About the job
Technical Lead
About Orcrist Technologies
Orcrist Technologies is at the forefront of innovation with the Orcrist Intelligence Platform (OIP), a cutting-edge, Kubernetes-native solution designed to facilitate secure open-source intelligence collection and analysis for defense and public safety sectors.
Role Overview
As a Technical Lead, you will steer the architecture of our data platform. Your responsibilities will include designing and constructing the lakehouse infrastructure (utilizing technologies such as Hudi, Trino, Kafka, NiFi, and PySpark) that underpins all downstream AI and analytics offerings, while also providing mentorship to our team of Data Engineers.
Responsibilities
- Take ownership of the architecture for our data lakehouse—make informed decisions on build-vs-buy, craft technical designs, and direct implementation efforts.
- Develop production-level Python code for essential data pipelines and infrastructure components (including PySpark, Kafka, and NiFi).
- Establish engineering standards for code quality, testing, observability, and documentation.
- Guide and mentor Data Engineers through code reviews, one-on-one sessions, and technical advice.
- Collaborate with Product teams to transform requirements into scalable technical solutions.
- Design and implement data governance frameworks focusing on lineage, cataloging, and compliance with government security regulations.
Qualifications
- Minimum of 6 years of experience in data engineering, with at least 2 years in a leadership or architectural capacity.
- Proficiency in Python (including PySpark and pandas) and SQL, along with a comprehensive understanding of lakehouse architectures and data modeling.
- Experience with streaming technologies (e.g., Kafka), batch processing frameworks (e.g., Spark), and modern table formats (e.g., Hudi, Iceberg, or Delta).
- Proven track record in building and maintaining large-scale data platforms in production environments.
- Eligibility to work in Germany; EU/NATO citizenship preferred for roles involving export control.
Preferred Qualifications
- Proficiency in the German language (B1 or higher).
- Experience in defense or government data environments.
- Familiarity with graph databases or machine learning infrastructure.
Benefits
- Access to a modern technological stack (Hudi, Ozone, PySpark, Trino, Kafka, Kubernetes).
- Work on mission-driven projects that make a significant impact.
- Remote-first work culture based in Germany.
- Opportunities for meetups in Berlin.
- 30 vacation days per year.
- Budget for equipment and professional development.

