Software Engineer jobs in United Kingdom

As the German National Library of Science and Technology our future-oriented services ensure the infrastructural requirements for a high-quality supply of information and literature for research in science and industry. With the Open Research Knowledge Graph (ORKG), we are working to revolutionise the exchange and use of scientific knowledge in the digital age.

The Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB) – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology – Program Area C, Research and Development, is looking to employ a Research Software Engineer to work in the Open Science Lab starting as of the next possible date.

The main objective of your work will be the orchestration, deployment and administration of open source knowledge management software like Mediawiki, Wikibase, OpenRefine, Antelope and Kompakkt. In the context of third‑party funded projects, OSL works with many partners whose data needs span complex 3D models, A/V files, entire digitised cultural heritage corpora, and more. These partners will use services like Wikibase as repository infrastructure, and may require various extensions and customisations in their individual repositories, as well as the design and development of workflows for software as well as data backups, updates and synchronisation. You will be part of a multidisciplinary team and will have an opportunity to be an active voice in strategic discussions around the roadmap and development of services at OSL and TIB at large.

• Orchestration, deployment and administration of the open source software services developed at OSL.
• Design, development and implementation of data workflows within the above‑mentioned software tools.
• Design, development and maintenance of software extensions within the above‑mentioned software tools.
• Technical support of OSL partner institutions who use and/or deploy OSL services.
• Contributing to testing, bug reporting, updating and documentation of OSL services.
• Contributing to the facilitation of technical meetings and workshops delivered within relevant working groups and project committees.

• You have at least a completed university degree at Bachelor's level (or an equivalent degree from a University of Applied Sciences) preferably in computer science or a related field.
• You have gained relevant professional experience working in an agile software development environment, particularly with web‑based applications and collaboratively maintained open source projects.
• You are fluent in one or more of the following programming languages: Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP.
• You are experienced in version management based on Git.
• You are willing to learn new technologies and languages.
• You are a strong communicator and team player with a pronounced service mindset, a service‑oriented attitude and organisational skills.
• You are proactive, flexible and able to work independently and responsibly.
• You have very good written and spoken English skills.

• Enthusiasm for technical and scientific topics with strong practical relevance for the cultural heritage and research data management communities.
• Interest in collaborating with domain specialist communities, understanding their needs and translating these requirements into high‑quality digital services.
• Experience with the Wikiverse (Wikidata, Wikibase, MediaWiki) for collaborative knowledge management.
• Experience with Docker containerisation.
• Professional experience in DevOps and/or systems administration.
• Experience writing clear and concise software documentation, particularly in collaborative environments.
• Good written and spoken German skills are an advantage, but not a requirement.

The position is limited to two years without an objective reason in accordance with Section 14 (2) of the German Part‑Time and Fixed‑Term Employment Act (TzBfG). The regular weekly working time is 19.9 hours (part‑time). The remuneration is based on pay scale group 11 of the collective agreement for the public service of the federal states (TV‑L), provided that the personal requirements are met. Our mission is to keep rethinking and innovating the provision and use of research data and information. In TIB's Research and Development Department you have the opportunity to advance your career in a sizable, dynamic and excellent environment. We provide a scientifically and intellectually inspiring environment with an entrepreneurial mindset embedded in a leading technical university and one of the largest technical information centres being part of the Leibniz Association. TIB collaborates closely with the L3S Research Center at Leibniz University Hannover, one of the world's leading research institutes in the field of Web & Data Science, within the Leibniz Joint Lab Data Science & Open Knowledge. Last but not least, we attach great importance to an open, creative and fun work atmosphere.

• A job in the public service oriented towards the common good based on the collective agreement for the public service of the federal states (TV‑L) with a remuneration according to pay scale group 11 TV‑L, subject to meeting the required criteria. Assignment to pay scale group 11 requires “special practical experience” in the tasks described above or in a comparable field. Applicants without such experience will initially be placed in pay scale group 10 TV‑L until the requirement is met.
• A flexible workplace in terms of time and space with offers to reconcile work and family life, such as mobile and remote work options as well as flexible working time models (flexitime).
• A special annual payment at the end of the year and 30 days of vacation per year with a five‑day working week.
• Additional days off on Christmas Eve (24 December) and New Year’s Eve (31 December).
• A modern workplace in a central location of Hannover with a collegial, attractive and versatile working environment.
• An employer with a wide range of internal and external further education and training measures, workplace health promotion and a supplementary pension scheme for the public sector (VBL).
• Employee discount in the canteens of the Studentenwerk Hannover as well as the possibility to use the various offers of the University Sports Hannover at a discount.
• Independent and future‑oriented activities that offer variety and room for personal development.
• Funding for necessary equipment, conference, and research visit travel.
• Work in the context of a national, European or international research and innovation project.
• A portfolio of technology components to build on, including ORKG, OpenResearch.org, TIB AV‑Portal, DBpedia.org and other.

Please be advised that a valid work permit for Germany is required for non‑EU citizens. Unfortunately, applications without a valid work permit and sufficient German language skills may not be considered.