DevOps Engineer

Abstract Technology GmbH · Full-time · Permanent · Remote (Berlin office optional)

About us

Abstract Technology is a technology company built around open-source software. We design, deploy, and operate Open edX and other e-learning platforms for universities, governments, and companies across the globe. Because we work in the open, the infrastructure and tooling you build with us doesn't just serve one client, it strengthens a platform used by huge numbers of learners worldwide.

The role

We're looking for a DevOps Engineer to help us deploy, scale, and operate Open edX at production quality. For us, this is a cross-over role between a software developer and an operator: you'll be as comfortable reading and writing Python application code as you are running the infrastructure it lives on. You'll own deployment automation and observability across a fleet of instances, and work side by side with our development team through the full delivery lifecycle, from concept to a running, monitored production system.

This is a hands-on role that spans both worlds. You'll spend your time in containers, pipelines, cloud, and Linux, and in the application itself, close to the code, not in slide decks.

What you'll do

Manage and maintain Linux servers, including installation, configuration, patching, performance tuning, security hardening, and troubleshooting to ensure high availability.
Administer infrastructure and server environments, including user management, networking, storage, backups, monitoring, and system reliability across physical, virtual, or cloud-based servers.
Automate operational tasks using shell scripting and configuration management tools (e.g., Bash, Ansible, or Terraform) to improve efficiency, consistency, and scalability.
Deploy, configure, and operate Open edX instances (the Docker-based Open edX distribution) on single-server and Kubernetes setups
Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines with GitLab CI and GitHub Actions
Design and run modern logging and monitoring stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, etc) so we catch problems before clients do
Support the complete software delivery process, from concept through installation to day-2 operations
Respond to and resolve production incidents, and improve systems so they don't recur
Migrate existing applications to cloud-based, containerized architectures
Automate repetitive operational work with Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, Ansible)
Work closely with our international development team on coding, troubleshooting, and debugging across the application lifecycle
Track emerging technologies and bring the good ones into our stack

Our tech stack

You don't need every item below, but you should be strong across most of the core list and eager to pick up the rest.

Core

Containers & orchestration: Docker, Kubernetes (RKE)
OS & scripting: Linux (Ubuntu/Debian) command line and system administration; Bash/Shell and Python
CI/CD: GitLab CI, GitHub Actions (Jenkins a plus)
Cloud: AWS, Azure, and Hetzner Cloud
Datastores: MySQL, MongoDB, ClickHouse, Redis, ElasticSearch, MinIO, S3
Monitoring & logging: Prometheus, Grafana
Open edX tooling: Tutor (a big plus; if you don't know it yet, you'll learn it fast)

Nice to have

Infrastructure-as-Code: Terraform, Packer, Ansible / Puppet
OS: NixOs
GitOps: FluxCD, ArgoCD
Back-end development with Python / Django
Familiarity with Apache Superset and business intelligence (BI) analytics tools.
Familiarity with SSO technologies such as SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0, and OpenID Connect (OIDC).
Experience with Tutor for managing environments, configurations, and running Open edX via Docker or Kubernetes.

What we're looking for

Minimum 2 years of experience as an DevOps Engineer
A genuine cross-over profile: part software developer, part operator. You should be comfortable working inside the application (Python), not only around it, this blend is the single most important thing for us
Comfortable on the Linux command line and with system administration fundamentals
Solid understanding of containers and their orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
Good scripting and programming skills (Bash, Shell, and especially Python) and hands-on experience with at least one cloud provider
Practical experience with CI/CD tooling
A genuine willingness to learn new topics, our stack evolves, and so should you
Very good English; German and/or Italian is an advantage
A merged contribution to any open-source project is a plus (and a good way to stand out)

Location & time zone

This is a fully remote position. Work from anywhere with a solid internet connection, or from our Berlin office at Platz der Luftbrücke, whichever you prefer.

Important: because we collaborate closely as a team, your working hours must overlap with ours. We can only consider candidates in a time zone within 3 hours of Central European Time (Berlin, UTC+1 / UTC+2 in summer) — roughly UTC−2 to UTC+4. This covers most of Europe, the UK, much of Africa, and the Middle East. Core availability is Monday to Friday, European working hours.

How we work

Tools: GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Taiga, Google Workspace
An open, flat, learning-focused culture, colleagues who want to benefit from your experience, and share theirs
All of our projects are connected to e-learning

What we offer

A permanent, full-time role in a friendly international team
Real influence: your ideas and feedback are needed and acted on
The choice of a Berlin office or fully remote home office, with equipment provided
Meaningful open-source work that reaches learners worldwide

How to apply

Do you want to actively shape things? At Abstract-Technology you can still make a difference. Don't be shy and send us a short introduction and a cover letter at jobs@abstract-technology.de.

A friendly request: please don't generate your whole application with AI. We'd much rather read something genuinely yours, a few honest, creative lines about who you are and why this role fits tell us far more than a polished, generic text. Show us your own voice.

A note on our side, too: we expect to receive a large number of applications and, honestly, we won't be able to reply to every single one. So, thank you, sincerely, to everyone who takes the time to write to us. If you're the right person, we're ready to hire immediately, and we'll be in touch quickly.

We look forward to hearing from you.