Most "data engineer" roles are glorified plumbing: drag boxes around in a UI, babysit a scheduler, hope nothing breaks overnight. This is not that.
We are looking for a Senior Data Engineer who comes from software engineering and treats data pipelines like the production software they are. Version control, tests, modular design, code review. If you have ever looked at a 2,000-line notebook held together by hope and thought "this should be a properly structured repo", we should talk.
At Sytac you work inside the data platforms that run some of the Netherlands' largest companies: KLM, ABN AMRO, ING, Rabobank, Bol, Ahold. Real volume, real reliability requirements, real ownership. You join an enterprise team and ship to prod, with the autonomy to build it right instead of fast-and-sorry.
What you'll do
- Build ETL/ELT in Python, PySpark, and SQL that is as maintainable as any backend service, modular, tested, versioned. Not a pile of one-off scripts.
- Design Lakehouse environments using Medallion (Bronze/Silver/Gold) and proper dimensional/Star Schema modelling on Azure and GCP.
- Own infrastructure as code (Terraform or Bicep) and containerized deployments on Docker and Kubernetes. No clicking through portals to ship.
- Orchestrate with Apache Airflow and run real CI/CD for data (Azure DevOps/GitHub Actions) so pipelines deploy and test like applications.
- Use AI seriously in your workflow, Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, and bring LLMs into pipelines where they earn their place, not as a buzzword.
- Translate messy business logic into clean specs, set the quality bar with the code you write, and keep lineage and governance honest.
What we're looking for
You think like a software engineer first and a data person second. Clean, tested, reusable code is your default, not an aspiration.
- 6+ years building production software, HBO/WO level of thinking.
- Expert Python and SQL across PostgreSQL, MSSQL, and Oracle.
- Deep Apache Spark/PySpark for distributed processing, plus pandas/polars for the smaller stuff.
- Azure Databricks, Data Factory, and Synapse, and/or GCP (BigQuery, Dataflow).
- Lakehouse/Data Lake environments with Star/dimensional modelling.
- Apache Airflow for orchestration.
- Git, Azure DevOps Pipelines, and CI/CD built specifically for data pipelines.
- Docker and Kubernetes, day to day.
- Kafka for streaming, Elasticsearch where it fits.
- Data quality, lineage, and governance treated as first-class, not an afterthought.
- AI-assisted development as a real part of how you work.
- Strong stakeholder management, you can talk to the business and turn what they need into solid technical work.
- Strong English. NL residency required, expats already living and working in the Netherlands are very welcome. We are not offering relocation for this role.
Nice to have (genuinely nice, not secretly required)
- A JVM background: Scala, Java, or Kotlin is a real plus given the software-first angle.
- Dutch language.
- dbt, FastAPI, Terraform/Bicep.
- GitHub Actions, Helm, ArgoCD.
- OpenAI/Azure OpenAI and LLM integration in pipelines.
Life at Sytac
Working at Sytac means joining a community that prioritizes your growth. Our benefits package is designed for flexibility, learning, and adventure:
- Unlimited Growth Days: Enjoy your professional development and Sytac activities!
- The Best Gear: Pick a private laptop (<€4,000) with 50% paid by us, plus a tech budget.
- Invest in You: A €2,400 annual growth budget for training and conferences.
- Future Proof: We contribute 3.75% to your pension.
- Legendary Trips: Join our annual ski trips, beach BBQs, and epic parties!