different cultures and backgrounds.

Organisational skills and competences

Project Cycle Management : I have more than 7 years experience with increasing level of leadership with the current work experience.

Facilitation and Moderation : I have organized, moderated and conducted meetings during the current work experience. I organized cultural events during my collaboration activities with the culture association Cineclub Detour in Rome.

Technical skills and competences

Engineering and Science Skills acquired during the current and previous employment in ESA and during the previous work experience in NURC:

Understanding of earth observation Ground Segment Architectures designed and currently operated by ESA, in particular the Cryosat, Goce and SMOS ones.

Understanding of earth observation remote sensing technologies, in particular the one related to the following instruments: altimeter, active and passive microwave radar and gradiometer.

Geocoding, Geostatisitics, Satellite Oceanography, SAR and SAR interferometry processing

Strong knowledge of ESA Earth Observation File Format Standards and Data Format Description Language Standards, such as SDF (actually in use in SAFE – Standard Archive Format for Europe) and BinXML (actually in use in the SMOS Ground Segment).

Good software analyst skills. This is particularly the case for:
- Preparation of system and software requirement   documentation
- Algorithm development
- Integration, Validation  and Test planning and execution
- Analysis of application software code and finding out defects and errors
- Analysis of application software documentation
- Hand-down of client problems and queries to software developer teams

Management Skills acquired during the current and previous employment in ESA:

Strong experience in all the phases of the project lifecycle management, from conceptual discussions, to requirements management, to test engineering, system integration and commissioning

Good experience in service oriented operations management, covering related activities such as configuration management, resource planning, monitoring and analysis of operational processes.

Experience in understanding and implementing customer needs

Competent learner in new technical skills as required

Computer skills and competences

Operating systems: OS Based on UNIX (Redhat), Windows

Excellent Knowledge of Remote sensing and image processing standard software packages: ENVI, Beam, EOLI, ESOV, EO-CFI, Matlab

Some experience in Database Systems

Good knowledge of Database management Language: MySQL

Good knowledge of Project Management Tool: Gantt Tool, Microsoft Project

Good knowledge of Programming and Markup Languages: Java, XML Technologies, Python, PHP, XSL, Groovy XQuery, Xpath, XSD

Good knowledge of Data Format Description Languages: (BinX, SDF) and corresponding libraries (BinX API in C++, Drb API in Java)

Artistic skills and competences

Fashion Design

Other skills and competences

Sports : participation and organization of out-door sport activities, like trekking, paragliding, rafting, etc…

Cooking : participation to and organization of cooking events

Culture and Social : participation to and organization of social and cultural events, like film festival, literature festival

Strong interests in social rights and discrimination based on gender and sex

Strong interest in data science, technological singularity and life extension

Strong interest in biomedical and environmental engineering

Driving licence

Category B

Publications

Askari F., Zerr B., Harrisson C., Scevenels S., "Emerging remote sensing technologies for undersea environmental monitoring", Ocean from space, Venice 2000, 9-13 October

Askari F., Scevenels S., "Wind and rain retrieval using spaceborne techniques", SACLANTCEN SR-291, La Spezia, Italy, NATO SACLANT Undersea Research Centre 2001