Senior Software Engineer (m/f/x)

About us

The appliedAI Initiative elevates Europe’s industry to become shapers in the age of AI, creating a future that we desire to live in. Through our ecosystem of strong partners, comprehensive programs, services and solutions we advance companies holistically on their AI journey. With our uniquely diverse, interdisciplinary, and driven team, we build on deep technical expertise while specializing on applicability of the solutions. We share a mindset of collaboration and openness with our ecosystem of leading companies and tech players. Our common goal is to strengthen the European landscape, jointly creating unique knowledge for applying trustworthy AI. We believe that AI Agents will be the dominant topic for AI in the near future and that appliedAI with its partner ecosystem will impact how this technology is being used in industry and beyond in Europe.

Your mission

Most of what makes an AI solution survive contact with a large enterprise is not the AI. It is the engineering discipline around it, and that discipline is what you bring. You do not need to arrive as an AI expert - you arrive as someone who knows how professional software gets built, shipped, and kept alive, and you grow into the agentic side alongside a team that is already deep in it. In our Engineering team you set the bar for what production-ready means here.

Please note: For this role, you can work from either of our offices, in Munich (House of Communication) or Heilbronn (IPAI Spaces), whichever suits you better. Both locations offer the same role and the same hybrid setup.

Your tasks will include:

• Designing the technical approach for a system slice, from build and test through deployment and operation, including the documentation and artefacts a third party needs to run it without us
• Shaping how we develop: issue workflows, branching and review standards, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, security checks, and release management
• Building the classical software around the AI core - services and APIs, data pipelines, infrastructure as code, mostly in Python on Azure
• Making solutions operable in enterprise IT landscapes: observability, failure behaviour, security posture, and cost transparency
• Providing specialist guidance that shapes technical decisions across workstreams, and raising the engineering bar through design and code reviews
• Making technical trade-offs legible to senior client stakeholders - what a given architecture or operating model costs and enables

Your profile

• 8+ years building software that went into production and stayed there, ideally shaped by a product organisation with real release discipline
• Deep working knowledge of the professional software development lifecycle: issue tracking and workflows (e.g. Jira), code review and development standards, CI/CD, automated testing, security scanning, versioning and releases
• Strong Python, confidence on Azure, and hands-on experience with containers and infrastructure as code
• Experience handing a system over to a separate operating team, or having operated one yourself long enough to know what that handover really demands
• Some exposure to GenAI or agentic systems and genuine curiosity to go deeper; deep AI expertise is explicitly not a prerequisite
• Composure in fast-moving, ambiguous environments, and the ability to explain technical trade-offs clearly to senior stakeholders in English; German is a plus

What we offer

• A highly qualified and motivated team of ~90 people is on a journey to change the rapidly evolving European AI Landscape
• Experience the best of both worlds with our hybrid work model: You can choose to work from our vibrant offices - either at the IPAI in Heilbronn or the House of Communication in Munich - while also enjoying the flexibility to work remotely a few days each week
• Opportunity to shape a variety of projects and the development of new, original content based on the latest developments in AI and its adoption in businesses
• An atmosphere that encourages to think and experiment in new ways with software, hardware, and processes
• A highly visible initiative that helps you build a large and high-level network of start-ups, partners, and tech companies
• A flexible development budget that’s yours to shape - invest it in training, certifications, conferences, or new challenges, however you want to grow
• Sports membership with Wellpass to access thousands of sports facilities all over Germany (and beyond), as well as online courses
• JobRad: Lease a bike for a cheaper rate via JobRad and we cover the bike insurance on top
• Sabbatical option: You can take a sabbatical of up to 3 months after min. 3 years of employment - because sometimes 30 vacation days are not enough to explore the beauty of this world
• PME Familienservice: A 24/7 support for a successful work & life in any life situation. Benefit from free support in areas like life coaching, child care and many other options
• Mobility budget: Every month we contribute to your individual mobility usage with public transport or shared mobility offers within the app Moovster
• Workation: Work from anywhere in the EU/EWR area for up to 3 months per year - combining working at a nice place and spending your leisure time in the evening like vacation

Contact

Lucas Fernandes - Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist

appliedAI Initiative GmbH, August-Everding-Str. 25, 81671 München