Information Engineer/Knowledge Graph Developer

Join our team to the next possible date as

Information Engineer / Knowledge Graph Developer

The Institute for Advanced Simulation – Materials Data Science and Informatics (IAS-9) at Forschungszentrum Jülich works at the intersection of data science, research software engineering and semantic technologies. The research focus area “Metadata and Information Systems” focuses on building practical, reusable information systems that support modern, data-driven science. Our work spans the full spectrum from conceptual metadata modeling and ontology development to hands-on software engineering for research data infrastructures. We are strongly involved in large-scale national initiatives such as the Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration (HMC), where we shape metadata services and semantic infrastructure to be embedded in scientific workflows and used across disciplines. A core pillar is the Helmholtz Knowledge Graph which connects metadata from infrastructures across Helmholtz and makes it usable for discovery, integration, and analysis. Our goal is not only to build a coherent knowledge graph, but to make it useful, maintainable, and extensible as part of a living research ecosystem.

Institute issuing the offer: IAS-9

Your Job:

You will join a heterogeneous team of software developers, semantic data engineers, metadata experts, and scientists. Your work will be strongly hands-on and centered around the Helmholtz Knowledge Graph. Together, you will work on:

• Developing and extending the Helmholtz KG data model, translating scientific and infrastructure requirements into robust, maintainable schemas and ontologies.
• Designing and implementing semantic mappings from external metadata standards, ontologies, and controlled vocabularies into the HelmholtzKG data model.
• Building and operating automated data pipelines for harvesting, transforming, and enriching metadata from external infrastructures.
• Improving data quality within the graph, including validation, consistency checks, entity resolution, and semi-automatic curation workflows.
• Developing pragmatic tooling around the KG, enabling analysis, monitoring, and continuous improvement of graph content.
• Contributing to the technical and strategic evolution of the HelmholtzKG, including milestone research, definition and priorization within the development team.
• Supporting knowledge transfer and adoption, e.g. through workshops, technical documentation, and targeted training activities.

Your Profile:

We are looking for someone who enjoys building software for science, likes to work across disciplinary boundaries, and is motivated to improve research infrastructures in a very practical way. Ideally, you bring:

• A completed university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in data science, information engineering, computer science, or a related field; a doctorate is welcome but not required.
• Experience working in an academic or research-oriented environment, with an understanding of how scientific workflows and research data infrastructures operate.
• A strong software engineering background, with very good practical programming skills in Python; experience with other languages is a plus.
• Hands-on experience with metadata schemas and formats, semantic technologies, and knowledge graphs, e.g. schema.org, DCAT, DataCite, Dublin Core, RDF, OWL, JSON-LD.
• Knowledge of semantic modeling and ontology development using relevant tools such as Protege.
• Practical experience in designing data pipelines, data transformation, validation, enrichment, and working with graph-based or relational data models.
• Familiarity with any relevant tools and technologies such as workflow managers, containerization, graph databases, triple stores, or search systems (e.g. pydantic, Docker, Apache Airflow, PostGres, Virtuoso, Qlever, OpenSearch) is a plus.
• Experience with collaborative and open-source software development, version control systems, Linux environments, and SSH.
• Very good command of written and spoken English (at least B2 level according to the CEFR: https://go.fzj.de/languagerequirements ), ideally supported by a certificate confirming the language level and enjoyment of working in a highly heterogeneous, interdisciplinary team.

Our Offer:

We offer you the opportunity to work on infrastructure that supports scientific research across Helmholtz. You can expect:
INTERNATIONAL & MULTIDISCIPLINARY ENVIRONMENT: Secure employment in an international, multidisciplinary setting that combines software engineering, information science, and domain-specific research
TEAM CULTURE: A collaborative team culture that values pragmatic solutions, high technical quality, and effective teamwork
IMPACT & INNOVATION: The opportunity to shape and develop a core semantic infrastructure that is actively used and continuously evolving
KNOWLEDGE & FURTHER TRAINING: Your professional development is important to us – we provide targeted, individual support
WORK-LIFE BALANCE: Optimal conditions for balancing work and private life, as well as a family-friendly company policy. The option of flexible working (in terms of location) is generally available after consultation and in line with upcoming tasks and (on-site) appointments
VACATION: You will receive 30 days of vacation plus additional days off (e.g. between Christmas and New Year`s
FLEXIBILITY: Flexible working time models, including options close to full-time ( https://go.fzj.de/near-full-time ), allow you to tailor your working hours to suit your individual needs
SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYEES: Our International Advisory Service makes it easier for international employees to get started
PERSPECTIVE: The position is initially for a fixed term of 2 years, with possible long-term prospects.
FAIR REMUNERATION: Depending on your existing qualifications and the tasks assigned to you, you will be classified in pay grade 13 of the TVöD-Bund (Collective Agreement for the Public Service). All information on the TVöD-Bund collective agreement can be found on the BMI website: https://go.fzj.de/bmi.tvoed . The monthly salaries in euros can be found on page 69 and following of the PDF download

In addition to exciting tasks and a collegial working environment, we offer you much more: https://go.fzj.de/benefits

We look forward to your application, including

• a motivation letter,
• a CV,
• two references and/or letters of recommendation (e.g. from a previous supervisor).

Please highlight relevant experience in your motivation letter, ideally with links to open-source projects, code repositories, or scientific publications where applicable.
We aim to fill the position as soon as possible. The advertisement will be taken offline once the position is filled.

We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds, e.g. in terms of age, gender, disability, sexual orientation / identity, and social, ethnic and religious origin. A diverse and inclusive working environment with equal opportunities in which everyone can realize their potential is important to us.

The following links provide further information on diversity and equal opportunities: https://go.fzj.de/equality and on specific support options: https://go.fzj.de/womens-job-journey

Place of employment: Jülich/Aachen

The job will be advertised until the position has been successfully filled. You should therefore submit your application as soon as possible. We look forward to receiving your application via our
Online-Recruitment-System!

Questions about the vacancy?
Get in touch with us by using our contact form
Please note that for technical reasons we cannot accept applications via email.

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