Cloud Engineer for the "Health + Life Science Alliance Data Space”

Reference number: 2025-0228

• Heidelberg
• Full-time
• German Human Genome-Phenome Archive

"Research for a life without cancer" is our mission at the German Cancer Research Center. We investigate how cancer develops, identify cancer risk factors and look for new cancer prevention strategies. We develop new methods with which tumors can be diagnosed more precisely and cancer patients can be treated more successfully. Every contribution counts – whether in research, administration or infrastructure. This is what makes our daily work so meaningful and exciting.

The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in Heidelberg is Germany’s largest biomedical research institution. Within the thriving biomedical research hub of the Rhine-Neckar region, the DKFZ is contributing to the "Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim" promoting research and innovation through synergy by bridging world-leading life science and biomedical research institutions and by bringing together a highly diverse range of disciplines and a cluster of top researchers. Heidelberg University with its faculties of Medicine, Biosciences, and Engineering Sciences, the University Hospital Heidelberg and the University Hospital Mannheim, the German Cancer Research Center, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, and the Central Institute for Mental Health have the common goal to develop the Rhine-Neckar region into a world-leading innovation cluster by supporting cutting-edge research and promoting transfer of knowledge into new diagnostics and therapeutics.

Within the Alliance, we are building the "Health + Life Science Alliance Data Space” as an inter-institutional data space to facilitate data sharing, joint data analyses, and seamless integration with existing projects and data ecosystems with the ultimate aim to enable research in medicine in life sciences. Our platform will empower researchers to collaborate across institutions, utilizing cloud and on-premise computing and storage resources to drive scientific innovation.

To strengthen our team, we are seeking for the next possible date a

Role Overview:

Dedicated to the continuous improvement of human health, we are seeking a cloud engineer to join our newly formed team tasked with designing and implementing the core system for this data space. The system will be primarily built on AWS, with on-premise compute and storage options to be added later. As a cloud engineer, you will play a key role in developing a scalable, secure, and efficient cloud infrastructure that supports research projects across institutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and maintain a scalable cloud infrastructure on AWS to support project management, research data sharing, and computing
• Develop Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions using tools like Terraform or AWS CloudFormation
• Implement containerized compute environments using Kubernetes (EKS) or Docker-based orchestration
• Enable hybrid cloud solutions, integrating AWS with on-premise compute and storage resources
• Design and optimize data storage solutions using AWS S3 and integrate on-premise S3-compatible storage options
• Ensure compliance with security, privacy, and regulatory requirements for handling sensitive research data
• Collaborate with web developers and other engineers to integrate cloud services with the data space management system
• Monitor system performance, troubleshoot issues, and implement optimizations for reliability and cost efficiency
• Maintain high-quality code with proper documentation, testing, and version control (Git)
• Develop and maintain documentation, CI/CD pipelines, and automation scripts

Your profile:

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• Strong experience with AWS services, including but not limited to EC2, S3, Lambda, IAM, VPC, and RDS
• Hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation, or similar)
• Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, AWS EKS, or similar)
• Knowledge of cloud networking, security best practices, and identity management
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, automation tools (e.g., GitHub Actions, Jenkins), and monitoring solutions
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary environment
• A strong background in industry standard DevOps tasks and processes

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with hybrid cloud environments and integrating on-premise resources with cloud services
• Understanding of data governance, compliance, and security frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.)
• Proficiency in Python, Go, or Bash scripting for automation
• Previous experience in academic research environments or health/life sciences data infrastructure

We Offer

Are you interested?

Then become part of the DKFZ and join us in contributing to a life without cancer!

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