IT Experts - Application Development Engineers and Digital Workplace Architect - DGIS

Information Technology
Information Systems
14418

General Information

Type of contract Fixed-term contract, which may be extended subject to individual performance and organisational needs

Who can apply? EU nationals

Salary F/G (bracket 1 - step 1) full time monthly net salary: €5,876 plus benefits, for further information see what we offer.

Working time Full time

Place of work Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Closing date 24.09.2026

Your team

You will be part of the Directorate General Information Systems (DG-IS). Our Directorate General provides innovative, flexible and secure IT solutions to enable ECB and Eurosystem/ESCB staff to carry out their daily tasks. In addition to running and maintaining more than 100 available services, it is also responsible for the IT governance frameworks. The Directorate General consists of approximately 350 professionals delivering secure, scalable and data-driven IT solutions that support central banking, banking supervision and shared services across the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). 

We are looking for Application Development Engineers and a Digital Workplace Architect to join DG-IS. You will further develop the portfolio of products managed by DG-IS and work on major initiatives such as the Digital Euro project, the Analytics and Data project and the Integrated Reporting Framework project. You will have the opportunity to contribute to the Common Data Management programme, an ESCB/SSM project to design a future-proof solution for a state-of-the-art data and analytics environment for the ESCB and the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). 

The ECB is an inclusive  employer and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population we serve. We encourage you to apply irrespective of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other characteristics.

Your role

You will play a key role in the design, development and delivery of IT services, contributing to innovative solutions that support our organisation’s objectives.

As an Application Development Engineer you will:
• design, develop and enhance IT services within DG-IS;
• develop and implement secure automated tests, builds, deployments and continuous integration pipelines to improve quality assurance and streamline delivery;
• collaborate with product owners and business stakeholders to refine user stories and prioritise tasks according to business value;
• actively participate in Agile ceremonies (sprint planning, daily stand-ups, reviews and retrospectives);
• work with experts on architecture, security, governance, cloud computing and data protection to ensure compliance and quality;
• contribute to product team activities, share insights and present results to stakeholders when required. 

As a Digital Workplace Architect you will:
• design, develop and enhance the ECB’s digital workplace to ensure its employees can work as effectively as possible;
• actively contribute to defining the ECB’s digital workplace strategy and its implementation;
• drive the structural modernisation of legacy products together with our primary managed service provider;
• collaborate with architecture, security, data protection and other stakeholders to ensure the digital workplace meets compliance and quality standards;
• contribute to all end user computing team activities, share insights and present results to stakeholders when required. 

We actively support professional development for our staff. Besides learning opportunities such as training and mentoring, we encourage and support horizontal mobility after some years in the same position.

These roles offer you excellent opportunities to shape the future of DG-IS and actively contribute to our major initiatives. 

You will be part of a multicultural team that strives for continuous innovation to make a positive impact on the lives of European citizens.

Qualifications, experience and skills

IT Application Development Engineers

Essential: 
• a master’s degree (or equivalent) in computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, economics, finance, statistics or another relevant field (see How you can join us [https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/before-you-apply/html/index.en.html] for details on degree equivalences);
• in addition to the above, a minimum of four years’ experience in Data, software or cloud engineering;
• practical experience in Agile software development (e.g. SAFe, Scrum, Kanban);
• excellent analytical, drafting and presentation skills, with the ability to explain complex topics to diverse audiences;
• an advanced (C1) command of English and an intermediate (B1) command of at least one other official language of the EU, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages [https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/table-1-cefr-3.3-common-reference-levels-global-scale].

Desired for the Cloud Engineering profile: 
• experience in architecting secure large-scale cloud applications addressing the operational, security, reliability, performance, cost and sustainability dimensions;
• substantial experience in cloud provider-managed solutions, e.g. managed databases, managed function as a service, managed containers;
• proficiency in designing and deploying Kubernetes-based applications.

Desired for the Data Engineering profile: 
• extensive experience with ETL/ELT pipelines and data workflow orchestration tools (e.g. Apache Airflow, Databricks Jobs) for data lakehouses;
• experience of big data frameworks (e.g. Apache Spark, Hadoop, Kafka, Flink);
• proficiency in defining data governance and permissions across multiple datasets in a lakehouse serving an enterprise with multiple analytics engines (e.g. Lakekeeper, Ranger) across different organisations;
• solid knowledge of data modelling, data warehousing and modern storage solutions (e.g. Apache Iceberg, object storage, Trino, Impala, Hive);
• experience designing, building and optimising data lakes and data warehouses.

Desired for the Software Engineering profile: 
• proficiency in multiple programming languages (e.g. Java, Python, JavaScript/Typescript, Rust) and build tools (e.g. Gradle, Maven, npm);
• experience describing and presenting detailed technical designs and architectures;
• experience building secure complex web applications using languages and frameworks such as Spring, Angular, FastAPI, Django;
• experience with Git, Gitflows, CI/CD, unit testing, static code analysis and working with open source;
• sound knowledge of SQL and NoSQL databases (e.g. document, key-value, column-family, graph).
You engage collaboratively with others. You pursue team goals and learn willingly from other people’s diverse perspectives. You signal any need for change by explaining it and proposing alternative solutions. You analyse complex information effectively and can evaluate different views to arrive at solutions. You know and anticipate stakeholder needs.

Digital Workplace Architect

Essential: 
• a master’s degree (or equivalent) in computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, economics, finance, statistics or another relevant field (see How you can join us [https://www.ecb.europa.eu/careers/before-you-apply/html/index.en.html] for details on degree equivalences);
• in addition to the above, a minimum of four years’ experience in designing digital workplace solutions; 
• excellent analytical, drafting and presentation skills, with the ability to explain complex topics to diverse audiences;
• an advanced (C1) command of English and an intermediate (B1) command of at least one other official language of the EU, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages [https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/table-1-cefr-3.3-common-reference-levels-global-scale].

Desired: 
• highly skilled in driving alignment across IT disciplines to identify and prioritise user needs in relation to the operational, security, reliability, cost and sustainability dimensions and in delivering outcomes at enterprise scale;
• experience of successfully managing and delivering workplace solutions and modernising legacy products in close collaboration with a managed service provider;
• experience describing and presenting detailed technical designs and architectures, as well as functional roadmaps;
• solid knowledge of security-by-design in the digital workplace, such as Zero Trust, identity and access management, endpoint security, information protection, data loss prevention and privacy and regulatory requirements;
• hands-on experience with M365 and other standards from the Microsoft suite;
• understanding of AI-enabled workplace capabilities and other emerging technologies, including Microsoft Copilot, and the associated security, data governance and adoption considerations. 

You are motivated to contribute to the ECB’s mission, to serve the citizens of the EU as a member of a public institution and to work with colleagues from all over Europe. You are motivated to be part of our team and to develop and use your skills and competencies to achieve the aims of this position. You are aware of your strengths and areas for development and know what motivates you to perform at your highest level.

Working modalities

To enable DG-IS to maintain its business continuity capability, you will occasionally be expected to perform work during non-standard working hours and work at the ECB’s standby sites.
We would be happy to discuss a part-time arrangement for the roles.

Further information

The formal title for the positions will be IT Expert.

The initial contracts of the Application Development Engineer profiles will be issued specifically for the Common Data Management programme and will have a fixed term ending on 30/09/2029. 

The contract of the Digital Workplace Architect profile is a fixed-term contract which may be converted into a permanent contract after three years subject to individual performance and organisational needs.

The reserve lists may be used to fill similar Expert positions in other Business Areas of the ECB.

Temporary appointments may be extended or made permanent subject to organisational needs and budgetary constraints. This may result in a staff member with a non-convertible fixed-term contract being offered a convertible contract in accordance with the ECB Conditions of Employment.

For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can speak to the hiring manager, Antonio Morlupi, on +49 172 894 8660 between 17.30 and 18.30 on Tuesday, 15 September; between 08.30 and 09.30 on Wednesday, 16 September; and between 17.30 and 18.30, on Monday, 21 September CET. 

Application and selection process

The recruitment process for this position will be conducted remotely. It may include a written exercise, a presentation, a panel interview and a technical interview.

If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list (see step 4 of How we hire), from which you might be considered for similar positions within the ECB.

Find out how to apply for a position at the ECB. 

Read more about how you can join us.

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