Fullstack Developer Open Science

At SURF, we’re building the future of research in the Netherlands, and you can be a part of it. As a full-stack developer, you’ll help build an ecosystem that makes research information accessible, open, and reliable for everyone. Your code helps researchers and administrators at colleges and universities throughout the Netherlands to easily register, manage, and share their projects with the world. This is no ordinary development role: you’ll be working on infrastructure that truly matters, guided by the principles of Open Science. Ready to make a lasting contribution to open research in the Netherlands? Then we’d love to meet you.

Where you will work

SURF is the ICT cooperative for Dutch educational and research institutions. Together with them, we work on digital services and complex innovation challenges to enhance the quality of education and research.
Together with them, we work on digital services and complex innovation challenges to improve the quality of education and research.

Working at SURF means working for a unique and open organization. You can see this in everything: the structure of the organization, the setup of the project teams, the culture in our offices, and the atmosphere among colleagues. SURF offers excellent employment conditions and takes a flexible approach to work-life balance. Employees enjoy working independently. In addition, everyone is given the space and freedom to apply and develop their talents as effectively and broadly as possible.

The team you will join

You’ll be joining the relatively new Development Team: a growing team of platform engineers, developers, and designers. This means you’ll not only help build innovative solutions, but also actively contribute to the further development of the team itself and its culture.

As part of the Development Team, you will be assigned to the Open Science product team, which is part of the Accessible and Open Education and Research (AOER) unit. Within this team, we work on innovations to take Open Science in the Netherlands to the next level. You will spend most of your time in a section focused on establishing an ecosystem for open research information (see this document for more information).

We are looking for an independent Full Stack Developer who can mentor other developers and feels confident making architectural decisions.

What you will do

At SURF, we are building an ecosystem for all research information in the Netherlands, from repositories to reports. A crucial aspect of this is the point at which research information enters the system. The product you are working on aims to make this process simple, open, and reliable, resulting in a persistent, transparent, and accessible overview of all research projects for researchers and administrators.

We are committed to the principles of Open Science by using open data, open-source software, and our own cloud infrastructure. You play a crucial role in realizing that ambition.

• Developing and maintaining frontend and backend functionality, with a strong focus on backend
• Translating user needs and domain logic into clear workflows, APIs, and data models
• Collaborating with developers from other teams (within and outside SURF) on integrations with systems and standards such as ORCID, RAiD, repositories, and HR systems
• Building user-friendly interfaces for project registration, validation, management, and reporting
• Mentoring other developers, reviewing code, and helping the team make explicit, future-proof technical choices
• Working closely with product owners, designers, data engineers, architects, and stakeholders from universities of applied sciences

Your skills and experience

We are looking for an experienced Full Stack Developer who can bridge the gap between frontend and backend and provide guidance to other developers. You are confident in making implementation decisions and work closely with architects to create solutions that truly work for our users.

Additionally:

• You have a college or university level of education and thinking
• You have extensive experience with backend development and API design, REST/OpenAPI, and relational databases
• you have experience with Rust, TypeScript, and React
• you enjoy working in a small but cross-functional team and are eager to engage with stakeholders
• you naturally use version control, testing, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, and monitoring
• you are fluent in English; Dutch is a plus

It is an advantage if you:

• have experience with front-end development
• are familiar with container technologies and cloud environments
• have experience with open-source projects
• are familiar with Kubernetes, Helm, GitLab CI/CD, or similar cloud-native tooling
• have some knowledge of research information systems, repositories, or research metadata
• aren’t daunted by working in a team that is still building itself
• are accustomed to working in an Agile environment
• identify with the principles of Open Science

SURF takes pleasure in doing its recruitment itself; acquisition is therefore not appreciated.