Senior Backend Engineer - Data Platforms

Context Labs; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Context Labs seeks a Senior Backend Engineer to lead our data platforms and drive large-scale systems architecture, APIs, and product capabilities. You will lead engineering across distributed teams, mentor juniors, and collaborate with Product and R&D to translate requirements into scalable, reliable services using Java, Scala, Python, Spark, and Databricks, with Docker/Kubernetes.

This Amsterdam-based role reports to the CTO and emphasizes hands-on coding, code quality, and cross-functional

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience building large-scale or 'big data' systems.
• Strong knowledge of modern application architectures and data processing tech (Spark, Flink, Arrow).
• Experience with workflow orchestration platforms (Dagster, Airflow, Dolphin).
• Proficiency in JVM languages and Python; Java frameworks such as Spring.
• API development experience (REST, GraphQL, gRPC).
• Experience with data lakes/data fabrics; platforms like Databricks.
• Proficiency with Docker, Kubernetes, microservices, and relational databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL).
• Experience with testing, source control, and distributed team collaboration.
• Excellent communication and leadership for mentoring engineers.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a technical authority and leadership for architecture and delivery.
• Design, develop, and maintain data systems for the Immutably Platform with scalable solutions.
• Translate business requirements into technical designs, estimates, and tasks.
• Lead projects using Java, Scala, and Python; promote engineering best practices.
• Collaborate in an Agile environment and coordinate across time zones.
• Coach and mentor engineers on technical and methodological challenges.

Skills

Java

Scala

Python

REST APIs

GraphQL

gRPC

Spark

Flink

Arrow

Dagster

Airflow

Docker

Kubernetes

MySQL

PostgreSQL

Databricks

NoSQL

NewSQL

Delta Sharing

Iceberg

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science

Tools

Spring

Databricks

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Senior Backend Engineer – Data Platforms

Amsterdam, NL

About this position:

Context Labs is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to help drive forward our product initiatives with our data management platform and analytics spaces. Working as a leader within the development team, the engineer will lead many aspects of developing our “big data” systems, APIs, and related product capabilities; as well as provide thought leadership, upskilling of less senior engineers, and taking part in defining strategic linkages across the company’s products. This role will report to the CTO.

In this role you will:

• Serve as a technical authority, providing engineering leadership and architectural guidance.
• Design, develop, and maintain data systems and services for the Immutably™ Platform, ensuring scalable, performant, and maintainable solutions.
• Translate business requirements into technical designs, estimates, and development tasks in collaboration with Product and Engineering.
• Lead technical projects using appropriate programming languages, including Java, Scala, and Python.
• Establish engineering best practices through high-quality code, architecture, documentation, and code reviews.
• Collaborate within an Agile development environment to deliver high-quality software.
• Coach and mentor engineers through technical and methodological challenges.
• Coordinate engineering efforts across distributed teams and multiple time zones.

• Anything else as may reasonably be required by the company.

Experience & Skills:

• 10+ years of experience developing large-scale or “big data” systems, with strong knowledge of modern application architectures.
• Expertise with modern data processing technologies such as Spark, Flink, and Arrow, including large-scale query processing.
• Experience with workflow orchestration and scheduling platforms such as Dolphin, Dagster, and Airflow.
• Strong programming experience with JVM languages and Python, including Java frameworks such as Spring.
• Proficiency in API development and integration, including RESTful APIs, GraphQL, and gRPC.
• Experience developing data lakes/data fabrics and working with platforms such as Databricks.
• Proficiency with Docker, Kubernetes, microservices, and relational databases such as MySQL and PostgreSQL.
• Experience with digital asset creation/registration, unit and functional testing, and source code management.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to work independently and take ownership of technical initiatives.
  

Preferred Experience:

• Experience with functional programming
• Experience leveraging AI tools – not only building & working with them.
  • Tools such as Github Copilot, Cursor AI, Claude Code, Bolt, Open AI Codex, etc. across all disciplines.
• Experience with languages other than Java
• Experience with frameworks other than Spring (Quarkus/Helidon/etc)
• Experience leading technical talks on topics relating to microservice based systems and processes
• Experience with NoSQL/NewSQL databases
• Experience working with the Delta Sharing, Iceberg ReST and other such protocols
• A bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field

Why you’ll like it here:

• Context Labs is collaborative at its core. You’ll work within your team and across the organization allowing for continuous learning and discovery.
• We set goals that matter and provide value in all that we do, from building meaningful products to positively impacting carbon reduction and climate change.
• Context Labs’ mission is to transform complex data into continuously proven information. Powered by Immutably™, an innovative, trusted data fabric platform, our integrated solutions deliver context-driven insights that enable human networks to spot patterns, correlate trends – and reveal the ground truth hidden inside the world’s most complicated, persistent problems.

We understand that applying for a job can be intimidating. Applicants rarely meet every single job requirement, and we know there are many skills and backgrounds that will contribute to success in this role.

Context Labs embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We believe the more inclusive we are, the better our products will be. Context Labs will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. If you require accommodation, please contact Human Resources at [e-mail].

Who we are:

Context Labs builds industrial AI data infrastructure for global markets, giving energy and industrial companies trusted data and AI outputs they can defend. Its platform turns fragmented operational and emissions data into continuously proven information, while sensitive data stays within each company’s own environment. Because the data is verified and the workflows validated, one platform can support any output, from carbon management and compliance to commercial use. The company grew out of research at MIT and is led by a team that helped build the internet at scale through earlier companies. Context Labs has offices in Amsterdam, Cambridge, Mass., and Houston, TX. Learn more at www.contextlabs.com.