Senior Data Engineer

Our Group

At Sample Prep and Analysis (SPA), we develop and maintain software that automates the operation of Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEMs).

Electron microscopy is a high-tech field with an outsized impact across industries, from semiconductors and materials science to life sciences and medicine. Our solutions play a critical role in the semiconductor industry, helping customers identify defects, advance research and improve production processes to make semiconductor components more robust, reliable and energy-efficient.

We see enormous potential for generative AI to transform how this work is done. The person joining us will have the opportunity to help build the data foundation that makes this transformation possible.

As part of an international team of scientists, software developers and engineers, you'll take ownership of the data platform the rest of the team builds on. While our analysts focus on what the data means, you'll make their work possible by designing the platform that reliably ingests, stores and serves our process and telemetry data — making it accessible and useful for both people and AI agents.

Daily Challenges

• Build robust pipelines to ingest, persist, cleanse and validate process and telemetry data.
• Enable data-driven decisions that advance the development of high-tech machines for the semiconductor industry.
• Design a well-governed data platform with consistent access, data quality, lineage and observability built in by default.
• Help make the department AI-ready, enabling agentic systems to access and work with our data through clean, well-described interfaces.
• Work primarily with on-premise Linux infrastructure, while designing for portability and keeping our architecture hosting-agnostic.
• Collaborate closely with scientists, software developers, engineers and analysts in an international environment.
• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• This is a senior role, but we don't expect you to tick every box. Bring strong fundamentals, hands-on experience and curiosity, and we'll grow the rest together.

You should have:

• A collaborative mindset based on open communication, trust and shared responsibility.
• A university degree in computer science, software engineering or a related field.
• At least three years of professional experience in data engineering.
• A solid understanding of data engineering fundamentals, including data modeling, data quality, orchestration and lineage.
• Confidence working with Linux, shell scripting, SQL and a high-level programming language, preferably Python.
• Professional working proficiency in English.

Bonus Points

• Containers and orchestration: Docker, Kubernetes
• Databases and lakehouse: PostgreSQL, Apache Iceberg, Delta Lake
• Object storage: MinIO, including storage of microscope-generated images
• Data pipelines and streaming: Apache Spark, Apache NiFi, Airflow, Kafka
• Data governance: IAM, RBAC, data cataloging, lineage and compliance
• AI engineering: embeddings, vector databases, RAG, MCP and agentic workflows
• Infrastructure as Code: Terraform
• Observability: OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana and Loki

Technologies We Use

• Data & development: Python 3, SQL, PostgreSQL
• Infrastructure: Linux, shell scripting, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform
• Data platform: Apache Spark, Apache NiFi, Kafka, Iceberg / Delta Lake, MinIO
• Observability: OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana, Loki
• Development tools: GitHub, CI/CD, JIRA, Confluence

What we offer

• Flexible working hours to better balance your personal life.
• 25 days of vacation and 5 sick days/year
• Financial benefits - annual bonus, pension insurance allowance, possibility of life or health insurance for better prices
• Mobile tariff for you and family members for great prices
• Free Multisport card
• Meal allowance and company canteen with free fruit or vegetables every day
• Modern work environment including relax zones, gym, outside playground and massages in the building
• Open and friendly company spirit - we have a company rock band, various sport teams etc.
• Hackerspace room equipped with VR headset, Recording studio for your videos, music or podcasts, Lego Mindstorms, 3D printer, Arduino and much more!