About this role
We are looking for a Senior Data Engineer with a Platform focus to take a leading role in the architecture and evolution of our internal Data Platform. You'll operate as a domain expert — designing scalable open-source platform infrastructure, defining standards adopted across the team, and mentoring engineers around you.
This is a senior individual contributor role with real technical influence: you'll produce Architecture Decision Records, drive reliability initiatives, and shape the platform roadmap. At the same time, you'll stay close to the data engineering craft — contributing to data pipeline design, governance standards, data quality practices, and the broader data infrastructure that analysts and scientists depend on every day.
This is a fully in-office role based in Kraków
ResponsibilitiesPlatform Architecture & InfrastructureDesign scalable, resilient platform architectures using open-source technologies
Define IaC, Kubernetes, and Docker standards adopted across the platform team
Architect and deliver platform microservices with well-defined interfaces
Lead evaluation and adoption of open-source query engines and table formats
Define strategies for compute and storage
Design observability frameworks: metrics, tracing, and logging standards
Data Engineering & GovernanceContribute to the design and implementation of data lakes, data warehouses, and ETL/ELT pipelines
Develop and maintain standards for data modelling
Implement standards for optimizing data pipelines to ensure seamless data flow and processing
Define and uphold data quality and governance standards
Create standards for integrating and processing data from multiple sources, ensuring consistency and accuracy
Collaborate with the Data Team and with the cross-functional teams. Work effectively within a diverse, international team spread across Switzerland, Poland, Serbia, and China.
Leadership & MentorshipMentor junior and intermediate platform engineers, contributing to their technical growth
Conduct code and architecture reviews
Influence the platform roadmap with technically grounded proposals
Resolve technical conflicts constructively and facilitate cross-team collaboration
RequirementsA university degree, at least Masters in Computer Science or a related science, technology or engineering field.
5+ years of relevant experience in data engineering or data platform engineering roles
Deep Kubernetes knowledge: cluster operations, networking, storage, security
Expert-level Docker: security hardening, image optimization
Deep expertise in open-source query engine internals — query planning, cost-based optimization, connector development
Expert knowledge of open file formats — internals, trade-offs, and operational characteristics
Advanced microservice design: API contracts, service mesh, circuit breaking
Expert knowledge of observability: distributed tracing, metrics pipelines, SLO frameworks
Expert-level in Python and SQL
Proficiency in RDBMS
Experience with data orchestration tools
Expertise in data partitioning, incremental scalability, data quality, and governance
Strong teamwork and communication skills
Ability to work independently and manage your time effectively
Comfortable working in a diverse, international environment
Good to HaveExperience in academia
PhD in a relevant field
Experience in C++ / Rust
Advanced CI/CD
Advanced IaC expertise
Understanding of document and graph databases
Why Join Us?Be part of a dynamic and innovative team at the forefront of data technology
Opportunity to shape a team, driving impactful projects
Work in a collaborative environment that values creativity and diversity
Competitive salary
Private medical care (fully covered)
MultiSport card (partially covered)
Team building activities
If you are interested in this position, we look forward to receiving your complete application. Please submit your CV in English. We look forward to welcoming you to our team in Krakow.
About MDPIHeadquartered in Switzerland, MDPI is a fully Open Access publisher with a portfolio of more than 500 journals across all scientific disciplines. To date, MDPI has published the works of over 4.5 million researchers, collaborating with an extensive network of academic institutions and scientific societies worldwide. Above all, MDPI is committed to ensuring that high-quality research is freely accessible to readers across the globe.
InitiativesAt MDPI, we develop and maintain various platforms in order to better serve the scientific community. Please find here-below a list of our main platforms:
https://www.mdpi.com/ https://sciprofiles.com/ https://sciforum.net/ https://www.scilit.net/ https://www.preprints.org/ https://encyclopedia.pub/ https://www.mdpi.com/books/
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