Introduction

About Aiven

Aiven is the trusted open source data platform for everyone.
Through Aiven, developers can do what they do best: create applications. Meanwhile, Aiven does what we do best: manage cloud data infrastructure. We enable customers to drive business results from open source data technologies that trigger true transformations on a global scale.

Job Description

We're a global team of over 400 people, working together to push the boundaries of open-source technology and multi-cloud solutions. Our vision is to help developers, builders, and creators bring their ideas to life with speed and simplicity, by providing a cloud data platform that makes open-source databases, search, streaming, and application infrastructure easily accessible to everyone.

Your tasks

The Role:

As part of delivering world-class managed services, Aiven enables cloud providers - our OEM partners - to create their own DBaaS offerings. We are seeking a dynamic and results-driven Senior Engineering Manager to lead the execution of our OEM-focused product development. You will lead a team of engineers who are responsible for managing MySQL and PostgreSQL services for our partners. We are looking for a person who can effectively manage technical discussions, people development, and customer interactions. Reporting to the Director of OEM Engineering & Strategy, this position acts as the central connection between our engineering teams and our OEM partners.

This role offers a unique opportunity to combine technical leadership with operational excellence and direct customer interaction, enabling you to directly impact the growth of our platform within the partnership landscape. You will not only streamline delivery processes and foster a high-performing engineering team, but also act as a key point of contact for our OEM partners, understanding their requirements, addressing their concerns, and ensuring successful deliveries.

What You'll Do:

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead the team of engineers responsible for managing services for our partners, currently focused on MySQL and PostgreSQL
• Capacity planning & Delivery: Effectively allocate engineering resources across projects and initiatives, ensuring optimal utilization and alignment with our partner's priorities. You'll be accountable for the team's delivery in all aspects, including quality, security, and reliability.
• Team Facilitation: Lead team meetings, such as planning sessions and retrospectives, to continuously improve workflows and delivery.
• Culture Building: Foster a psychologically safe, high-trust environment where curiosity and healthy debate are encouraged.
• Talent acquisition: Actively seek and recruit high-potential engineering talent to strengthen the team's capabilities and drive innovation.
• Delivery process optimization: Continuously analyze and improve delivery processes, identifying bottlenecks and implementing solutions to streamline workflows and enhance efficiency.
• Risk management & mitigation: Proactively identify and assess potential risks, developing mitigation strategies to minimize disruptions and ensure on-time deliveries.

Customer management & communication

• Requirements gathering & communication: Collaborate with OEM partners to gather detailed requirements, ensuring clear communication and alignment between partner expectations and engineering deliverables.
• Partner feedback & advocacy: Proactively solicit and analyze customer feedback, acting as an advocate for OEM needs within the engineering organization.
• Regular status updates & reporting: Provide regular status updates to OEMs, including project progress, milestones, and potential risks, ensuring transparency and proactive issue resolution.

What We're Looking For:

Leadership skills:

• People Leadership: A proven track record of leading diverse and distributed teams, to successfully deliver software products.
• Product Thinking: A strong product sense that enables you to drive the direction of the products towards meeting customer needs (mostly for MySQL)
• Communication: Excellent communication skills in English, with the ability to effectively engage directly with customers.
• Adaptability: The ability to bring order and clarity to a dynamic, ambiguous environment, a trait essential in a fast-growing tech company.
• Team Building: Experience in recruiting engineering talent and a deep understanding of what it takes to build and retain high-performing teams.
• Agile Expertise: Experience with agile software development methodologies.

Technical skills:

• Cloud infrastructure Concepts: Good knowledge of VM-based cloud infrastructure fundamentals.
• Release & Quality: Deep understanding of release management and testing best practices to own the delivery pipeline.
• Problem-Solving: A genuine interest in solving complex technical challenges with customer-focused solutions.
• [Nice to have] Distributed Systems: Experience in building and designing distributed systems at scale in a cloud environment.
• [Nice to have] MySQL concepts: Good understanding of how to manage MySQL or similar databases

Amazing!

We offer

Aiven

Berlin, DE

• Job Type: Full-Time
• Function: Engineering Software
• Industry: Infrastructure
• Post Date: 01/22/2026
• Website: aiven.io
• Company Address: Antinkatu 1 (6th floor), Helsinki, Finland 00100, FI

What's next:

Global Benefits:

Our global benefits are designed to help you thrive and grow, personally and professionally:

• Participate in Aiven's equity plan.
• Balance work and life with our hybrid work policy.
• Choose the equipment you need to set yourself up for success.
• Use your Professional Development Plan budget for learning opportunities.
• Receive holistic wellbeing support through our global Employee Assistance Program.
• Inquire about our Global Time Off Commitment (Parental and Sick Leave, as well as Personal Time)
• Enjoy country-specific benefits for our global cast.

How to Recognize and Avoid Employment Scams:

There has been a rise in fake job postings used by scammers to get personal information. At Aiven, all of our emails relating to recruitment come from an @aiven.io, @greenhouse.io or @eu.greenhouse.io domain and all of our interviews are conducted by video call or in person.

Equal Opportunities:

Aiven provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants for employment without regard to age, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, marital and family status or without regard to any other similar personal attributes. Aiven complies with applicable local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company operates. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, training and any other terms and conditions related to employment.

At Aiven we are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities or special needs in our working environment and job application procedures. We make all reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities or who otherwise need support to thrive in the workplace. We are committed to continuously improving workplace accessibility. There is an option to request a discussion in the application process but if you have any questions before applying please write to us at [email protected].

Contact

If you think Aiven is the place for you and that our Values align with yours, send us your resume and we'll get in touch!

Our interviews will never occur via text or chat. If you're unsure of the legitimacy of a job opportunity/offer pertaining to Aiven, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].