Description
The Managed Services department manages, develops, and maintains services that Belnet offers on and above its network. These services facilitate and secure the use of the Belnet network and the internet and provide added value to the end customers. Examples include: Domain Name Registration, DNS/DNSSEC, Certificates, Federation SSO, Eduroam, Antispam, Cloud Storage, Filesender, FTP mirroring, but also DMPOnline.be, PID and ORFEO Open Access Repository.
About FedOSC :
The Federal Open Science Cloud project aims to define best practices for the adoption of Open Science at the federal level, to develop the Belgian Open Science infrastructure on the federal level , to offer tools necessary to implement Open Science, to develop technical solutions for the integration of research data from Federal scientific institutions into different international infrastructures such as EOSC infrastructure, and to help federal institutions adopt strategic approaches to Open Science and research data management. The vision of an integrated Open Science infrastructure aims at facilitating the collaboration of researchers and institutions a on the creation, validation, publication, exchange and reuse of research outputs, compatible with the FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoprable, Reusable).
Open and FAIR research practices rely on the availability of tools and services that Belnet makes available to research and education organizations, such as data management planning (through DMPonline), data registration, documentation and publication (through ORFEO and PID services).
Belnet and its Managed Services team is looking for a Senior application Manager oriented toward Open Science Ecosystem. Within Belnet Managed Services, the Application Manager for Open projects will:
- Serve as the product owner for all Open Science–related applications (e.g., DMPOnline.be, PID services, ORFEO) with a strong emphasis on identity and access management.
- Act as superuser and primary functional administrator, ensuring robust IAM integrations (federated login, authorization flows, role management) and delivering end-to-end customer support in line with Belnet’s service procedures.
- Contribute to the daily activities of the Managed Services team, including support for applications outside the primary scope, and apply IAM best practices across all supported services.
- Use technical and IAM expertise to manage the full lifecycle of new services: feasibility studies, development, service procurement, IAM integration design, pilot implementation, operational maintenance, and customer support.
- Coordinate internal and external activities—particularly those tied to authentication, federation, and access control—with suppliers and internal stakeholders (Services & Security, Customer Service, Communications, Legal, Accounting, etc.).
- Collaborate with Business Units to capture customer requirements related to managed services, especially around identity, access, and integration needs. Maintain a structured backlog and ensure clear communication with all stakeholders (Product Management, external developers, etc.).
- Work closely with colleagues from Services & Security to guarantee high-quality service delivery, with specific attention to security, continuity, access governance, and federation health.
- Advocate for IAM-aligned best practices within Belnet and promote the managed Open Science services both internally and, when applicable, to customers through presentations and workshops.
- the role requires a solid understanding of Microsoft identity environments (Active Directory, Entra ID/Azure AD). The person must be able to guide and assist customers in configuring their local Microsoft identity infrastructure so they can properly connect to and consume Belnet’s federation services. This includes supporting them in setting up federation protocols, validating attributes, troubleshooting authentication flows, and ensuring secure and compliant access to the federated ecosystem.
- Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of ICT developments, especially around federated identity, OAuth/OIDC, access management, and security trends.
Profile
- University degree or IT bachelor.
- 3–6 years of experience as a System Engineer, Application Owner, or similar function with exposure to IAM-intensive environments.
- Strong customer orientation; able to lead meetings and workshops, provide clear explanations, and translate technical IAM concepts into accessible language.
- Ability to translate customer requirements—including identity and access needs—into actionable improvements.
- Extensive experience with Linux systems (Ubuntu/RedHat), including security hardening, log analysis, and scripting (bash, Perl/Python) and Microsoft systems.
- Solid knowledge of cloud environments (preferably open cloud).
- Basic Programming skills in Java, PHP, or Python.
- Foundational knowledge of federated IAM solutions and experience with:
- Authentication and authorization protocols (OAuth2, OpenID Connect)
- Interoperability between Active Directory / Entra ID, Shibboleth,SimpleSamlphp, and other federation systems
- Identity federation workflows in research and education (R&E) sectors
- Understanding of modern development practices (CI/CD, DevOps).
- Basic knowledge of networking (TCP/IP, web access firewalls, routing, network security).
- Strong interest in open-source technologies and Open Science ecosystems.
Assets
• Previous experience with Open Science platforms and tools (DMPOnline, publication/data repositories, research data management systems).
• Experience with automation tools (Ansible, Puppet).
• Basic understanding of project management and ITIL processes.
• Proactive, organized, strong team spirit.
• Strong problem-management skills.
• Dutch-speaking or French-speaking, with good knowledge of English and the other Belgian language.
• Affinity with education, research, or public-sector environments.
Work together with colleagues from Business Units to understand and capture customer needs concerning the managed products and to keep a backlog of such needs and communicate about these requests with different internal and external stakeholders (Product Management, external developers, …)Work together with colleagues from Services & Security to strive for optimal service delivery for all provided services (including continuity and security).Advocate for and promote their services and those of Services & Security, primarily internally within Belnet, but potentially also in conversations with customers and through presentations or workshops.
Good knowledge of cloud solutions (open cloud preferably)Knowledge of programming language like Ruby, PHP, PythonBasic knowledge of Federated IAM solutionsInteractions between AD/Entra ID/Shibboleth ,OAuth, OpenID solutionsKnowledge of modern development technology (CI/CD solutions, Devops)Knowledge of networking technology (TCP/IP, Web access firewall, FW, routing)Basic knowledge of Federated IAM solutionsInteractions between AD/Entra ID/Shibboleth ,OAuth, OpenID solutionsBasic knowledge of project management and ITIL methodologyProactivity, organization skills, and a real team playerProblem management skillsDutch-speaking or French-speaking with good knowledge of English and the second belgian languageAffinity with the education, research, and government sectors is a plus
