Web Architect & Data Platform Engineer
uniQure Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Biotechnology Research · 51-200 employees
About the role
You will own the technical architecture for websites and web applications while managing external agencies to ensure quality and security. Additionally, you will build and maintain data pipelines on Microsoft Fabric and provide integration support across the organization.
What they look for
Requirements
The role requires over five years of experience in IT, specifically within the pharmaceutical or biotech industry. Candidates must possess strong hands-on skills in full-stack web development, data engineering, and experience managing external vendors.
Full description
At uniQure, we are delivering on the promise of gene therapy and delivering hope for patients facing urgent unmet medical needs. Every role in our organization carries profound purpose; whether you're in research, operations, access, or support, your contributions impact patients. We're seeking passionate professionals who thrive in high-stakes environments, uphold rigorous quality standards, and share our relentless commitment to transforming the lives of patients. Join us in making the impossible possible, where your expertise becomes a catalyst for life-changing treatments.
Position Overview As Web Architect & Data Platform Engineer, you own the technical architecture of uniQure's websites and web applications and act as uniQure's data platform engineer. You do not need to build the websites yourself — external agencies handle the day-to-day build work — but you set the technical direction, act as the agencies' primary sparring partner on architecture, technology choices, and best practices, and hold them accountable for delivering maintainable, secure, and performant work. Once an agency's work is delivered, you review it, guide the agency toward proper development practices, and are hands-on enough to fix smaller issues yourself rather than waiting on a change request.
On the data side, you will develop and maintain uniQure's Data Platform, built on Microsoft Fabric, including its Lakehouse layers. You will build and maintain data pipelines using Spark, Python and SQL to turn data from across the business into reliable, reusable assets. Occasionally build Power BI reports directly for the business where needed.
Beyond the data platform and web architecture, you will act as a general application engineer within IT, working on data and process integration and scripting work across the organization. Building and maintaining data integration pipelines with an architectural mindset, connecting systems and data sources. AI is a core part of this role. You will use AI tools to develop faster and more effectively across web, data and application engineering work. A solid understanding of how these AI tools and models actually work is important.
You will also review, refactor and harden code written by colleagues, agencies, vendors, or generated with AI, so that it is production ready and coherent with uniQure's existing architecture — this applies as much to the websites and portals delivered by external agencies as it does to internal data and integration work.
The Web Architect & Data Platform Engineer will be positioned in the IT team of uniQure. You will align with our Architects and our Application Management team to fulfill needs of our colleagues, and you will be the main internal point of contact for the external agencies responsible for building and maintaining uniQure's websites. Further you will have direct contact with the relevant business departments where the need for Data Analytics or web development comes from.
Key result areas (major duties, accountabilities and responsibilities)
- Build out the Data Platform on Microsoft Fabric, so uniQure's data is captured, structured, and usable in the Lakehouse.
- Bring new data sources into Data Platform as new systems or business questions come up, without creating one-off, unmaintainable pipelines.
- Step in on Power BI report building when a business team needs a hand getting a report off the ground.
- Build and maintain the integrations that connect various internal systems. Take on integration, scripting, and automation work across IT, wherever a gap between systems needs bridging.
- Bring an architectural view to how new applications and integrations fit into uniQure's existing systems, rather than solving each request in isolation.
- Own the technical architecture and roadmap for uniQure's websites and web applications, ensuring consistency, security, and scalability across every site built by external agencies.
- Act as the primary technical sparring partner for uniQure's web development agencies, reviewing proposed architecture, technology stack, and implementation approach before and during development.
- Manage and guide the agencies delivering website work, holding them to proper development practices — code quality, performance, accessibility, and security — and to uniQure's architectural standards.
- Perform hands-on fixes and small changes to live websites once agency work is delivered, without needing to route every minor change back to the agency.
- Use AI tools as part of daily development work, understanding how they work well enough to use them effectively, driving efficiency not only to your own work but company as a whole.
- Review, refactor, and harden code written by colleagues, vendors, or AI tools before it reaches production.
- Act as the technical point of contact for external suppliers on integration, portal, and website work, checking their delivery is sound and fits uniQure's architecture.
Qualifications & Skills
- Experience with Python, SQL, JS, and modern web technologies (e.g. HTML, CSS, JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks).
- Experience with, or strong interest in, data engineering and integrations.
- A strong, hands-on background in full-stack web development and web architecture, with the ability to evaluate, challenge, and guide the technical choices made by external agencies.
- Experience managing or closely directing external agencies or vendors on website or software development projects.
- Clear problem-solving skills and an architectural way of thinking about how systems connect.
- Experience in an international organization.
- Experience with Microsoft Fabric, or other cloud data platforms (Azure, Databricks, Synapse).
- Power BI report building experience.
- Experience with Workato, or similar tools, for integrations.
- Broader Azure experience beyond Fabric (e.g. Azure DevOps, App Services, Storage).
- Familiarity with using AI coding tools (e.g. Copilot, Claude Code) in real development work.
- Experience reviewing code from others, including vendors or external developers.
- Experience with content management systems (e.g. WordPress, Umbraco, Sitecore) or headless CMS/website hosting platforms.
- Familiarity with web performance, SEO, accessibility (WCAG), and security best practices (e.g. OWASP) for public-facing websites.
- Experience with CI/CD and DevOps practices for web application delivery.
- Five or more years of experience in IT and business, Pharmaceutical or Biotech industry.
- Excellent analytical, strategic conceptual thinking, and execution skills.
- Well organized and detail oriented.
- Ability to multi-task.
- Experience managing SoX and/or GxP compliant systems