Platform Engineer Developer Platform

Would you like to help build a developer platform according to the latest insights? Would you like to work for an organisation with a social impact? We are going to create a leading developer platform for Npuls, SURF and collaborative partners. Does this get your heart beating faster? Then join us!

Where you will work

The National Growth Fund programme Npuls is an eight-year programme in which all public secondary vocational schools, colleges and universities in the Netherlands work together. The aim is to improve the quality of education, increase the flexibility of education and improve the digital skills of teachers and learners.

SURF is a partner in Npuls and SURF is the IT cooperative of Dutch educational and research institutions. Together with them, we work on digital services and complex innovation issues to increase the quality of education and research. As a platform engineer, you will make an important contribution to this.

The team you will join

You will work in the Education Services department of SURF and develop a Developer Platform together with your team. To this end, you will work with colleagues from various departments within SURF and the Npuls programme. Initially, the platform will be used for the software we develop within the Npuls programme. The ambition is to make this the developer platform for the whole of SURF and its partners.

The team that this position will be part of will be started soon. Currently, you will be working with at least one direct (permanent) colleague. You will also be working with two externally hired colleagues. Of course, you will also be working a lot with developers who are already active within the Npuls programme and SURF, and with colleagues who are working on underlying solutions for the developer platform. SURF has an open culture.

The Developer Platform

You will be working on the Developer Platform. The platform is crucial in the standardisation of software development for education. It offers developers access to many tools. Examples include standardised CI/CD components, a developer portal, application templates and shared services such as OpenSearch and PostgreSQL. The platform integrates seamlessly with systems and platforms such as Kubernetes and Git. This allows teams to build and host their own software. We provide tools for the latter, such as monitoring and backups.

What you will do

As a platform engineer, you will help build the Developer Platform. You will ensure that development teams can get started on the platform effortlessly. You will use the platform to meet all their infrastructural requirements. You will develop new functionalities and maintain and improve existing functionalities. You will advise and support development teams with questions about the platform.

Other tasks you will handle:

• You will develop and manage Gitlab CI/CD components. You will also set up Continuous Deployment (CD) tools for Kubernetes infrastructure deployments.
• You will set up our developer portal, which is based on Backstage, and develop it.
• You will introduce additional managed services such as OpenSearch or a Galera operator.
• You contribute ideas about the architecture and design of the Developer Platform.
• You develop and manage application templates. You also support users of the platform.
• You continuously improve the Developer Platform, for example by improving the central tooling for users of the platform or new data services.

Your skills and experience

• You have experience in setting up and managing a DevOps infrastructure, such as Kubernetes and related tooling.
• You have a flexible attitude to work: the platform is still in full development. You get a buzz from taking it to the next level together with the team.
• You have experience with GitOps methods. Experience with FluxCD is an advantage. Experience with an on-prem Kubernetes environment is an advantage.
• You have recent experience building high-quality software. You embrace the DevOps philosophy: ‘You build it, you own it’.
• You are a good team player. You are also meticulous and have high quality standards. You speak and write Dutch and English.

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