Platform Engineer

At SURF, this is more than just a promise. It is the reason we built our own developer platform from the ground up: open source and deliberately independent of the major US cloud providers. Today, the platform supports services used across Dutch higher education and research, and that number is growing rapidly.

Would you like to work as a Platform Engineer on technology that truly matters? As part of a small and highly motivated team, you will help build and develop the SURF Developer Platform, which supports an increasing number of critical services. You will work in an environment that combines the freedom and pace of a start-up with the reliability and continuity required of critical digital infrastructure.

You know when speed matters and when a technical decision needs to stand the test of time. We are looking for an experienced Platform Engineer who not only excels technically, but also believes in our mission and wants to actively contribute to it.

Where you’ll work

SURF is the ICT cooperative for education and research institutions in the Netherlands. Together with our members, we develop digital services and tackle complex innovation challenges to improve the quality of education and research.

Working at SURF means working in a unique and open organisation. You will notice this in the way we are structured, how our project teams collaborate, the culture in our offices and the way colleagues interact. SURF offers excellent employment conditions and a flexible approach to work-life balance. Our employees enjoy working independently and are given the freedom and opportunity to use and develop their talents as broadly as possible.

The team you’ll join

As a Platform Engineer, you will be part of the Development Team within our Accessible and Open Education & Research (AOER) unit. The team consists of Platform Engineers, Software Developers and Designers and supports multidisciplinary product teams in the ongoing development of our services.

You will join a small team, currently consisting of four Platform Engineers, and regularly collaborate with Developers and Technical Product Managers.

What you’ll do

The SURF Developer Platform enables our development teams to build software according to platform engineering principles. In practical terms, we provide these teams with GitLab pipelines and components, Kubernetes clusters, and managed services running on those clusters, including API gateways, backups, managed databases and Kafka.

Your day-to-day work will be varied. You will support developers building on the platform and help them troubleshoot when they run into issues. You will maintain and manage both the GitLab pipelines and Kubernetes clusters. You will also help develop new functionality and roll it out across the platform.

From time to time, this will involve writing code yourself, so some programming experience will definitely come in handy.

What you bring

You are an experienced Platform Engineer who feels equally at home in operations and software development. You have demonstrable experience with several of the following technologies:

• GitLab (pipelines and components)
• Kubernetes
• FluxCD
• Grafana / Prometheus / Loki / Tempo
• Terraform

Must-haves

• You are comfortable working in complex environments and are naturally curious. You can switch quickly and easily between different challenges.
• Working exclusively with open-source technology and independently of the major cloud providers appeals to you because you genuinely believe in it, not simply because it is a requirement.
• You have a deep understanding of technology while also enjoying working with people.
• You feel equally at home in operations and software development.
• You have at least a higher professional education (HBO) level of working and thinking, with five or more years of experience as a Platform Engineer.
• You already live in the Netherlands and have a valid residence permit.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience in the semi-public or public sector. You understand what it means to build something with a societal impact, in an environment where both speed and careful decision-making matter.
• You see the freedom to help shape the direction of the platform as an opportunity rather than a burden.
• Perhaps most importantly, you are someone who understands technology in depth while also enjoying working with people. You understand that ultimately, it is not about the platform itself, but about what students, teachers and researchers can achieve with it.

What we offer

• A varied and challenging position for 32–40 hours per week (0.8–1.0 FTE) in an informal and collaborative organisation with high ambitions.
• Extensive learning and development opportunities and excellent secondary employment benefits.
• A gross salary between €4,791 and €6,845 per month, based on a 40-hour working week.
• 8.33% holiday allowance and a fixed year-end bonus of 8.33%.
• 36 days of annual leave, based on a 40-hour working week.
• An excellent pension scheme with PNO Media. You contribute only 1/8 of the pension premium, while SURF covers the remaining 7/8.
• The option to work hybrid. You will receive a working-from-home allowance for the days you work remotely.
• A first-class NS Business Card for public transport.
• Two great office locations, in Amsterdam and Utrecht, both easily accessible by public transport. The nature of this role means you will mainly work from our Utrecht office, which is within walking distance of Utrecht Central Station.
• A one-year contract, with the intention of converting it into a permanent contract following satisfactory performance.

You can apply until 20 October 2026 using the application button.

If you have any questions, please contact our Recruitment team at recruitment@surf.nl.

At SURF, we enjoy handling our recruitment ourselves, so we kindly ask recruitment agencies and other third parties not to contact us regarding this vacancy.