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Aiven is building an AI-native open-source data platform that integrates best-of-breed technologies like DataHub for data governance and discovery, unified federated querying, and agentic workflows. The team operates like an early-stage startup within Aiven, moving fast and defaulting to extreme ownership.
As a Senior Software Engineer, you will own the full stack from backend services (Python) to the React-based Aiven Console, taking on architecturally significant and ambiguous problems. You'll drive technical direction on complex, open-ended challenges where the right approach isn't obvious—evaluating variable factors, choosing methods, and defining patterns the team builds on.
Key responsibilities include: launching and maintaining managed open-source products like DataHub on Aiven; designing and productionizing AI-first workflows including synthetic metadata generation and automated data discovery; constructing the Aiven Context Layer with seamless integrations; mentoring other engineers and raising technical standards; and contributing back to the open-source ecosystem.
You'll work on building AI context workflows that reduce hallucinations, partner across product and design teams, and communicate technical tradeoffs to broader business audiences. The role emphasizes an AI-first mindset—actively using LLMs and agentic workflows to supercharge daily coding, automate mundane tasks, and optimize deployment pipelines.
Required: senior software engineering experience with a track record of solving complex problems; deep proficiency in Python with judgment to select and evaluate techniques; solid React and TypeScript experience with product intuition; sound technical judgment to work independently; an AI-first development workflow already integrated into your process; comfort in ambiguous, startup-like environments; and familiarity with modern data stack foundations (PostgreSQL, OpenSearch, Kafka).
Nice-to-have: early startup experience, active open-source contributions, background in data catalogs or ontologies, experience with agentic workflows or Text-to-SQL, and mentoring experience.
