Senior Software Engineer (m/f/d) Data

Axel Springer is a leading digital publisher and global media and technology company, focusing on AI to transform journalism. The National Media & Tech division is a central tech hub supporting journalism with state-of-the-art technology. This role involves building data-driven systems for digital media and advertising, tackling complex challenges, and contributing to high-performance data platforms. You will design, develop, and operate large-scale, distributed data systems, taking full ownership of their lifecycle and collaborating across teams to ensure reliable data delivery and technical excellence.

Must Have

• Design, develop, and operate large-scale, distributed data systems for media and advertising products.
• Take full ownership of the full lifecycle of systems, including architecture, implementation, testing, deployment, and operations.
• Collaborate across teams to define data models, pipelines, and APIs for reliable and high-quality data delivery.
• Collaborate closely with other engineers, data scientists, and product teams to drive improvements and ensure technical excellence.
• Contribute to continuous optimization and performance improvements across platforms.
• Stay curious and proactive, exploring emerging technologies and proposing innovative solutions.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent proven expertise.
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience delivering complex, high-impact systems at scale.
• Deep proficiency in at least two modern programming languages and ecosystems.
• Demonstrated ability to design, evolve, and operate distributed systems and large-scale microservice architectures in cloud environments.
• Proven experience architecting and delivering resilient, performant data or application platforms.
• Hands-on mastery of modern data and compute paradigms (orchestration, modeling, schema evolution, data versioning, query optimization).
• Strong grounding in systems design, software lifecycle management, observability, and reliability engineering.

Perks & Benefits

• Trainings and learning lunches
• Tech conferences
• Budget for workshops
• Flexible working hours
• Free breakfast snack
• Free lunch in canteens
• 30 days vacation
• 10 days working from abroad
• Free choice of top-notch office equipment (for remote and private usage)
• Up-to-date hardware, software, and modern office spaces

Axel Springer is Europe’s leading digital publisher and a global media and technology company headquartered in Berlin. With renowned brands such as BILD, POLITICO Germany, WELT und BUSINESS INSIDER Germany, we reach millions of users worldwide. We combine the reach of an established industry leader with the agility of a startup, constantly driving innovation to transform journalism for the digital age.

Our corporate strategy places AI at the center: “Digital is the new print. AI is the new digital.” This vision reflects our belief that the fusion of artificial intelligence and human creativity will shape the future of media. Our National Media & Tech division is the central tech hub that ensures our journalism is supported by state-of-the-art technology, positioning our brands to thrive in the digital age. We believe in the future of journalism as a business model and invest in forward-looking technologies. Our five essentials are the values that unite us and guide us in our commitment to freedom.

You will be part of an innovative team building data-driven systems that power digital media and advertising at scale and tackle complex challenges, contributing to the design and evolution of high-performance data platforms.

How you'll make an impact:

• design, develop, and operate large-scale, distributed data systems that support media and advertising products
• take full ownership of the full lifecycle of our systems, including architecture, implementation, testing, deployment, operations and continuously shape their evolution
• collaborate across teams to define data models, pipelines, and APIs that ensure reliable and high-quality data delivery
• you will collaborate closely with other engineers, data scientists, and product teams to drive improvements, introduce new ideas, and ensure technical excellence
• contribute to continuous optimization and performance improvements across our platforms
• stay curious and proactive—explore emerging technologies, propose innovative solutions, and raise the engineering bar

What you'll need:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field — or equivalent proven expertise through experience and impact
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong track record of delivering complex, high-impact systems at scale
• deep proficiency in at least two modern programming languages and ecosystems (e.g., one strongly typed, one dynamic or functional)
• demonstrated ability to design, evolve, and operate distributed systems and large-scale microservice architectures in cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure, or equivalent)
• proven experience architecting and delivering resilient, performant data or application platforms — including event-driven, real-time, or multi-region systems
• hands-on mastery of modern data and compute paradigms (e.g., orchestration, modeling, schema evolution, data versioning, and query optimization), independent of specific tools or vendors
• strong grounding in systems design, software lifecycle management, observability, and reliability engineering
• excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across disciplines and mentor engineers at various levels
• you are passionate about exploring diverse technologies and thrive in an environment that combines big data, cloud infrastructure, and modern engineering practices

What we offer:

• your personal growth is important to us: we offer trainings and learning lunches, tech conferences, a budget for workshops and much more to expand your knowledge and your skills
• flexible working hours support a healthy work-life balance
• our free food offer: in addition to a breakfast snack, we also offer a free lunch in our canteens
• 30 days vacation plus 10 days working from abroad
• free choice of top-notch office equipment (also for your remote work space and private usage), up-to-date hardware, software and modern office spaces that provide you with maximum flexibility
• collaboration thrives on direct exchange - we rely on 80% office presence and 20% mobile working
• from now a permanent full- or part-time position in a modern office in the heart of Berlin: http://www.axelspringer-neubau.de/

Axel Springer National Media & Tech GmbH & Co. KG is the central pillar for tech & product and central functions of Axel Springer's German media offerings.

Next Level Publishing – Innovate, evolve, accelerate – that is the mission that drives us. We develop solutions that further develop, renew, and accelerate digital journalism. We ensure that our strong media brands such as BILD, WELT, BUSINESS INSIDER Germany, POLITICO Germany, COMPUTER BILD, and many more are optimally positioned to continue making journalism sustainable and accessible to all.

Questions and answers about the application process

The most frequently asked questions and their answers can be found on our FAQ page: career.axelspringer.com/en/faq

Diversity is an essential part of our corporate culture! We are looking forward to receiving all applications regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, ideology, disability, age, sexual orientation and identity.

You can find information about the representation for the severely disabled at Axel Springer here: https://career.axelspringer.com/en/rsde

Contact person for this position (reference number REF2430L) is Marcel Burmester #LI-MB2