Semantic Backend Developer (f/m/d)

The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) is one of the large, globally connected research museums of the Leibniz Association. In addition to excellent research on biodiversity and its change, we are advancing the further development of our extensive scientific collections with an international team and state-of-the-art technology. With our exhibition, knowledge transfer and communication work at our exhibition venues Museum Koenig Bonn and Museum der Natur Hamburg, we want to spread enthusiasm for nature and contribute with our research topics to current socio-political discussions on species loss, climate change and the protection of ecosystems. The construction of an integrated natural history museum is being planned for the Hamburg location; the research infrastructure at the Bonn location is currently being significantly expanded.

The LIB Centre for Biodiversity Knowledge Science is developing the LIB Open Knowledge Space, a FAIR and CLEAR, modular, and service-oriented system that is based on formal semantics and RDF/OWL knowledge graphs. It will contain all research-project and collection-based data and knowledge of the LIB, and will strengthen curatorial and scientific work by providing tools and infrastructures that make biodiversity data and knowledge publishable, citable, and reusable without compromising ownership or expertise. Each component of the underlying infrastructure provides its own API and can evolve independently, with adapters mediating between services following principles such as Hexagonal Architecture. By linking collections, research, and communication through advanced data and knowledge science, semantic technologies, and artificial intelligence, the LIB Open Knowledge Space will enable the LIB to function as a globally connected and future-ready, open biodiversity knowledge hub, while preserving scientific authority and institutional responsibility.

Become part of our institute in Hamburg. We are looking for the next possible date, limited according to the part-time and fixed-term law for 2 years (with the possibility of permanent employment) a

Semantic Backend Developer (f/m/d)

Hamburg

in full-time 39.00 hours/week

Your tasks:

• Contribute to shaping the architecture of the LIB Open Knowledge Space (LIB-OKS).
• Development of the semantic backend (database infrastructure) of the LIB-OKS and implementation of interfaces and program logic for the provision and curation of data from the LIB-OKS.
• Contribution to the design and implementation of front-end views for the presentation and curation of the LIB-OKS.
• Integration of existing databases into the LIB-OKS.
• Act as a technical gatekeeper for production systems: Ensure that emerging solutions meet high standards of: Quality, Sustainability, Interoperability and ensure compliance with the FAIR and CLEAR Principles.
• Support agile prototype development.
• Contribute to the development of national and international networks for biodiversity research and knowledge science (e.g., NFDI, DiSSCo, TDWG).
• Assist in securing external funding for research projects.
• Enable the reuse of software components by the wider biodiversity and research infrastructure community.

Your profile:

• Strong expertise in knowledge graphs and semantic technologies.
• Ability to design conceptual and technical architectures for complex knowledge structures, including hybrid solutions combining semantic technologies, classical databases, and AI-mediated representations.
• Strong backend programming and software development skills in languages such as Python, Java, Kotlin, or Scala, including clean, modular, tested, and well-documented code.
• Experience designing maintainable, modular, service-oriented or event-driven systems, including APIs, versioning, service integration patterns, and interoperability across heterogeneous tools.
• Experience with data ingestion, transformation, and validation pipelines using technologies such as SHACL or LinkML.
• Familiarity with FAIR data principles and related approaches, including Linked Data, persistent identifiers, FAIR Digital Objects, Nanopublications, and RO-Crates.
• Knowledge of biodiversity informatics, life sciences data, or museum/collection data.
• Strong communication skills for working with researchers, curators, data scientists, software developers.
• Experience in applying for third-party funding (national and international).
• Experience in networking on national and international levels and contributing to long-term projects and goals.
• Proven publication record and/or proven track of software contributions or maintained code repositories.

We offer:

• An attractive position in an excellent research institution with a high degree of creative potential in a dynamic scientific and social environment
• Remuneration according to the collective agreement of the federal states (up to EG 13 TV-L if the personal and job-related requirements of the collective agreement are met) with all the benefits of the public sector (company pension scheme, annual special payment, capital-forming benefits, collectively agreed vacation entitlement)
• Family friendliness certified by the "Work and Family Audit", offer of life coaching through professional family service
• the possibility of obtaining a job ticket
• A centrally located workplace with excellent transport links

Please send your complete application documents (including cover letter, CV, copies of certificates, max. 10 MB) by 31.08.2026 exclusively digitally via our career portal to Ms. Winkels: https://8101202752.karriereportal.cloud/

For organizational reasons, only online applications will be accepted.

We are a diverse institution and welcome our diversity. We would particularly like to encourage women to apply in order to actively promote equal opportunities. Severely disabled people will be given preference if equally qualified. You can find more information about our institution on the Internet at: https://leibniz-lib.de/