Data Engineer

We are looking for a driven and motivated Data Engineer who wants to help us build the streaming data lakehouse of Germanys governments. At DKSR, we are building an urban data hub for cities and regions; helping them use their data more efficiently for the benefit of all. We currently operate our core product CIVORA for over 20 cities and regions, and we still have plenty of improvements and new developments in store. You will join the product development team to get hands-on with building and operating the data infrastructure that powers CIVORA. Working hand in hand with our Data Architect, you will bring concepts and blueprints into production-ready systems. You will also get the chance to support us on cutting-edge use cases; paving the path for the project delivery team and our most advanced users.

Please note: We are currently only considering candidates who already reside in Germany and are legally authorized to work in Germany. Unfortunately, we cannot provide visa sponsorship or relocation support for this position.

What You’ll Do

• Contribute to the continued development of the data infrastructure that powers CIVORA - from platform components to internal tooling
• Collaborate with product and project delivery teams to shape a reusable, scalable and well-documented data infrastructure
• Design and maintain data pipelines (batch & streaming) that serve multiple cities and use cases
• Support the project delivery team on the most complex and mission-critical use cases - setting a track record of best practices and design patterns for all to learn from
• Write clean, maintainable code - you are as much a software engineer as a data engineer
• Propose and prototype new approaches; challenge existing patterns when you see a better way - you will be able to take ownership

• 1-3 years of relevant experience in data engineering and software development
• B.Sc. in Computer Science, Data Science, Data Engineering, or related field (M.Sc. preferred; equivalent professional experience also works)
• Python - data processing (pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn) as well as structured software development (modular design, clean APIs, testable code)
• SQL - understanding of relational database design and confident querying
• Pipeline orchestration - hands-on experience with Apache Airflow or similar
• Streaming systems - familiarity with the Kafka protocol or similar
• Docker - containerization as part of your daily workflow
• Cloud & IaC - working knowledge of cloud concepts and infrastructure-as-code principles (Helm, Terraform)
• English - comfortable in both spoken and written communication
• Communication - proactive team player and direct communicator
• Experience with agentic development (GitHub, CoPilot or Claude is enough, no need for crazy sub-agent workflows)

Nice to have:

• Kubernetes - experience with container orchestration and cluster operations
• Cloud platforms - hands-on with AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Additional languages - able to read and poke Java, JavaScript, Rust, or Go alongside Python
• Experience with parts of our stack - willingness to learn, understand, and operate matters more than ticking every box:
• Infra & deployment: Helm, OpenTofu (Terraform), MinIO/SeaweedFS
• Data & analytics: Apache Superset, Apache Iceberg (Lakekeeper catalog), Redpanda (Redpanda Connect, Kafka Connect), Trino, MLFlow
• German - not required, but highly valuable for external stakeholder communication

Who You Are You don’t just want to write code - you want to understand the business problem, refine the requirements, design the system and you want it to matter. You’re the kind of person who’ll dig into a problem, propose a solution, and then actually build it and deliver it end-to-end. You’re comfortable working closely with a data architect without needing hand-holding on every step. When something’s unclear, you ask. When something’s wrong, you say so. When you disagree, you say no. You care about doing things well, but you also know when good enough ships and perfect doesn’t.

• Genuine appreciation and plenty of trust
• Job Ticket or Job Bike - for a sustainable commute
• Professional development budget - you grow, we invest
• 30 days of vacation, plus time off on December 24th and December 31st
• Corporate Benefits
• Subsidy for Urban Sports Club
• Open feedback culture - honest, respectful, and on equal footing
• A team full of bright minds - with genuine team spirit instead of ego trips
• Support when you need it - and space when you want it