Senior Data Engineer

ICRC - International Committee of the Red Cross; Genf; On-site; CHF 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is seeking a Senior Data Engineer in Geneva to design, build and maintain data pipelines and AI workflows. You will lead data engineering standards, mentor junior staff and ensure data quality and scalable solutions across global operations.

Responsibilities include implementing production-ready data pipelines, integrating diverse data sources and collaborating with data science, DevOps and product teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum 6 years’ experience in a similar position.
• Experience in development and operations processes.
• Experience in technical support processes.
• Technical certification (Python, ETL solutions) or equivalent experience.
• ITIL, DevOps or Agile certification (e.g. SAFe) is an asset.
• Proven experience with on-premises data pipeline tools (e.g. Python, SSIS, dbt, Airbyte, Airflow).
• Proven experience with CI/CD, Git, deployment pipelines, OpenShift and Docker.
• Strong SQL skills and experience with database management systems (e.g. SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MariaDB).
• Strong skills in working with storage formats and systems such as S3-compatible storage, Parquet and Delta Tables.
• Experience with message queues such as Kafka or RabbitMQ.
• Familiarity with AI agent capabilities, along with coding skills.
• Experience with cloud-based data solutions, preferably Microsoft Fabric or similar platforms, is a plus.
• Experience with end-to-end RAG pipelines (ingestion, chunking, embedding, indexing) is a plus.
• Excellent spoken and written English. French is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead data architecture, engineering standards, code reviews and mentoring. Move prototypes into production via Git, CI/CD, automated testing, environment promotion, release validation, monitoring and rollback.
• Design, build, test, deploy and operate data pipelines, jobs and ingestion frameworks using Python or ETL solutions.
• Integrate structured, semi-structured and unstructured data from internal systems, databases, APIs, files, documents, vendor feeds, public sources and event streams.
• Build resilient, governed integrations with secure authentication, pagination, rate limits, retries, schema management, data contracts and lineage, quality controls, observability and recovery.
• Engineer production AI workflows using prompt templates and versioning, scheduled or event-triggered prompt execution, RAG, vector search, knowledge graphs, and agent and tool orchestration.
• Partner with data science, product, DevOps, security, architecture and business teams. Communicate risk early and drive practical solutions.
• Ensure delivery commitments are realistic, tracked and met. Manage dependencies with other teams early.
• Define and monitor service levels (availability, data freshness, incident resolution) and agree SLAs with data consumers.
• Identify opportunities for analytics to improve humanitarian operations, resource allocation and accountability to donors.
• Support ICT teams in the field in using global and centrally managed ICT solutions.

Skills

SQL

English proficiency

Communication

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/IT

Python/ETL certification

ITIL/DevOps/SAFe asset

Tools

Git

OpenShift

Docker

Airflow

dbt

SSIS

Airbyte

Kafka/RabbitMQ

Job description

Since 1863, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has worked to preserve human dignity and relieve suffering caused by war and armed violence.

In collaboration with our Red Cross and Red Crescent partners around the world, we do everything we can to deliver life-saving aid, reconnect families and locate missing people - helping those who need it most, regardless of who they are and what side of the front line they are on.

We engage with authorities and armed forces on all sides, often confidentially, pressing for access to detainees to improve their living conditions and urging compliance with international humanitarian law to protect non-combatants, including from digital threats.

Purpose of the Role

The Senior Data Engineer plays a critical role in supporting the ICRC’s humanitarian mission by designing, developing and maintaining data pipeline solutions, advanced analytics applications and cloud-based data services.

The role ensures efficient data integration, processing and preparation, enabling data-driven decision-making across the ICRC’s global humanitarian operations. The Senior Data Engineer keeps operations running smoothly in line with defined SLAs and independently takes corrective action when needed. They liaise with ICT stakeholders (project managers, product owners and external partners) to integrate and support solutions.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead data architecture, engineering standards, code reviews and mentoring. Rapidly move prototypes into production through Git, CI/CD, automated testing, environment promotion, release validation, monitoring and rollback practices.
• Design, build, test, deploy and operate data pipelines, jobs and reusable ingestion frameworks using Python or ETL solutions.
• Integrate structured, semi-structured and unstructured data from internal systems, databases, APIs, files, documents, vendor feeds, public sources and event streams.
• Build resilient, governed integrations, covering: secure authentication, pagination, rate-limit handling and retries
  schema management, data contracts and lineage, quality controls, observability and recovery procedures.
• Engineer production AI workflows using prompt templates and versioning, scheduled or event-triggered prompt execution, RAG, vector search, knowledge graphs, and agent and tool orchestration.
• Partner with data science, product, DevOps, security, architecture and business teams. Communicate clearly, raise risks early and drive practical solutions.
• Ensure delivery commitments are realistic, tracked and met. Manage dependencies with other teams early.
• Define and monitor service levels (availability, data freshness, incident resolution) and agree SLAs with data consumers.
• Identify opportunities for analytics to improve humanitarian operations, resource allocation and accountability to donors.
• Support ICT teams in the field in using global and centrally managed ICT solutions.

Education & Professional Background

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum 6 years’ experience in a similar position.
• Experience in development and operations processes.
• Experience in technical support processes.
• Technical certification (Python, ETL solutions) or equivalent experience.
• ITIL, DevOps or Agile certification (e.g. SAFe) is an asset.
• Proven experience with on-premises data pipeline tools (e.g. Python, SSIS, dbt, Airbyte, Airflow).
• Proven experience with CI/CD, Git, deployment pipelines, OpenShift and Docker.
• Strong SQL skills and experience with database management systems (e.g. SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MariaDB).
• Strong skills in working with storage formats and systems such as S3-compatible storage, Parquet and Delta Tables.
• Experience with message queues such as Kafka or RabbitMQ.
• Familiarity with AI agent capabilities, along with coding skills.
• Experience with cloud-based data solutions, preferably Microsoft Fabric or similar platforms, is a plus.
• Experience with end-to-end RAG pipelines (ingestion, chunking, embedding, indexing) is a plus.
• Excellent spoken and written English. French is a plus.

Additional Information

• Type of Contract: Open-ended
• Length of Assignment: Long term assignment
• Activity Rate: 100%
• Start date: January 2027

Please note that the finalization of this recruitment is subject to the validation of the 2027 PfR.

The ICRC values diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates.

Our Values

At the ICRC, we value impact, collaboration, respect, and compassion. We seek candidates who demonstrate behaviors based on these shared values. For more information on the ICRC values, please visit this page.

The ICRC values diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates.

Job Family: Communications / Information Management / Information Technologiesﾠ