At Vara we believe that improved breast cancer early detection should be standard for every woman worldwide. Our AI-powered software platform, developed in close collaboration with radiologists in Germany, leads to higher detection rates, lower false-positive rates, and reduces routine workload — demonstrated by the largest prospective study in healthcare to date with around 500,000 participating women.

Our mission is to make breast cancer screening more effective, measurable and accessible. By improving early detection and ensuring clinically validated outcomes, we contribute to national efforts for better women’s health.

Vara was founded in 2018 as the first company from Merantix, Europe’s leading AI venture studio, and has grown into an international team of 25 dedicated professionals. Our diverse team unites entrepreneurs, healthcare experts and technology innovators with the shared goal of sustainably improving breast cancer screening.

Find out more on our website: www.vara.ai

We are looking for a Data Engineer to provide fixed-term support to our ML & Data team during a team member’s parental leave. The position is scheduled from March 2026 (earlier start possible) until at least November 2026, with overlap periods at the start and end for thorough knowledge transfer.

Depending on progress there may be an option to move to a permanent contract after the fixed-term period ends.

You will help maintain and improve the data infrastructure that powers our AI models — from our cloud-based data pipelines that process medical imaging data to internal tools for monitoring model performance.

In collaboration with our ML engineers and software developers you will contribute to real systems that are deployed in production as part of the German breast cancer screening program.

Our data stack is Python-centered: we use Polars and DuckDB for data processing, PostgreSQL for our databases, and tools like NiceGUI and Streamlit for internal monitoring. The infrastructure runs on Docker, and we value clean, well-documented code.

This role is also suitable for Master’s students who want to gain practical experience in a production ML environment as part of a longer internship.

Base qualifications — you are a great fit if:

Preferred qualifications — we’d still love to hear from you even if you don’t have all of these:

Flexible working — in the office, from home, or somewhere in between, whatever you prefer.

Team culture — we regularly host team evenings and events to foster culture and togetherness.

Time to relax — enjoy your vacation and take the time you need to rest; we do not micro-manage your time.

Network on our AI Campus — meet exceptional people, attend events, and explore opportunities to broaden your horizons.

Competitive salary — we perform regular salary comparisons within the technology and healthcare sectors.

Career development — work on impactful projects and hold regular conversations with your manager to advance your career.

We stand for an open, diverse working environment and actively promote equal opportunities. All applications are welcome regardless of ethnic origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, marital status, disability or gender identity.

We especially encourage people from groups underrepresented in the tech industry to apply.

We are also happy to support you throughout the immigration and visa application process.