Data Platform Developer

IFOM is an internationally recognized non-profit cancer research institute supported by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) based in Milan within a highly dynamic urban environment

IFOM continuous success is ensured by the recruitment of highly selected undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate researchers from over 24 countries worldwide.

IFOM is hosted within a research campus shared with the European Institute of Oncology and the Italian Institute of Technology.

IFOM is committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment, based on mutual respect and the enhancement of diversity, offering equal job opportunities to all qualified candidates.

We seek for our Institute: Data Platform Developer

About the position

Candidate will report directly to the Head of Research Computing & Data Science and will be responsible for contributing to the development and day-to-day operation of IFOM’s research Data Platform – a governed, metadata-centric environment that manages research data across its entire lifecycle (acquisition, curation, movement, and publication) on a hybrid infrastructure. The role is primarily development-focused: building and extending the platform’s services and integrations, with the awareness needed to operateand troubleshoot the underlying infrastructure. Working alongside the Research Computing & Data Science team and the platform’s implementation partner, the candidate will grow into progressive autonomy on the platform.

We are looking for a resource at the beginning of their career, with up to 2 years of experience; recent graduates with relevant project work are welcome to apply.

Candidate will be responsible for:

• Developing and extending the platform’s services, data pipelines, and integrations, writing clean, maintainable, version-controlled code.
• Building and maintaining data-ingestion and workflow-orchestration pipelines to acquire, validate, tier, and publish research data between storage systems and external repositories.
• Implementing and maintaining data- and metadata-governance policies (validation, lifecycle, and tiering rules) and supporting the platform’s data catalog.
• Operating and monitoring platform components running on containerized infrastructure, with enough awareness to inspect and troubleshoot the underlying infrastructure when needed.
• Contributing to the platform’s security and compliance posture – access controls, auditing, and safe handling of sensitive research data – in line with GDPR and institutional policies.
• Working with scientific facilities and research groups to translate their data workflows into platform integrations, treating the platform as a product researchers can rely on.
• Applying sound engineering practice to all work: version control, automated testing and deployment, reproducible environments, and repeatable procedures rather than manual one-off steps.
• Contributing to documentation, onboarding of research groups, and knowledge sharing within the team.

Qualification

This is a development-focused role designed for growth. The essential foundation is solid coding ability and, above all, a strong willingness to learn across data and platform engineering. The remaining skills will be developed on the job.

Essential

• Programming in Python for scripting, automation, and data pipelines, with a focus on clean, maintainable code.
• Solid command of Linux and the command line.
• SQL and relational databases (e.g. PostgreSQL).
• Fundamentals of containerization (Docker; Kubernetes is a strong plus).
• Version control with Git.

Appreciated (and further developed on the job)

• Data orchestration / integration tools (Apache Airflow, Apache NiFi, or equivalents).
• Infrastructure automation and configuration management (Ansible; Helm, Terraform, or equivalents are a plus).
• CI/CD pipelines and automated testing (e.g. GitLab CI, GitHub Actions).
• Familiarity with microservices architectures and REST APIs.
• Monitoring and observability tools (e.g. Prometheus, Grafana).
• Awareness of data security and privacy practices (access control, auditing) and of GDPR obligations for sensitive data.
• Exposure to HPC or bioinformatics environments.
• Understanding FAIR data principles and data-catalog / metadata-management concepts.

Education

A master’s degree in Computer Science, Software / Computer Engineering, Bioinformatics, or a related technical discipline. A bachelor’s degree combined with relevant experience or project work will also be considered.

Languages

Italian: native-level command (mother tongue);

English is essential at IFOM: advanced proficiency in spoken and written English is required;

Soft Skills

Strong willingness to learn across different domains – from data engineering to platform engineering – and a hands-on, proactive attitude; curiosity, growing autonomy, and a collaborative, low-ego approach to building tools that others rely on. Comfortable working in an agile, sprint-based team.

Communication skills. We work in a mixed disciplines environment, and we serve a variety of technical, scientific, and organizational stakeholders. Candidates showing the ability to convey ideas clearly and able to tailor communication style to diverse audiences will be favored.

Learning and teamwork attitudes; problem solving; good interpersonal skills; empathy; active listening skills, genuinely open to others' viewpoints and feedback. Collaborative and approachable, fostering trust and constructive dialogue within the team.

What we offer

International work environment; continuous training; flextime; relocation cost support; Guest house inside the Campus; Agreements with discounts for Gym, Pharmacy, Psychology service and various shops around Ifom area; bar and canteen inside the campus & lunch benefit; Company Nursery; continuous support to candidates and their families (including homing, schooling, registration to the national health system, work permit etc.) thanks to the activities of the Welcome office; Medical Service; Laptop; Caf service- tax declaration; Lab G: it is a lab specifically designed for pregnant or breastfeeding women researchers.

Type of Contract: Permanent contract, full time

Location: Milan - area Scalo di Porta Romana

Contact Details: If you are interested in this opportunity, please submit you CV and a letter of interest to: recruitment@ifom.eu

This announcement is addressed to both sexes pursuant to Laws 903/77 and 125/91 and to people of all ages and nationalities pursuant to Legislative Decrees 215/03 and 216/03.

Disclaimer privacy

Article 13 of the EU Regulation 2016/679) We inform you that the archiving and processing of data referring to you are carried out by IFOM - Istituto Fondazione di Oncologia Molecolare ETS in order to perform the recruitment process. Pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) the legal basis for the processing is the necessity to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract. Your data shall be communicated to third parties that could be located in countries outside the European Union for the recruitment process. IFOM has obtained the necessary guarantees to transfer the Data in compliance with the provisions of Chapter V of the GDPR. The resumes received will be deleted at the end of the calendar year following the one of receipt; if you are still interested in proposing your application you will have to re-send. According to Article 15 et seq of the EU Regulation 2016/679 to exercise your rights you can write to the Data Controller: IFOM - Istituto Fondazione di Oncologia Molecolare ETS, via Adamello 16, Milano, privacy-desk@ifom.eu.

Finally, we inform you that IFOM has appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) who can be contacted at dpo@ifom.eu