Software Engineer, Data Platform

NestAI; Helsinki; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Occupational healthcare

Epassi Flex

Lunch benefit

Regular team lunches

Choice of Mac or PC

Holiday allowance

Phone benefit

Growing benefits

Job summary

NestAI is creating an open, modular platform to enable adaptive intelligence for defence operations. You will join the Data Platform Chapter and build the core infrastructure from the ground up, not just pipelines.

This is a role for someone who wants real ownership over foundational systems and can navigate ambiguity while ensuring robust architecture. You will collaborate with every engineering chapter in R&D, shaping what gets built next and driving end-to-end features from design through

Qualifications

• What we look for: strong Python coding and software design experience.
• Experience designing event-driven streaming data systems (Kafka).
• Familiarity with lakehouse architectures and Iceberg.
• Background in distributed systems and scalable infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Own technical direction of core platform components from streaming to lakehouse storage.
• Build the platform infrastructure, not just pipelines.
• Apply solid architecture principles to long-lasting systems.
• Collaborate with other R&D chapters to shape future builds.
• Take end-to-end ownership from design to production.

Skills

Python

Software architecture

Event-driven systems

OLTP/OLAP

Lakehouse (Iceberg)

Distributed systems

Kubernetes

Docker

Tools

Apache Kafka

Iceberg

Kubernetes

Docker

Go

Rust

Job description

Company

NestAI is a European AI lab for defence delivering the adaptive operating system for modern battlefield operations. We develop adaptive intelligence for unmanned and command systems: AI that continuously learns from operational data and adapts to changing conditions.

NestOS is our open, modular and interoperable platform that enables this at scale and keeps capability evolution under sovereign European control. Founded in 2025 by Peter Sarlin, whose previous company Silo AI became Europe's largest AI acquisition, NestAI brings together over 200 engineers and scientists and partners with leading European defence forces and industry.

Role Description

You'll join the Data Platform Chapter, the team building the infrastructure that every data engineer and R&D chapter at NestAI relies on. This is a build role, not a data engineering role: you won't be running pipelines on top of the platform, you'll be building the platform itself, largely from the ground up. It's a role for someone who wants real ownership over foundational systems, is comfortable working with a lot of ambiguity, and cares about getting the architecture right from day one.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities:

• The team you're joining builds the storage, streaming, and compute infrastructure that every other engineering chapter at NestAI relies on. In this role, you will:
• Own the technical direction of core platform components, from our streaming infrastructure to the lakehouse storage layer.
• Build the platform itself: the storage, streaming, and compute infrastructure that data engineers and other R&D chapters build on top of, rather than maintaining pipelines that already run on it.
• Apply sound software architecture and design principles to systems that are built to last as NestAI scales.
• Collaborate directly with every engineering chapter in R&D, who rely on the platform as an internal customer, to understand their needs and shape what gets built next.
• Take ownership of features end to end, from early design through production, in an environment where a lot of the foundation doesn't exist yet.
• Use AI coding tools as part of your everyday workflow.

Qualifications:

If your background doesn't match every requirement but the work resonates with you, we'd encourage you to apply. How you think, learn, and take ownership matters more to us than ticking every box. Here is what we are looking for:

• Solid programming skills in Python, paired with a solid grounding in software architecture and design principles.
• Experience designing and building event-driven, streaming data systems with tools such as Apache Kafka.
• Experience with OLTP and OLAP systems.
• Experience with lakehouse architectures, including open table formats such as Apache Iceberg.
• Experience with distributed systems, and the infrastructure that keeps them reliable at scale.

Nice to have:

• Experience with additional programming languages, such as Go or Rust.
• Familiarity with the broader open-source data tooling landscape, spanning compute and query engines, storage systems, and data cataloging or lineage tools.
• Experience running infrastructure in containerised, cloud-native environments, with tooling such as Kubernetes and Docker.
• Comfortable working with a lot of ambiguity, taking ownership end to end, and figuring things out proactively when a lot of what you need doesn't exist yet.

Why join NestAI

At NestAI, you’ll build meaningful, real-world technology as part of a world-class team of engineers, scientists, and experienced professionals. You’ll work on systems where reliability genuinely matters, contribute to Europe’s security and resilience, and solve problems that demand depth, trust, and craftsmanship.

If you want to build with purpose - and with leading experts in the field - you’ve come to the right place.

What we offer

We offer a growing set of practical benefits to support your work and wellbeing, day to day:

• Occupational healthcare (currently provided by Mehiläinen)
• Epassi Flex benefit (sports, culture, commuting, wellbeing)
• Lunch benefit (25% tax-free coverage)
• Regular team lunches and all-hands events
• Your choice of Mac or PC
• Holiday allowance (50% of holiday salary)
• Phone benefit according to company policy (subscription and device)
• We are continuously developing and expanding our benefits as we grow.

Practicalities

Employment is subject to applicable security screening (including SUPO, where required).

NestAI is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all applicants based on their skills, experience, and potential.