Architect International Education Standards

Are you a strategic thinker with in-depth knowledge of educational technology and standards? Would you like to contribute to the digital transformation of Dutch education? Would you also like to play a key international role? You can do so by working together on the adoption, further development and interoperability of international standards. Are you interested? Then we are looking for 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. The growing internationalisation of education, with programmes such as Erasmus+ and the European University Alliance, necessitates international services and innovations. As an International Standards Architect, you will make an important contribution.

The team you will join

You will be working in the team currently known as Education Logistics, but which will be renamed Architecture & Interoperability on 1 January 2026. This team is responsible for the architecture in this entire domain within the Accessible and Open Education & Research unit. In your role, it will be particularly important to work closely with the Flexible Education team. This team works on services such as edubadges and SURFeduhub, which are important building blocks of the standards in (international) collaborations.

Working at SURF means working for a unique and open organisation. This is evident in everything: the structure of the organisation, the set-up of the project teams, the culture in our offices and the atmosphere among colleagues. SURF offers excellent terms of employment and a flexible approach to work/life balance. Employees enjoy working independently. In addition, everyone is given the space and freedom to use and develop their talents as effectively and broadly as possible.

What you will do

• You represent SURF and Npuls' strategy for educational standards in the international arena. You also ensure that international developments are incorporated into this strategy.
• You translate policy objectives and user requirements into architectures and information models that are compatible with European models.
• You act as a bridge between educational institutions, EdTech suppliers and standardisation organisations.
• You represent the The Netherlands in international working groups (such as 1EdTech / IEEE / W3C / EDEH).
• You support European initiatives to promote cooperation between institutions, such as the European Digital Education Hub and GÉANT.

Your skills and experience

• You have good verbal and written English skills. You also have an academic level of working and thinking.
• You have experience with interoperability and semantic standards in education.
• You have thorough knowledge of at least one standard such as OOAPI, Open Badges/Verifiable Credentials, QTI, LTI, One Roster or EDUAPI.
• You are familiar with linked data, RDF, SHACL or OpenAPI.
• You have strong communication skills and experience with stakeholder management. You also work independently, are proactive and analytical.
• You are willing to travel and participate in international consultations in other time zones.

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