Director of Technology
We are looking for a Director of Technology to lead and shape the Sovereign Tech Agency’s technology and research work. This is a rare opportunity to work at the center of a small organization focused on the critical technologies that underpin digital sovereignty but rarely receive public attention. From protocol implementations and cryptographic libraries to package managers and security tooling, these systems are part of the invisible infrastructure today’s world depends upon.
The Director of Technology is part of the management team of the organization, alongside the Managing Directors and the Director of Programs. In this role, you will shape our technology strategy: how we identify critical fields of action, where we set priorities, and how our programs and investments complement each other.
This role requires the judgment to anticipate where critical open infrastructure will come under pressure, and to help the open source ecosystem prepare before those pressures become emergencies. Memory safety, post-quantum cryptography, and the multi-layered effects of the AI transformation are examples of shifts the Sovereign Tech Agency is responding to. Spotting the next ones is central to your work.
You will lead a team of technologists and research-focused colleagues, ensuring that our technical expertise supports day-to-day program work while also developing into clear, useful outputs for partners, policymakers, maintainers, and the wider public. This includes strengthening the knowledge base supporting our investment portfolio, initiating focused research projects, and helping the organization demonstrate the impact of its work.
Working closely with Programs, Communications, Legal, and Operations, you will ensure that our mission remains grounded in technical understanding and that our work strengthens the most critical open infrastructure that digital sovereignty depends upon.
Director of Technology (all genders) Job Description (English)
Techniche*r Direktor*in (m/w/d/x) Stellenausschreibung (Deutsch)
Sovereign Tech Agency
The Sovereign Tech Agency secures digital infrastructure in the public interest. Our mission is to strengthen digital sovereignty, fostering competition and innovation by investing in critical open source infrastructure and the ecosystems that support it. In this way, we are providing the basis for a stable, trustworthy, and democratic digital future.
We are a new organization at the intersection of technology, politics, and public stewardship. Our aim is not only to strengthen the open source ecosystem, but also to shape its future.
Open digital infrastructure is the backbone of the digital world. It is essential for the flow of information, for government, for business, and for innovation, much like roads and bridges in the physical world. The most effective strategy for building this infrastructure is open source software: it is the bedrock on which our digital society is built – powerful, collaborative, and democratic.
With a commission from the German Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation, the Sovereign Tech Agency invests in critical software components, develops programs, and creates structures that sustainably strengthen the open source ecosystem, including the people behind the code.
Our work is unique: we are leading the way on how governments engage with open digital infrastructure and laying the groundwork for how modern societies ensure resilience, technological diversity, and public digital services.
Together, we are building Europe’s digital future – open, secure, and sovereign.
