Job title: Software engineer

Work context

The Federal Judicial Police is a specialized police service that is primarily responsible for combating organized crime in all its forms. It is one of the three general directorates of the federal police and focuses on conducting investigations in the areas of cybercrime, terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking, and many others. It provides support and expertise to the entire integrated police and to its national and international partners.

Within this directorate, the operational resources assigned to judicial police operations, the fight against serious and organized crime, special units, and technical and forensic police operations are housed.

Job description

The tech lead will join an existing team of four people working on the development of a Python application in Django to support operational needs. The tech lead is responsible for the technical direction, architecture, and coordination of the technical team. He or she works closely with the project manager to define the technical implementation of business objectives and leads the technical team through complex technical challenges. This person is expected to define coding standards and mentor less experienced team members.

The entire project is developed using Agile methodologies and is fully on-premise. We require presence at the office in Brussels (easily accessible by public transport) two days a week (Tuesday and Thursday). The candidate must be able to obtain a security clearance.

Profile

We are looking for an experienced and driven Tech Lead with a passion for designing, developing, and guiding innovative software solutions. You combine strong technical expertise with leadership skills and are able to translate business needs into scalable, future-oriented technical solutions. You take ownership of the architecture and technical quality of the platform and guide development teams in realizing it.

• Technical Leadership: You take the technical lead within the team, determine the technological direction, and support developers through coaching, mentoring, and code reviews.

• Architecture & System Design: Strong expertise in software architecture and system design. You are capable of designing complex systems with attention to scalability, maintainability, security, and performance.

• Front-end Development: Extensive experience in designing, building, and maintaining modern web applications in React. You ensure best practices in code quality, performance, and user experience.

• Back-end Development: In-depth knowledge of Python and extensive experience with Django for developing robust, secure, and scalable application back-ends.

• DevOps & Platform Engineering: Demonstrable experience with Docker, Docker Compose, and CI/CD processes. Knowledge of deployment, monitoring, and automation practices to ensure reliable software delivery.

• Data & Integration: Experience in developing data-driven applications and integrations. Strong focus on data quality, integrity, and reliability within complex data landscapes.

• Problem-solving ability: Excellent analytical and conceptual skills to identify, structure, and solve complex technical challenges.

• Quality & Best Practices: You foster a culture of technical excellence by applying coding standards, testing strategies, security principles, and continuous improvement.

Education:

• Minimum a bachelor's degree in Software Development/IT or equivalent demonstrable experience in software development

• Demonstrable experience in application development in Python

Technical Skills:

• Frontend: HTML, CSS, JS, React

• Back-end: Python, Django

• Data: Python, SQL, pandas

• API Development: REST, SOAP, GraphQL

• Versioning: Git, Github, Gitlab, CI/CD

Languages:

• Language skills: English + mastery of one, or preferably both, national languages (NL/FR). If not mastered, passive understanding of the other language is required.

Soft Skills:

• Strong communication skills

• Team-oriented and collaborative

• Innovative thinking

• Eye for detail

• Proactive work attitude