Data Center Data Engineer (Onboarding & Maintenance)
[[Location:]] Hybrid (office & home)
[[Hours:]] 16 to 24 hours per week, over two or three days
[[Contract:]] Working student or internship
The digital world never stops. Every video you stream, call you make and AI model you use runs through a data center, and data centers use an enormous amount of energy and water. That's where Lucend comes in.
Our platform, Gradient, is an intelligence layer on top of the control systems data centers already run, such as BMS and SCADA. It ingests billions of mechanical and electrical sensor readings and turns them into prescriptive recommendations for site engineering teams. We track every recommendation through implementation and quantify its energy, water and carbon impact.
None of that works until the raw data from a customer's building lands in Snowflake: years of history first, then a feed that refreshes every day and keeps running. We're looking for students who want to own that first mile of data.
🚀 Your impact zone
As a Data Onboarding & Maintenance Engineer, you get customer data into our platform on AWS and keep it flowing. More and more customer sites share their data through APIs or stream it over MQTT, and that is where most of the upcoming work is. Where a site has no API yet, you set up an extract from the customer's building management and power monitoring systems instead, and backfill years of history in controlled batches.
Our data engineers model the data in dbt on Snowflake. Until the history is loaded and the daily feed is running, nobody can map sensors, run models or show a customer their live site. You are the person who unblocks that. You'll see the dbt layer up close and can grow into it.
Key responsibilities
• Connect new customer sites to our AWS environment through APIs and MQTT streams, with scheduled pulls or live feeds plus a backfill of historical data.
• Where no API is available yet, set up extracts from customer BMS and power monitoring systems and bring years of history into our pipeline in controlled batches.
• Handle the practical side of access, such as remote access, service accounts, firewall requests and database connections, together with the customer's IT team.
• Check every day that each feed landed: data present, timestamps fresh, and gaps flagged the same day instead of weeks later.
• Fix broken feeds, backfill missed days, and update the runbook so the same problem is solved faster next time.
• Chase blockers with the customer's IT, BMS and database owners, in writing. Most delays are access and permissions, not code.
🔋 What powers you
We value a variety of experiences and backgrounds. If you meet most of the criteria and are excited about the role, we encourage you to apply. We'll teach you how we ingest data on AWS, Snowflake, and enough dbt to work with the team that owns the models.
• You're a student in IT, computer science, data, building services or industrial automation, looking for a working-student job or internship. Experience in IT support, building management or controls counts too.
• You're available 16 to 24 hours a week, over two or three days. One day a week is too thin to learn the work.
• You know the basics of working with REST APIs, and you're curious about IoT messaging such as MQTT.
• You know enough SQL to test a database connection and count rows, and enough Python to run a script, change its parameters and read the error it throws.
• You're comfortable following a technical runbook, including when you work remotely in a customer's environment.
• You use AI coding assistants to read, write and debug scripts, and you check what they produce.
• You're persistent. You get satisfaction from finishing a twelve-step setup that fails on step nine because of a firewall rule.
• You write and speak clear English, and you put blockers in writing and follow up.
• Nice to have: experience with AWS, MQTT or other IoT protocols; BMS, power monitoring, SCADA or other control systems; data center operations or industrial automation.
🌱 A cool place to build your future
To support your success and well-being, we offer:
• A flexible hybrid setup. Blend office and home, with hours that fit your study programme, while staying connected with the team.
• A competitive salary.
• Mobility options including public transport subscription, company bike, or travel reimbursement for your preferred commute.
• A laptop and all the software you need.
• Strong focus on professional growth with plenty of opportunities for development and skill-building.
• Team activities, meetups, and business events to connect and collaborate.
😎 Cool with who you are
At Lucend, we believe that diversity fuels innovation. We're dedicated to creating an inclusive environment where everyone, no matter their race, gender, age, background, ability, or identity, feels valued, supported, and empowered to thrive. We proudly welcome candidates from all walks of life to join us in building a brighter, more sustainable future together.
We value teamwork over ego. We're a small team, so there is no room for ego: we share credit, own mistakes together, and nobody is too senior for the unglamorous work.
💪 Ready to make an impact?
Working-student and internship contracts are welcome, and we're hiring more than one person. You must have the right to work in the Netherlands.
Send your CV and a short note to DE-hiring@coolgradient.com with the subject “Data Onboarding & Maintenance Engineer”. In the note, tell us about a data extract or technical setup you got working and kept reliable, even if it was for a study project. A member of our team will get back to you within 5 working days.