Scientific Developer - Data Engineer

Fondazione Start Attractor; Toscana; Hybrid; EUR 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Fondazione Start Attractor is seeking a Scientific Developer – Data Engineer to advance digitalization in the paper-making industry, focusing on tissue and hygiene products. You will design and maintain data pipelines, support data platforms, and collaborate with partners to enable analytics and AI use cases.

Located in Italy’s Tuscany region, this role balances on-site collaboration at industry premises with activities at Start Attractor, contributing to pilot trials, data governance, and

Qualifications

• Master’s degree (or PhD preferred) in Computer Science, Data Science, Computer Engineering or related STEM disciplines.
• 3–5 years of experience in similar roles.
• cloud, data engineering or Big Data certifications are a plus.
• international experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable ETL/ELT pipelines and data integration from various sources.
• Contribute to data platform evolution, governance, and AI/agentic use cases.
• Collaborate with IT, vendors, and analysts to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Draft technical documentation and data storytelling; support pilot trials and experiments.
• Maintain data quality, lineage, and monitoring.

Skills

SQL

Python

Data modeling

ETL/ELT design

Data governance

Analytical thinking

English communication

Italian language

Education

Master’s degree (or PhD preferred) in Computer Science, Data Science, Computer Engineering or related STEM disciplines

Tools

Spark

Databricks

Delta Lake

Parquet

Airflow

Git

CI/CD

dbt

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Job description

Scientific Developer –Data Engineer

The Scientific Developer –Data Engineer will work on digitalization processes in thepaper-making industry (with a focus on tissue, hygiene products and related processes).

The role will work 66% of the time at the industry premises and 33% of the time at Start Attractor.

The role supports Start Attractor in: translating industrial needs (from partners and clients) into R&D and innovation projects; identifying and adapting scientific and technological solutions; supporting the design, modeling, execution, and validation of experiments, pilot trials, and prototype development.

The role with our industrial partner will be responsible for designing, developing, maintaining, and evolving data acquisition, integration, transformation, and orchestration pipelines from corporate and manufacturing systems. This role will contribute to the development and evolution of the company’s Data Platform and the data components supporting the company’s Agent Platform, working closely with vendors and internal stakeholders to ensure data reliability, scalability, quality, and availability for analytics, reporting, and data/AI solution use cases. In the medium term, the successful candidate will become the internal point of reference for the evolutionary maintenance, optimization, and governance of data platforms, including any architectures supporting AI and agentic solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical & Scientific Development: analyze industrial digital challenges and needs; identify and assess scientific and technological solutions (e-g. equipments, processes, materials, sensors, automation) that can address those needs; support the definition of objectives and hypotheses; experimental plans and testing protocols; development and implementation of data-driven models; technical milestones and KPIs. Contribute to pilot trials and experimental campaigns in collaboration with industrial partners and research labs (design of tests, data collection, first-level analysis); draft technical notes, reports, presentations and data storytelling summarizing results, risks and next steps.
• Activity with our industrial partner: design, develop, and maintain robust, scalable ETL/ELT pipelines, integrate data from heterogeneous sources, including enterprise databases, manufacturing systems, files, APIs, and data streams, model and structure data for data warehouse, data lake, or lakehouse environments, ensure data quality, consistency, traceability, and reliability; monitor ingestion and transformation workflows, addressing anomalies, bottlenecks, and performance issues.
• Collaborate with IT teams, vendors, analysts, and data/AI professionals to translate business requirements into effective technical solutions.
• Support the evolution of the Data Platform and data components serving the Agent Platform, in line with security, governance, and maintainability principles.
• Maintain technical documentation, development standards, and operational best practices.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree (or PhD preferred) in Computer Science, Data Science, Computer Engineering or related STEM disciplines;
• 3–5 years of experience in similar roles;
• cloud, data engineering or Big Data certifications are a plus;
• international experience is a plus.

Key Skills and Competencies

Technical Skills: excellent knowledge of relational and NoSQL databases; proficiency in SQL and Python; experience designing ETL/ELT pipelines and data integration processes; knowledge of data modeling and modern data architectures, including Data Warehouses, Data Lakes, and Lakehouses; experience with data engineering tools and frameworks such as Spark, Databricks, Delta Lake, Parquet, Airflow, or equivalent technologies. Familiarity with cloud environments such as Azure, AWS, or GCP and their related data services. Knowledge of code versioning tools such as Git and, preferably, CI/CD practices. Experience in monitoring data processes, data quality, logging, and troubleshooting. Knowledge of data governance principles, data security, and access management.
The following skills are a plus: experience with streaming data, such as Kafka or similar technologies. Knowledge of dbt, Docker, Kubernetes, or Terraform. Experience in industrial/manufacturing environments and data integration from factory systems.
Familiarity with platforms or architectures supporting AI/ML or agentic use cases.
Soft Skills: strong analytical thinking and problem-solving attitude; ability to explain complex technical concepts in a clear and accessible way to non-specialists; collaborative, with a team-oriented and cross-functional approach in multidisciplinary environments; proactive attitude and operational autonomy, curious and open to explore new technologies and cross-sector solutions; attention to quality, documentation, and continuous improvement; high standards of integrity, confidentiality and professional ethics.
Language and Communication: very good written and spoken English (for international partners, documentation, and presentations); good working knowledge of Italian.

What we offer

• The opportunity to work at the intersection of industry, research and startups in one of Italy’s most important sectors, collaborating closely with major industrial partners and the University of Pisa;
• involvement in high-impact innovation projects, from early concept through pilots and industrial scaling;
• a dynamic, flexible environment where scientific and technical skills are central to the mission;
• employment contract in line with the Italian National Collective Agreement for the RAL 28-36K based on skills and experience;
• professional development opportunities in innovation, project management and technology transfer, in addition to technical specialization.

Contact

For any additional information check the web site www.startattractor.eu