Staff Architect (f/m/d) - AI Agent Platform

About IONOS

At IONOS, we don't just manage servers - we shape the digital future for more than 6.2 million customers worldwide with our solutions. As Europe's leading hosting provider and a pioneer in independent cloud solutions, we are building next-generation infrastructure - from sovereign cloud architectures and high-performance GPU clusters to integrated AI automation tools.

What drives us is digital sovereignty for Europe and real impact for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as well as large enterprises. We work in agile teams, rely on transparent structures, and believe that excellence and innovation only emerge through true team spirit.

Ready for your next step? Become part of IONOS and grow with us.

We're launching a brand-new AI Agent platform that will become the digital assistant of choice for small- and medium-businesses (SMBs). This platform features various intelligent, autonomous agents handling tasks from customer interactions - like reservations and support - to strategic initiatives like marketing campaigns and sales. You'll be instrumental in developing the core application that enables these agents to operate, learn, and collaborate, ultimately driving significant value for our customers.

This role involves defining the technology roadmap, architectural standards, and technical direction for a large-scale, distributed system. If you're passionate about applying cutting-edge AI and agentic technologies to solve real-world business challenges, join our motivated team at the forefront of modern product development. The ideal candidate will focus on solving real customer problems by working backwards from the user to the tech stack, while successfully embracing ambiguity as an opportunity in a newly defined space.

Tasks

• Design and evolve the architecture for a large-scale, distributed system capable of serving extensive customer bases and processing massive data volumes.
• Evaluate and select the optimal technology stack, focusing on modern web technologies and AI foundational platforms, including agent workflow platforms and builder frameworks.
• Define interfaces to enable seamless agent interaction, information sharing, and autonomous action triggering, incorporating necessary Human-in-the-Loop checks.
• Act as the subject matter expert on system design, providing technical guidance to development teams and ensuring adherence to architectural standards.
• Partner with various teams across the organization to clarify technical requirements and establish architectural standards and interfaces.
• Design components for agent knowledge, including strategies for Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and the use of vector and distributed databases.
• Continuously research and track advancements in the AI domain, with a specific focus on agentic AI, to maintain a cutting-edge technology stack.

Qualifications

• 5-8+ years of experience in designing and implementing large-scale distributed systems and high-traffic customer-facing applications.
• Prior experience in Technology and Software companies, FinTech, E-Commerce, or related fields. Exposure to Cloud Services, SaaS, AI, and Automation is a strong plus.
• Agentic AI Domain: Deep understanding of modern AI foundational technologies, including expertise in agent workflow platforms and builder frameworks.
• Distributed Systems Expertise: Strong familiarity with RAG, vector databases, and modern distributed database architectures.
• Cloud & Deployment: Proficiency with containerization and orchestration (Kubernetes) and experience deploying on major cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure).
• Technical Acumen: Ability to rapidly evaluate new technologies, articulate trade-offs, and make sound recommendations under uncertainty.
• Demonstrable, hands-on fluency with state-of-the-art AI models and agentic frameworks as evidenced by projects, prototypes, or published work.
• Track record of translating ambiguous user needs into concrete, well-reasoned technical architectures in fast-moving product environments.
• A portfolio of moments where you pushed a project forward and succeeded, despite uncertainty, resource constraints, or stakeholder hesitation.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and influencing skills to convey complex technical concepts across diverse teams and seniority levels.
• Demonstrated ability to lead by example, mentor engineers, and foster a culture of curiosity, ownership, and continuous improvement.

Benefits

• Hybrid working model.
• Flexible working hours through trust-based working hours.
• A subsidized canteen at Karlsruhe HQ and various free drinks.
• Modern office space with very good transport connections.
• Various employee discounts for activities and products.
• Employee events such as summer and winter parties, as well as workshops.
• Numerous training and development opportunities.
• Various health offers, such as sports and health courses.

Application Note

We value diversity and welcome all applications - regardless of, for example, gender, nationality, ethnic or social origin, religion, disability, age as well as sexual orientation and identity, physical characteristics, marital status or any other irrelevant factor subject to applicable law.