Senior Platform & Data Architect

About the Company

Our partner company, Transparent Hiring GmbH, is a fast-growing, cash-flow-positive startup operating across Germany and the United States, with offices in Berlin and New York City. English is the corporate language. They foster a collaborative, hands-on environment with a strong “build and ship” mindset and are actively scaling operations for their next growth stage.

Why This Role Exists

Transparent Hiring GmbH acts as an intermediary between insurance carriers and reinsurers, with authority to write US casualty business. After binding business, significant operational work continues quarter after quarter, including bordereaux, premium and loss data, reconciliation, reporting, and maintaining actuarial models (currently Excel-based). The internal setup began like many startups: SharePoint + spreadsheets + manual workflows. There is now a critical need for a senior, execution-focused person to design and implement an integrated internal platform to ensure smooth scaling into 2027 and beyond.

The Role

The Senior Platform & Data Architect role sits at the intersection of architecture, data automation, and insurance operations. Your core focus will be on the technical and platform side, with domain knowledge in insurance being something that can be built on the job. You will be trusted to take ownership, structure ambiguous problems, and deliver real working solutions, not just concepts.

What You’ll Do

• Map and redesign key internal processes, including bordereaux ingestion, accounting/reconciliation, reporting, and actuarial model inputs/outputs.
• Define and implement a target architecture that consolidates existing tools into a single integrated platform.
• Automate bordereaux workflows: ingestion, validation, transformation, versioning, and data quality controls.
• Build a reliable “single source of truth” for core business metrics and reporting.
• Support the transition from Excel-first actuarial models to more sustainable solutions (Python/SQL and platform components), working closely with the Chief Actuary in NYC.
• Evaluate where “plug-and-play” tools fit versus where a custom build is required, and manage integration/customization work end-to-end.
• (Nice to have) Support client/partner integrations and, if you are US-based and interested, participate in occasional client-facing work.

Who You Are (Must-have)

• Proven experience building and implementing data, platform, or process solutions, ideally in a fast-moving environment.
• Strong hands-on skills in Python and SQL.
• Ability to work with and/or untangle Excel/VBA logic (acknowledging legacy systems).
• Highly autonomous: capable of clarifying requirements, breaking down problems, proposing a plan, and executing independently.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and ownership in a startup setting.
• Fluent in English (German not required).

Nice-to-have

• Experience in insurance/reinsurance, especially P&C / casualty / long-tail or bordereaux-based operations.
• Experience migrating from spreadsheets/SharePoint/manual processes to integrated systems.
• Familiarity with data engineering best practices (ELT/ETL, governance, versioning, controls).
• Interest in AI/advanced analytics in a secure environment (sensitive data must stay within controlled infrastructure).

Location & Working Model

This is a remote-first role across Germany and the US, with offices available. A key overlap window is typically 3:00–6:30 PM CET (Germany) / 9:00 AM–12:30 PM ET (US East Coast). The ability to travel to the US occasionally is a plus (visa feasibility matters). Transparent Hiring GmbH offers relocation support to Germany if you are currently outside of Germany.

Compensation

Transparent Hiring GmbH currently sees market ranges, depending on location and profile, of approximately €75k–€100k (or US equivalent). For a strong “one person who can own a lot,” they are open to moving toward six figures. They are also open to aligning on milestones and reviewing compensation as scope and impact grow.

What Makes This Role Interesting

• Direct impact: you will build the operational backbone for a scaling reinsurance business.
• A small, integrated team where your work ships fast and matters.
• Complex, high-value data with strong potential for automation and AI in a space that is still under-digitized.

Key skills/competency

• Platform Architecture
• Data Automation
• Python
• SQL
• System Integration
• Excel/VBA Logic
• Data Governance
• Process Redesign
• Reinsurance Operations
• Startup Environment