Platform Engineer

Public digital infrastructure belongs in public hands. At SURF, this isn’t just an empty promise it’s the reason we built our own developer platform from the ground up: open source and deliberately independent of the major U.S. cloud providers. Services for the entire Dutch higher education and research sector now run on this platform, and that number is growing rapidly.

As a Platform Engineer, do you want to build technology that truly makes a difference? Together with a small, driven team, you’ll work on the SURF Developer Platform, which supports an ever-increasing number of critical services. You’ll operate with one foot in a startup environment with plenty of room to set the direction and innovate and the other foot in an environment where reliability and continuity are essential.

You know when speed is important and when to make choices that will have an impact for years to come. We’re looking for an experienced Platform Engineer who not only excels in technology but also identifies with our mission and is eager to actively promote it.

Where you will work

SURF is the ICT cooperative for Dutch education and research institutions. 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 composition 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

As a Platform Engineer, you’ll be part of the Development Team within the Accessible and Open Education & Research (AOER) unit. This team consists of Platform Engineers, Software Developers, and Designers, and supports multidisciplinary product teams in the ongoing development of services.

You’ll be part of a small team currently consisting of four Platform Engineers and will also be in regular contact with developers and technical product managers.

What you will do

The SURF Developer Platform enables our development teams to build software according to the principles of platform engineering. Specifically, we provide those teams with GitLab pipelines and components, Kubernetes clusters, and managed services on those clusters: API gateways, backups, managed databases, and Kafka.

Your day-to-day work is varied. You’ll support the developers building on the platform and help them troubleshoot any issues that arise. You’ll maintain and manage both the GitLab pipelines and the Kubernetes clusters. And you’ll help develop new functionality and roll it out. Occasionally, this will involve writing code yourself, so some programming knowledge will come in handy.

Your skills and experience

You are an experienced platform engineer who is equally at home in operations and software development. You have proven experience with several of these technologies:

• GitLab (pipelines and components)
• Kubernetes
• FluxCD
• Grafana / Prometheus / Loki / Tempo
• Terraform

Must-haves

• You thrive in complex environments and are naturally curious: you adapt quickly and easily
• Exclusively open source, independent of the major cloud providers: this suits you because you believe in it, not because you have to
• You have a deep understanding of the technology and, at the same time, enjoy working with people
• You’re equally at home in operations and software development
• At least a higher vocational education (HBO) level of work and thinking, with five or more years of experience as a Platform Engineer
• You already live in the Netherlands and have a valid residence permit

Nice-to-haves

• Experience in the semi-public or government sector: you know what it’s like to build something that matters to society, where both care and speed count
• You see the freedom to shape the platform’s direction as a gift, not a burden

And perhaps most importantly: you’re someone who has a deep understanding of technology and, at the same time, enjoys working with people. Someone who understands that, ultimately, it’s not about the platform itself, but about what students, faculty, and researchers can do with it.

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