Head of Data Management (m/f/d)

Job Description

Head of Data Management (m/f/d)

  • Deadline
    15.03.2025
  • Start of work
    As soon as possible
  • Working time model
    Full time

About us

The Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC) is being established as a new large-scale research centre with sites in Saxony (Delitzsch) and Saxony-Anhalt (Merseburg and Leuna). It will transform chemistry into a circular economy that focusses on renewable raw materials and recycling. The focus is equally on excellent basic research and the transfer to application.

As the Head of data Management (m/f/d) at the Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC) you will play a pivotal role in designing, implementing, and maintaining the Center's data infrastructure to support FAIR data management and enable scalable and reliable (big) data processing, storage and streamlined analytics. In this context you will contribute to the development of state-of-the art research data management strategies that, by leveraging the data lake and data warehouse concepts, foster data integration and seamless analysis workflows. In addition, you will be responsible for the structuring of the Data-driven Chemistry research area of the CTC. You will be joining the CTC in an exciting phase of its development, when you will have not only the unique chance to contribute to shape the vision, strategy and processes by which the Center acquires, stores, curates and manages heterogeneous research data but also ample opportunities for skills improvement and professional growth.

You will have the responsibility of leading the ambitious Data Management Team of the CTC which strives to be an exemplar in data management in the context of the chemistry research community. The Team is deeply involved in all the CTC's activities connected with the knowledge-generation process and aims at supporting the scientific community of the Center with state-of-the-art data handling solutions. The CTC scientific team is located approximately 30 minutes from Leipzig and Halle (Saale) in Leuna. The position is currently limited until 31 December 2025. In the course of the forthcoming funding, the position will be converted into a permanent position in the future.


  • Supervise the activities of the Data Management Team of the CTC by coordinating the group's activities and by coaching and mentoring the Team's members.
  • Contribute to the development of the Data-driven Chemistry research area of the CTC by defining the thematics that are relevant for the CTC's Research Agenda
  • Supervise the design, building and optimisation of a state-of-the-art, cost effective, scalable and high-performance data storage and processing systems that and integrate cloud and on-premise platforms and leverage big data technologies.
  • Supervise the design, develop, and maintenance of data pipelines and ETL processes to ingest, transform, and load heterogeneous research data from various sources, in the context of a data warehouse/data lake infrastructure.
  • Define data standards and best practices and implement data governance and best practices policies to support data FAIRness and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements (e. g., GDPR) across the whole CTC.
  • Interact with the CTC's scientists and with the IT‑group to define the users' requirements and develop tailored solutions according to the peculiar features of the generated data.
  • Keep the pace with the emerging technologies and best practices in data architecture and data engineering, and contribute proactively to the continuous improvement of our data architecture and infrastructure.

  • Master's degree in Chemical engineering, Computational Chemistry, Computer Science or in a data-science related field.•
  • PhD or equivalent working experience (minimum 3 years) in Chemical engineering, Computational Chemistry, Computer Science or in a data-science related field.
  • Previous experience al Team Leader or Project leader
  • Documented experience in data-driven research
  • Hands-on experience as a data engineer or similar role
  • strong background in designing and implementing data architecture solutions, data pipelines and ETL processes.
  • Proficiency in programming languages as Python, Java, Scala or C++.•
  • Hands-on experience with cloud platforms and services, big data technologies such as, e. g., Hadoop and Spark and containerization technologies such as, e. g., Singularity, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • Familiarity with data modeling techniques, data warehousing concepts (e. g., dimensional modeling), and data governance frameworks.
  • Familiarity with data governance frameworks, data security standards (e. g., GDPR, HIPAA),
  • and data handling best practices.
  • Previous experience in the scientific research data domain would be a strong plus.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a passion for leveraging efficient data management practices to support and drive scientific insights and innovation.
  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to interact effectively with technical and non-technical users.

  • The opportunity to shape the data management structures and policies of what will be the largest research center for chemical research in Europe.
  • Meet and work with top experts from academia and industry.•
  • Competitive compensation according to TVöD-Bund E13 or E14 depending on the candidate's qualifications.
  • Partial compensation of Job Commute Ticket.•
  • Comprehensive social benefits, including 30 days of vacation, annual special payment, and additional pension scheme (VBL).
  • Term-limited position until the 31st of December, 2025 allowing for fresh perspectives in terms of contract extension opportunities after 2025.

The Max Planck Society strives for gender equality and diversity. We welcome applications from all backgrounds. The Max-Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.

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