Build the data platform that makes tomorrow’s healthcare possible. Breaking ground as a senior data engineer At UZ Leuven, we strive to provide every patient with the best possible care. We do this together. Warmly, compassionately, and with respect. Through leading-edge research, continuous professional development, and by educating others, we are shaping the healthcare of tomorrow. Within UZ Leuven, IT is of strategic importance. We are highly digitised, supporting both administrative and medical applications. You will join the IT department, where we are currently looking for a senior data engineer. As senior data engineer, you will play a central role in building and operating our next generation data platform. You will design and maintain reliable data ingestion processes, develop scalable ELT/ETL workflows, and ensure that our data assets are secure, discoverable, and usable across the organization. Working in a hospital environment also means operating at the cutting edge of data security, resilience, and privacy. You will work closely with other engineers and external partners, helping to break down data silos and deliver high quality data products that power decision making. This is a full-time, permanent position. Applications can be submitted up to and including 01-03-2026. How will you break ground? You will build, optimize, and operate scalable ELT/ETL pipelines using SQL and modern data tools. You will develop robust data ingestion processes from multiple complex systems, including healthcare data sources (e.g. patient-level data). You will contribute to the development of high-quality data models. You will collaborate closely with other Data, Infrastructure, and MLOps teams. You will implement and maintain infrastructure-as-code using Terraform to ensure secure, traceable, and reliable platform deployments. You will participate in the development of our data catalog and metadata structures. You will support early initiatives in knowledge graph or semantic modeling. You will ensure platform reliability, data quality, and compliance with security and governance standards in a high-risk and high-demand environment. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams and external partners, providing well-documented, trustworthy datasets and platform capabilities. You will drive continuous improvement by proposing new approaches, testing new technologies, and challenging existing assumptions. What qualifications do you need? You have a master’s degree in IT, or equivalent experience. Candidates who do not yet speak Dutch are welcome to apply. We expect sufficient command of English for effective collaboration within the team, and we ask non‑Dutch‑speaking candidates to obtain a B2 level at a recognized school within two years. You have senior-level experience in data engineering or data platform roles, ideally across multiple organizations. You have strong proficiency in SQL (must-have) and Python, and experience developing production-grade ELT/ETL pipelines. You have solid understanding of data modeling principles. You have hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code. You have experience with cloud platforms (preferably GCP) and BI tools. Familiarity with healthcare data (patient data, EHRs, medical ontologies, OMOP, HL7/FHIR) is a plus. You have knowledge of data governance concepts and best practices. Comfort making high‑impact decisions in a sensitive, high‑risk environment with strict security and reliability expectations. You have a structured, collaborative, and analytical mindset paired with curiosity and a willingness to innovate. You are able to operate in a dynamic and fast-paced environment. What do you get in return? UZ Leuven offers a professional, multidisciplinary working environment that keeps pace with the latest developments and provides ample opportunities for training, guidance, and personal growth. For more than 20 years, we have been committed to sustainable healthcare. Within the IT department, you will work in a domain with great variety and the newest technologies. We focus on extensive on-the-job training and personal coaching, with a view to lifelong learning and innovation. You will be offered a range of diverse, content-rich challenges and the chance to work in a constructive team within a complex hospital organisation. Our benefits include: A motivating salary package (salary scale IFIC 17_25 with opportunities for progression depending on profile and experience) and numerous fringe benefits such as meal vouchers, bicycle lease, group and hospitalisation insurance, transport allowance, staff restaurant, and more. A full overview of all benefits of working at UZ Leuven can be found on our jobsite. Ready to break ground? Apply for this vacancy today by completing the online application form and attaching your CV. For more information, you can contact the UZ Leuven recruitment department at: 016 34 49 78. LI-HG1