EMS Press is looking for a proactive, pragmatic and technically confident Head of Technology who can combine hands-on technical judgement with clear leadership, reliable project delivery, and close collaboration across the organisation. This is a part-time senior-level role reporting to the managing director. The role requires broad technical knowledge, and experience managing agile, project-focused teams.
EMS Press is the publishing house of the not-for-profit European Mathematical Society and is based in Berlin, Germany. Our program includes 28 journals and about 15–20 new book titles per year, with a backlist of over 270 books. We are expanding our role as a community publisher with innovative publishing products and services. Our emphasis is on fair and sustainable models for open access and accessible formats to maximise the impact of mathematics research.
Role description
We are looking for a proactive, pragmatic and technically confident Head of Technology who can combine hands-on technical judgement with clear leadership, reliable project delivery, and close collaboration across the organisation. This is a part-time senior-level role reporting to the managing director. The role requires broad technical knowledge, and experience managing agile, project-focused teams.
Requirements
- 3+ years’ experience with databases, data processing, web technology, and implementation of technical specifications
- Experience managing or leading technical teams
- Excellent communicator with collaborative mindset
- Demonstrable experience of project management, structured delivery, and good operational practice; qualifications such as PMP are a bonus
- Sound knowledge of software development best practices, including version control, code reviews, CI, testing, and documentation
- Ability to work independently, take ownership of individual projects, and provide oversight across the wider technology portfolio
- Professional communication in English
- Based in or near Berlin, with availability for regular in-person meetings
- Bonus: product management skills, knowledge of LaTeX, degree in computer science or related field, or experience in academic publishing
Role details
As the EMS Press Head of Technology you will manage the technology department of the publishing house. You will be responsible for
- leading the technology department and representing it in the leadership team
- leading software projects from ideation to completion
- setting realistic project plans and ensuring that deadlines are met or adjusted in agreement with stakeholders
- overseeing the maintenance and operation of existing services
- contributing to existing software where needed, including developing new features and resolving issues
- ensuring the security and data protection compliance of infrastructure and processes
- planning and implementing technology budgets
- coordinating closely with other departments in the publishing house
Examples of your job duties and involved technology include:
- Publishing website (ems.press) and society website euromathsoc.org
- Headless CMS based on Directus
- Job queues for workflow orchestration
- TypeScript, React, HTTP APIs and relational databases
- Academic publishing standards and infrastructure (JATS XML, ONIX, Crossref, EPUB)
- Containers, Kubernetes, Google Cloud infrastructure and GitOps
- Accessibility and assistive technologies (e.g. WCAG)
- Business intelligence and data analytics (e.g. helping other team members make informed decisions based on the available data in different internal databases)
- Automations and LLM/ML-based tools to reduce repetitive manual work for yourself and others
Note that the technology list is illustrative and there is no requirement to know every item.
What we offer
- Part-time permanent employment (24-32 hours per week) with prospect to increase work hours mid-term
- Base salary range 75-86K EUR gross annually, full-time equivalent, depending on experience, plus an annual performance bonus of up to 10%. Compensation is pro-rated according to working hours.
- Flexible working hours
- Small and dynamic international team
- Office at TU Berlin and/or remote work with regular in-person meetings
- Training and personal development
