About the role
Mission
Too much data, not enough insight?
We get it. At KNIME, we build software that helps people clean, combine, and understand their data: fast, efficiently, and without code.
And with our focus on Data Analytics & AI, we empower everyone to turn complex challenges into clear, actionable insights.
You can help make that happen.
We’re a fast-growing, globally recognized pioneer at the intersection of data and AI. With users in every industry, an international team from 30+ nationalities, and a thriving community.
Join us as a Director of Infrastructure Operations - Cloud and On-Prem in Berlin or Konstanz (Hybrid) and help us deliver reliable, secure software to every customer, whether they use our SaaS or run KNIME in their own environment.
Role Overview
Most of our customers run KNIME on-prem, and will for years. This role is accountable for both delivery modes.
* Lead three teams: Own SaaS Operations, DevSecOps and Platform Delivery Engineering, and the senior security engineer who reports to you.
* Own SaaS operations: Take full responsibility for customer-facing SaaS operations, including SLAs, runbooks, on-call and incident management for critical issues.
* Own on-prem delivery: Take responsibility for the quality of on-prem releases, patch cadence, upgrade paths, and L3 escalations from Support.
* One build, two delivery modes: Run continuous delivery for SaaS and versioned on-prem bundles cut from the same build, with shared Helm charts so the two don’t drift.
* Drive DevSecOps: Ensure high availability and reliability of CI/CD pipelines, enforce policy-as-code, and maintain secure, scalable delivery workflows.
* Own migrations: Own the tooling and process that move customers to new on-prem releases, and to SaaS for those who choose it, with upgrade paths customers can run themselves.
* Manage partners: Oversee our operations partner against contractual KPIs and grow the internal SaaS Operations team alongside it.
* Ensure compliance: Maintain SOC 2 / ISO readiness for operational controls and ensure audit evidence is complete and reliable.
* Coordinate delivery: Work closely with product and engineering teams to define release gates and ensure safe, repeatable deployments.
* Measure delivery: Track the DORA metrics (deployment frequency, lead time, change failure rate, time to restore) separately for SaaS and on-prem, and improve them.
Requirements
* Operations leader: You have run production SaaS and shipped self-managed enterprise software that customers install, upgrade and operate in their own environments.
* Run On-prem delivery: You know what it takes to ship versioned releases into customer-managed Kubernetes environments: Helm-based installs, upgrade paths, patch releases, and L3 support for systems you can’t observe directly.
* DevSecOps expert: You understand CI/CD systems end-to-end, including runtime reliability, policy-as-code, secure pipeline design and software supply chain security.
* Incident commander: You’re confident leading high-severity incidents, coordinating response, and communicating clearly with stakeholders and customers.
* Process-driven: You build repeatable, auditable processes for releases, on-call, and operational workflows.
* Migration experience: You have moved enterprise customers across major versions or delivery models without breaking their workflows.
* Partner manager: You have managed external operations partners against clear SLAs and KPIs while building internal teams alongside them.
* Team builder: You’ve grown and led teams across SaaS operations, DevSecOps, and platform delivery engineering.
What we offer
* Purpose-driven leadership: Own the operational backbone that ensures users can rely on KNIME’s platform every day.
* End-to-end impact: Shape how software moves from development to production at scale across SaaS and the on-prem deployments most of our customers run.
* Autonomy and collaboration: Take ownership of operations strategy while working closely with platform, product, and engineering teams.
* Learning: Work with experienced engineers and operators in a highly technical, collaborative environment.
* Sports: Sports programs in both locations.
* Flexibility: Hybrid setup with flexible working hours to support focus and balance.