Junior Backend Engineer — Geospatial Platform

About the job

As Backend Engineer your main responsibilities are on building out capabilities of our (geo)data query engine. You'll join our platform engineering team, building and maintaining the backend systems that power our geospatial query engine. Think API design, database optimization, infrastructure-as-code, and cloud architecture — not notebooks and dashboards. Our platform processes terabytes of satellite imagery across millions of hectares. You'll work on systems where query performance, data integrity, and infrastructure reliability actually matter. Our tech stack is Python, Django, PostGIS, deployed on Google Cloud services like GKE and cloud functions. This role will report to Engineering Lead.

What will you do?

You'll be instrumental in empowering our product teams to develop and deploy features that help our clients reach their sustainability targets. You'll ensure the reliability, scalability, and performance of our cloud-based data platform, enabling us to deliver critical environmental intelligence through our API. Your work will directly contribute to:

• Design and build backend services and APIs for geospatial data distribution

• Develop and maintain cloud infrastructure on GCP using Terraform

• Optimize database performance and design scalable PostgreSQL solutions

• Build automated testing and monitoring for platform reliability

• Collaborate with product teams to turn requirements into well-architected solutions

About you

• BSc or MSc in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field

• Strong Python skills with an emphasis on clean, well-tested, maintainable code

• Solid understanding of software design principles (SOLID, separation of concerns, design patterns)

• Experience with relational databases (PostgreSQL preferred)

• Familiarity with web frameworks (Django or similar)

• Comfortable with Git workflows, code reviews, and CI/CD

• You think about reliability, performance, and security — not just getting it to work

Nice to have

• You are experienced with Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform

• You have experience with Google Cloud (Cloud SQL, Cloud Composer, Kubernetes)

• You worked with PostGIS before or bring other experience with geospatial data

What we offer you:

📍Office centrally located in Utrecht city (with direct access via bus 8 or a 20-minute walk from Utrecht Central Station)
😎27 holidays (based on full-time employment)
👐Solid pension scheme with employer contribution
🚆NS Business Card for employees commuting from outside Utrecht
🖥️Laptop and necessary IT equipment provided
🩺Additional income protection in case of long-term illness or disability, complementing the statutory coverage
🥪Daily lunch, fruits, and Aroma Club coffee at the office
🍹Not the main reason to join, but definitely a fun one: Annual Team Week, after-summer drinks with friends and family and a festive Christmas celebration.