IT Application Development Specialists

Beschreibung:

General Information
Type of contract Fixed-term contract which may be converted into a permanent contract after three years subject to individual performance and organisational needs
Who can apply? EU nationals
Salary E/F (bracket 1 - step 1) full time monthly net salary: EUR4,611 plus benefits, for further information see what we offer.
Role specialisation IT Application Development
Working time Full time
Place of work Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Closing date 23.05.2024
Your team

You will be part of the Prudential Domain Services Division in the Directorate General Information Systems. You will join the new Agile Products team, which consists of technology-oriented experts who leverage innovative solutions and state-of-the-art tools to address challenges and drive value for our customers and stakeholders. We draw on the latest advances in technology to deliver bespoke IT solutions for use by the business areas we support, enabling them to enhance performance across the ECB's central banking and banking supervision functions. In the course of your daily responsibilities, you will work closely with colleagues in other parts of the ECB as well as in Eurosystem national competent authorities.

We are currently looking to fill several positions.

The services our team offers include:

* Navi: a network analytics service that enhances the analysis of interconnected data by providing advanced analytical capabilities. Navi runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and was built using the Neo4j graph database, React, Python and Kubernetes.
* Atlas and Hermes: services, implemented in the Mendix low-code platform, that streamline decision-making and briefing preparation workflows for various ECB business areas, including its two secretariats.
* Athena: an insight engine that applies enrichments through custom-built ML models leveraging Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques on large volumes of data. These enrichments help supervisors find and extract insights much more quickly from data originating from Agora (the European banking supervision prudential information database), public news articles and content management systems. Athena runs on AWS and was built using a customised Squirro Insight Engine, React, Python and Kubernetes. Through Virtual Lab, it uses Azure ML Studio to develop and enhance machine learning (ML) models.
* Delphi: applies custom-built ML models leveraging NLP techniques to link public news articles with changes in institutional sentiment. This helps supervisors gain a better understanding, more rapidly, of the reasons behind such changes. Delphi runs on AWS and was built using React, Python and Kubernetes. Through Virtual Lab, it uses Azure ML Studio to develop and enhance ML models.
* Heimdall: supports fit and proper assessments, which are used to determine whether members of supervised credit institution management bodies, and key function holders, where relevant under national law, are suitable for their roles. Heimdall runs on AWS and was built using AngularJS, Python and Kubernetes.
* Virtual Lab: enables collaboration across the ECB and the European System of Central Banks and enables data scientist teams across Europe to share, develop and train ML models to address multiple challenges. Virtual Lab leverages Sharepoint, Azure ML Studio and Microsoft Azure.
* Gabi: automates the conventional statistical model development workflows within the ECB, continuously estimating millions of models in the background and yielding those that are econometrically ideal. Experts can explore the generated model space, then review and optimise the models that are the most appropriate. Gabi runs on Kubernetes in AWS and was built using Python, R and R Shiny.

As a member of our new Agile Products team, you will be responsible for the development, maintenance and support operations for these supervisory technology (suptech) systems, transitioning them from external service providers. Your role will involve further enhancing the systems to ensure they remain user-friendly and effective in supporting banking supervision in Europe. In addition, you will be tasked with devising innovative IT solutions that align with the ECB's strategic objectives, contributing to the advancement of technology in regulatory oversight and supervision.

The ECB is an inclusive employer and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population we serve. We encourage you to apply irrespective of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other characteristics.

Your role

We are looking for several IT Application Development Specialists for the following roles: a) Full stack software engineer, and b) Machine learning engineer. In both cases, you will:

* contribute to the development, maintenance and support of suptech systems, ensuring they remain efficient and effective in supporting banking supervision;
* enhance the business and technical functionalities of suptech systems in line with user needs and evolving regulatory requirements;
* maintain existing functionalities and address defects according to defined processes, ensuring the reliability and stability of the systems;
* develop and implement automated tests, builds, deployments and continuous integration pipelines to streamline the development process and enhance quality assurance;
* work closely with the product owners to refine user stories and prioritise development tasks based on business value;
* actively participate in agile ceremonies, such as sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and sprint reviews and retrospectives, to foster collaboration and alignment within the team;
* engage with experts in IT and other business areas to address architecture, security, cloud computing, governance, data protection and other considerations to ensure the successful delivery of services;
* contribute to tasks as part of a product team, sharing insights and findings, and potentially presenting the team's work to various groups and stakeholders.

For the two roles, we are seeking candidates who demonstrate the potential for growth and we will support the selected candidates in their future development of the required knowledge, skills and competencies.

The position offers you the opportunity to play a crucial role in shaping the future of banking supervision by using cutting-edge technology and working closely with experts across the ECB and in European banking supervision. You will be part of a multicultural team that strives for continuous innovation to make a positive impact on the lives of European citizens.

Qualifications, experience and skills

Essential:

* For both roles:
* a bachelor's degree or equivalent in computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, economics, finance, statistics or another relevant field (see How you can join us for details on degree equivalences);
* in addition to the above, a minimum of one year of hands-on experience as a professional software developer and/or architect working on bespoke applications;
* hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure, Linux and containers;
* a working knowledge of relational database systems and ability to write complex queries;
* the ability to analyse complex information effectively and evaluate different views to arrive at solutions;
* an advanced (C1) command of English and an intermediate (B1) command of at least one other official language of the EU, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

In addition to the above:

* For the role of Full stack software engineer:
* experience developing user interfaces (UIs) with leading frameworks, e.g. React or Angular as well as CSS and HTML;
* experience in developing complex bespoke applications with multiple programming languages, e.g. Python, JS/TS, R or Java and relevant application frameworks, e.g. FastAPI, Node.js and Spring;
* knowledge of SQL and NoSQL databases (e.g. document-oriented databases, key-value stores, column-family stores and graph databases).

* For the role of Machine Learning Engineer:
* proficiency in ML model development, deployment, application, evaluation and the automation of ML training and inference pipelines, as well as in training and retraining deep neural networks, in particular for NLP tasks;
* proven experience in applying machine-learning techniques for outlier and anomaly detection, time-series forecasting and classification tasks;
* proficiency in Python development and experience with common data science and ML packages, such as Pandas, Numpy, Scikit-learn, PyTorch and Tensorflow, and in model optimisation techniques.

Desired (for both roles):

* experience in agile software development;
* prior experience working for a financial or public institution;
* an ability to develop and improve (CI/CD) pipelines;
* experience in analysing and optimising the performance of applications;
* experience with analytics in the context of financial and economic datasets;
* experience in quickly setting up small data-science applications with frameworks such as Streamlit or Dash.

You engage collaboratively with others. You pursue team goals and learn willingly from other people's diverse perspectives. You signal any need for change by explaining it and proposing alternative solutions. You analyse complex information effectively and can evaluate different views to arrive at solutions. You know and anticipate stakeholder needs.

You are motivated to be part of our team and to develop and use your skills and competencies to achieve the aims of this position.

Working modalities

To enable the Division to maintain its business continuity capability, you will occasionally be expected to perform work during non-standard working hours and work at the ECB's standby sites.

We would be happy to discuss a part-time arrangement for this role.

Further information
For additional information on this specific vacancy, you can speak to Hendrik Brakemeier on +49 (0)172 1868199 while the vacancy notice is published.
Application and selection process

The recruitment process for these positions will be conducted remotely. It will include a written test and an interview.

If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list (see step 4 of How we hire), from which you might be considered for similar positions within the ECB.

Find out how to apply for a position at the ECB.

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