Technical Lead - Cloud & EO Platform Services

Job Description
About Solenix and our qualities
Solenix is a privately owned and international company providing engineering and consulting services in the space market, with branches in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.

We are known for high-quality services, user-oriented solutions, reliable partnerships and constructive collaboration. Our customers include space agencies such as ESA, EUMETSAT and DLR, as well as large private sector companies.

Solenix is specialized in distributed systems and client applications and applies modern technologies with a focus on high-performing, robust and light solutions.

Why should you apply?

• Solenix is a group of motivated, dynamic and creative people who enjoy high-quality work, as well as a relaxed and flexible work atmosphere.
• You can expect a friendly working environment, exciting and challenging projects and varied team events.
• Solenix focuses on solution-oriented and innovative approaches.

Job Description
We are looking for a Technical Lead to drive the architecture, implementation and deployment of cloud-based platforms in the Earth Observation domain. You will own the technical direction of a platform across its full lifecycle, from service specification through integration, deployment and validation, working in an international, multi-partner environment.

This is a hands-on senior role: you are expected to be as comfortable defining platform architecture and reviewing requirements as you are configuring cloud deployments or debugging a data pipeline yourself.

Your key responsibilities include:

• Lead the specification of platform services based on consolidated stakeholder requirements
• Provide technical input to stakeholder engagement activities, supporting the consolidation of user and data owner requirements into platform specifications
• Define and maintain the platform architecture, built on modern containerisation and orchestration technologies
• Drive the integration and deployment of platform components, including EO data onboarding and containerised application execution
• Oversee data storage layers and ensure data integrity and standards compliance
• Ensure secure access control across data and applications using modern authentication frameworks
• Coordinate verification and validation activities ahead of milestone reviews
• Lead the preparation and delivery of platform demonstrations for end users, value adders and stakeholders at project showcase events
• Contribute technical input to project deliverables, development plans and progress documentation- Support planning and capacity allocation for technical work packages
• Supervise and mentor supporting software and application engineers
• Act as the primary technical point of contact for clients, partners and consortium members in project meetings, milestone reviews and cross-company technical discussions

Essential qualifications and experience

• University degree or equivalent education in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related discipline
• Several years of experience architecting and developing cloud-based platforms or distributed software systems
• Hands-on experience with Docker and Kubernetes in production environments
• Proficient in Python, with hands-on backend development experience (e.g. Django, Celery, or comparable frameworks)
• Familiarity with geospatial and EO data standards and interfaces (e.g. STAC, OGC APIs, OpenSearch, CWL)- Experience with object storage solutions and common EO data formats
• Experience with authentication and authorisation frameworks (OAuth2/OIDC, RBAC)- Strong software development background, with practical experience across containerised services, data pipelines and API integrations and the ability to contribute hands-on when required
• Ability to communicate design decisions clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Strong prioritisation and time-management skills
• Fluent in the English language

Other desirable qualifications and experience

• Prior experience with ESA-funded activities or similar space-agency projects
• Familiarity with EO exploitation platform frameworks (e.g. EOEPCA/EOEPCA+, openEO)
• Experience with EO data visualisation or dashboard frameworks
• Knowledge of business-case-driven platform design (balancing reusability, cost-effectiveness and scalability)
• Experience leading small technical teams
• German or French language skills