Software Engineering Consultant (2024-26 Graduate)

Are you a Project Manager who is a bit tired of the standard old-fashioned way of doing things in the construction industry?  Do you get deep satisfaction from making things run more efficiently using a good dose of common sense and maybe a bit of technology?  Do you crave the freedom, power, and support to bring fresh ideas to how work is delivered, so client expectations are not just met, but smashed?  Have you ever wanted to work a bit more flexibly but still be hands-on in construction and improving the industry? Sounds like a dream. Well, it isn’t, it is quite real!  Read on!  ___________________________________________________________ We are Laminar Projects!    We are an award winning consultancy that implements technology to improve the delivery of complex construction projects. Improving construction strengthens the very foundation of human civilisation. (Watch our short film about it)    We also have a separate product team, Shape Construction, that takes the deep understanding of the projects we work on to develop construction management software products.    The core of all this is our true secret sauce; people. We only recruit kind and authentic people who are fast learners. We are deeply focused on designing a new type of place that is optimised for the flourishing of the people in the team first and foremost. This approach has allowed us to grow from just 2 people in 2017 to over 200 today and we are still very much at the beginning! Joining us isn’t just some “job”, we challenge you to be your best self in all aspects of life.    Our vision is designed to align how we operate with the fundamental aspects that enable anyone to have a fulfilled life:   - Connects us with meaningful relationships  - Inspires us to develop ourselves to become better humans  - Empowers us to pursue our own learning adventures  ___________________________________________________________  4 core values for a good life   We believe a life of human flourishing is all about meaningful relationships with others and challenging yourself to create a positive impact. Our four core values are grow yourself, care about people, execute to greatness and build civilisation. This philosophy goes much deeper and you can see more on our website.    We are achieving this vision through the following two missions:     1. To fully digitise the construction of human civilisation  2. To create a new type of organisation that enables human flourishing while delivering a huge positive impact on society    Laminar Projects is proud to be recognized as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces in Construction, Engineering & Property™ for 2024! Join a team where learning, collaboration, and growth are at the core of everything we do, and where solving big challenges is part of the fun. ___________________________________________________________  The Role    This is a hybrid role which will combine remote working with site presence in client projects.   Who is this role for? This role is specifically for project management professionals,  who are experienced working in Data Centres, preferably on the developer/end customer side, although we will also consider GC experience. Only tick one of these boxes? Apply anyway as no one meets every requirement.   Purpose of the role  - Supercharge client service: Deliver cutting-edge project and cost management services in the construction industry, powered by the latest digital tools and technologies. - Cradle-to-grave expertise: Oversee all project aspect of projects, typically through Stages 2-6, following the appropriate stage gate process in your region.  - Creation of detailed project execution plans, appropriate to the stage gate/design maturity.  - Champion collaboration: Work hand-in-hand with commercial managers to ensure timely, on-budget, and high-quality project delivery. - Innovate fearlessly: Bring fresh ideas to the table, design new processes, and exceed industry expectations with progressive thinking. - Embrace digital transformation: Lead the integration of project management elements through Laminar's project controls-centric delivery, streamlining workflow and maximizing control. - Think outside spreadsheets: You don't have to be a data fanatic, but a desire for a digitally enhanced approach is essential.   Data Centre Focus (Desirable) - While not essential, prior experience in data center projects as a client or general contractor representative/consultant would be valued.  - Understanding local regulations of contractual practices (desirable).  - Proven ability to develop comprehensive project strategies for data center projects, encompassing scheduling, risk management, and cost control, from initiation to close-out and handover. - Demonstrated success in leading negotiations with clients, contractors, and stakeholders to secure optimal terms and favourable outcomes in data center environments.   Regional focus Native speaking is desirable. Understanding local regulations of contractual practices (desirable).    Your Capabilities    You will be a seasoned Senior  Project Manager, with extensive experience working directly with clients, ideally with some stints working for Tier 1 or 2 Contractors as well, to provide the well-rounded experience that is hugely valuable as a consultant.  ​​ Must-Have - Mastery: Project background with at least 8+ years of experience on construction projects, including hands-on claims involvement from start to finish  - Communication: Proficient communicator in written and verbal English  - Leadership: A relentless approach to dealing with people - Impact: A track record of making projects and organisations better beyond just doing the basics    Nice to Have - Mastery: Decent Excel skills, a strong interest in data, and a well-rounded knowledge of project management principles  - Communication: The charisma, influence and presence to get construction people to do new things and take the best approach  - Leadership: A proven leader/coach/developer of teams - Impact: A track record of implementing scalable and repeatable solutions in projects and organisations that had a significant positive impact    Laminar isn’t the place for you if any of the following is true:  - You want an easy, chilled-out role without much challenge  - You like to be the smartest person in the room  - You don’t like continuously receiving honest and candid feedback  - You prefer to do your own thing rather than work with a team  ___________________________________________________________  Salary and Benefits    Standard Stuff  - Competitive salary dependent on location and capability   - In-House Coaching Sessions  - Discretionary bonus scheme for all team members   The Life-Changing Stuff   - Flexibility: Getting things done is what really matters, not what time of day you do it. That means you don’t have to ask permission for things like picking up your kids or going to the doctor, just keep your team in the loop if you think they will be affected.     - Grow your whole self: Our leaders are more like coaches and one of our main objectives is to give 5 years’ worth of learning and development for every 1 year with us. You have a coach, mentor, well-being therapist and a development-orientated environment: That’s literally what our vision is all about and the primary reason Laminar exists.    - Be surrounded by the best: We only hire and retain the very best people. You might be used to being the smartest in the room but that won’t be the case in Laminar. You will be surrounded by people you can learn from. We are 100% meritocratic so fast progression is the norm. You will be supported to excel in whichever areas you are most interested in! With Laminar, development is unbounded    - Long-term impact: We are focused on solving the biggest issues in construction project delivery in a way that can spread and outlast us ___________________________________________________________ Application   We get thousands of applications so please write us a letter as part of your application explaining:    - Why do you want to join us?   - What do you think you bring to the team?    We aren't a giant faceless corporation; we really care about the people who want to join our team so all letters will be read thoroughly.    You must be located and have the current right to work in the EU.   In terms of application, we usually start with an intro call to tell you what we are all about in a casual conversation. That helps you to know us a bit better and tell us a bit about yourself.

At DATAPAO, data ignites passion, community fuels collaboration, and growth knows no bounds. We are a leading Data Engineering and AI consulting company backed by Databricks and recognized for our unmatched delivery standards and rapid growth. We have been named Databricks EMEA Emerging Business Partner of the Year (2024), achieved the Golden Tier status in the Databricks Partner Program, and made three consecutive appearances on the Financial Times FT1000 list. We are now looking for an Engineering Manager (Data) to help us further expand our world-class data engineering team.   What will you do?   In the following 12-18 months, we will grow our data engineering and AI team from ~40 to ~65. Hence, we're looking for an Engineering Manager to lead one of our data engineering teams comprising 5-6 consultants. In this role, you will oversee project delivery, manage and mentor the team, and ensure the successful execution - often by staying hands-on yourself - of data engineering, ML/MLOps, and cloud migration projects for our EMEA customers. In our current operating model, you will be expected to split your time between team management and being hands-on in project delivery.   Your Team: Core Data Engineering   This team is responsible for building and optimizing scalable, high-performance data pipelines that enable seamless data movement, transformation, and storage across enterprise customer environments. This includes designing, implementing, and maintaining ETL/ELT workflows, ingesting structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data from systems like Oracle, Snowflake, and Redshift. The team is experienced in big data processing for both batch and streaming workloads and using modern data storage formats such as Delta Lake, Iceberg, and Hudi. The team collaborates closely with the cloud, infrastructure, and data governance teams to ensure data reliability, observability, and monitoring through modern tooling. Key focus areas include building enterprise data platforms, enabling real-time and batch analytics workloads, and migrating legacy systems to modern cloud environments. Depending on your seniority and our current business needs, you will either take over an existing team or build up a new team from scratch.   What does it take to fit the bill?   Consulting and Technical Skills * Consultant mindset & passion for customer experience - you prioritize your work with the customer in mind, and you seek to advise (rather than purely execute) your customers on the best-in-class technical solutions; * Solid software engineering foundations - you are a stack-agnostic software engineer with a strong understanding of how distributed systems work. Additionally, you are familiar with (and keen to follow) best-in-class software engineering principles;  * Data & Cloud are part of your engineering journey - you have played a role in teams that designed and implemented data-intensive applications and have strong SQL and NoSQL hands-on experience. Exposure to real-time data processing systems, Apache Spark, and/or the big data ecosystem is an advantage; * You thrive when having to solve problems and take ownership - you solve problems on your own and advise others on how to do the same. Moreover, you have a natural predisposition to identify and fill organizational gaps, be it processes or documentation gaps, customer communication mismatches, or resource allocation deficiencies. Leadership skills * Motivated to lead and grow people - whether you're already experienced in managing teams, or you've grown into leadership through informal experience such as leading a project team or owning delivery for a group of people, you're ready to take on the responsibility of leading and supporting a team; * Mentoring people excites you - this could mean you've already co-created goals and development plans with a team, or you've supported and mentored colleagues informally and are excited to grow this into a more structured leadership role; * Keen to build strong teams and culture - you may have already helped hire and grow high-performing teams, or contributed to team culture and collaboration in less formal ways, such as onboarding new colleagues or driving process improvements - either way, you're ready to help raise the bar across your team and the wider organization; * Excellent communication skills - you can adjust your communication style, articulate technical concepts to all types of audiences, and ensure transparent communication across all levels. What will the selection process look like? * Screening Interview (~60 minutes) - our Technical Recruiter will run it. The purpose is to get to know you better and assess how you match the role's core requirements. This is also your chance to learn more about DATAPAO and our business model;  * Technical Interview (~90 minutes) - this round will be run by two senior data engineers. Depending on your background, we will run the session in one of the following setups: If you have Data Engineering experience, this session covers cloud fundamentals, core data engineering concepts, hands-on coding, and a problem-solving exercise or, If you come from a Software Engineering background, this session covers cloud fundamentals, software engineering principles, hands-on programming, and a problem-solving exercise. * Cultural & Leadership Block (~120 minutes) - our Head of People and Head of Consulting will run this stage. The scope is to assess your leadership philosophy & skills and the likelihood of settling well into our community. It might consist of two back-to-back 60-minute blocks, or we might as well run it in a single ~120-minute block. What do we offer?   At DATAPAO, we're on a mission to build one of the world's best consulting companies in its field: data engineering and AI. As an engineering manager, you'll have the rare opportunity to join DATAPAO at a time when you can still meaningfully impact our growth trajectory and organizational success. Here is a list of some other extras we offer:   * World-class educational benefits - there’s no shortage of learning opportunities at DATAPAO, meaning that you'll get access to Databricks' public and internal courses to learn all the tricks of Distributed Data Processing, MLOps, Apache Spark, Databricks, and Cloud Migration from the best. Additionally, we'll pay for various data & cloud certifications. You'll also get dedicated time for learning during work hours and access to our internal library; * Flexible working hours and PTO days - we’re flexible with how many days you take off if that does not conflict with customer success and the work getting done. Additionally, how many days you spend in the office is up to you. However, as a manager, we'd expect you to spend face-to-face time with your team and mentor others regularly. We believe this can be achieved only through a balanced in-person-remote ratio; * 4 weeks of paternity leave - because we think it’s important for both parents to be there when it matters most; * Private Medical Insurance - we provide a private medical package via Generali; * Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - through EAP, we offer our employees access to psychology, financial, and legal consulting services via phone or in person; * Top-notch working equipment - working comfortably means working well. Therefore, you will get a MacBook Pro, a Herman Miller office chair, standing desks in the office, and whatever else is needed to give your best;  * The chance to shape our culture - overseeing people gives you a privileged position to influence how our organizational culture evolves over time; * The opportunity to make an impact in a high-transparency culture - open feedback and a no-politics environment are things we value a lot at DATAPAO. Additionally, you'll get the chance to shape the future of a rapidly growing tech company and join the field of data and AI. We trust there is no better time than today to do so;  * A cozy office in the heart of Budapest (close to Opera), well-stocked with snacks, drinks, coffee, and beverages. An annual team building, movie and wine-tasting nights with the team, and various community events are also on us. The gross salary for this position ranges from 2.000.000 - 2.700.000 HUF/month, depending on your assessed seniority level during the selection process. WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT US? DATAPAO is a Data Engineering and AI company that covers the entire data transformation from architecture to implementation. Beyond delivering solutions, we also provide data and AI training and enablement. We are backed by Databricks - the creators of Apache Spark, and act as a delivery partner and training provider for them in Europe. Additionally, we are Microsoft Gold Partners in delivering cloud migration and data architecture on Azure. Our delivery partnerships enable us to work in a wide range of industries and with some of the most prominent global companies, such as Norsk-Hydro, Richter, Bayer, Schufa, GetYourGuide, TechnoAlpin, and Logically, to name just a few. As a training provider, we deliver onsite and online courses globally for Databricks and on our own. We have been teaching professionals at Apple, Amazon, Uber, Microsoft, T-Mobile, GE, Ericsson, and many more to improve their impact with data. For even more insights, check the links below: * Designing and Implementing a Real-time Data Lake with Dynamically Changing Schema (EN) by Máté Gulyás (2021, Spark AI Summit) * Productionising Machine Learning models (EN) by Máté Gulyás (2023, Mndwrk Event) * "Ha a data governance jól működik, az olyan, mint egy láthatatlan szupererő” (HU) by Máté Gulyás (2023, Com-Forth Zóna Podcast) You can also follow us on LinkedIn for all the good stuff or just hit our recruitment team at jobs@datapao.com We’re firm believers in scaling up a team without judgment or prejudice. What we really care about is working with the best people out there, no matter their background. And you should also not worry if you don't tick every box in the requirements. If you’re passionate about data and learning new things, you’ll fit right in, and we'd love to hear back from you. When we hear back from you, we'd like you to know that we are committed to your privacy and keeping your data safe. We do not share your data with any third parties (except the ones we use to run our recruitment process) and keep your application for two years unless you ask us otherwise. We use your data solely for recruitment purposes, such as letting you know about new career opportunities at DATAPAO and/or managing your application. But if you want to know more about how we store and manage your data, check our privacy policy.