INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies, with the mission to connect the world. To achieve this, ITU manages the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits at the international level, works to improve communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishes global standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communication systems. ITU also organizes global Telecom events bringing together the most influential representatives of government and the private sector to exchange ideas and knowledge for the benefit of all.
Roster - Full Stack Engineer Consultant
Vacancy notice no: 2173
Sector: BDT
Department: DNE
Country of contract: Remote
Duty station: Home Based
Position number: [[positionNumber]]
Grade: [[PositionGrade]]
Type of contract: Consultant
Duration of contract: Selected candidates will be engaged for a period between 50 and 260 working days.
Recruitment open to: External
Application deadline (Midnight Geneva Time): 30 June 2026
ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT
The Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) is responsible for the organization and coordination of the work of the Telecommunication Development Sector of the Union. BDT deals mainly with development policies, strategies, programming, projects, as well as technical cooperation activities to enable and foster universal access to affordable, high-quality and secure telecommunications/ICTs and Foster equitable and inclusive use of telecommunications/ICTs to empower people and societies for sustainable development. To effectively and efficiently serve the needs of Member States, BDT is organized into four functional areas:
- Operations Coordination Department (Office of the Deputy to the Director) (DDR)
- Projects, Partnerships & Digital Skills Department (PPS)
- Digital Networks & Environment Department (DNE)
- Digital Knowledge Society Department (DKS)
The Digital Networks & Environment Department (DNE) is responsible to assist the Member States, especially the G77 countries, in a wide range of ICT development challenges, as basic connectivity, spectrum management, evolution of current to future broadband networks and technologies, enabling universal and affordable access, and strengthening the security through the cybersecurity support. In addition, the DNE Department provides expertise and needed support for emergency telecommunications and the increasingly important and urgent aspects related to the environment and climate change.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Under the operational guidance of the Head of the Future Networks & Spectrum Management (Access) Division (FNS) within the Digital Networks & Environment Department (DNE), and in close collaboration with the division's team members, the role of this consultancy is to ensure the support of successful implementation of infrastructure projects and toolset and provide technical assistance to build and scale a web-based application with security built in at every layer. The full stack engineer consultant will design, develop, and maintain frontend, backend, and data workflows while ensuring user datasets are handled securely, compliantly, and with auditable controls.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
The consultant will:
- Build and maintain frontend and backend features with secure data interactions.
- Develop scalable FastAPI services for data ingestion, transformation, and delivery.
- Implement reliable, secure data workflows in Python and Databricks.
- Apply best practices (input validation, API authentication, secure session handling).
- Prevent common vulnerabilities.
- Design APIs and services with robust access control and abuse prevention.
- Implement secure storage patterns.
- Harden compute and data pipelines in Databricks.
- Implement authentication/authorization flows.
- Manage user and service-level roles across the application.
- Enhance CI/CD pipelines with automated testing, code quality checks, and security scans.
CONCRETE DELIVERABLES
- Development and maintenance of secure, production-grade frontend and backend features.
- Implementation of documented APIs with integrated authentication and authorization.
- Development of data ingestion, processing, and output pipelines.
- Enhancement of automated tests and CI/CD checks covering both functionality and security.
- Integration of logging, monitoring, and alerting into deployed services.
- Submission of a well-structured documentation for code, workflows, and operational handoffs.
COMPETENCIES
- Proficiency in Python for data analysis and machine learning.
- Advanced knowledge of data processing tools and libraries such as pandas and numpy.
- Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases, including PostgreSQL and MongoDB.
- Strong understanding of statistical methods and their application in data analysis.
- Familiarity with machine learning frameworks and libraries such as scikit-learn, TensorFlow, scikit-learn and PyTorch.
- Proficiency in visualization tools like Matplotlib, Seaborn, Plotly, and Tableau.
- Familiarity with big data tools and platforms such as Hadoop, Spark, and Kafka.
- Knowledge of geospatial libraries and tools like geopandas, shapely and QGIS.
- Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud for data storage and processing.
- Proficiency in version control systems like Git and platforms such as GitHub and GitLab.
- Ability to develop, train, and evaluate machine learning models.
- Ability to communicate complex data insights effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED
Education:
Advanced university degree in computer science, data science, data engineering, telecommunications, or a related field OR education from a reputed college of advanced education with a diploma of equivalent standard to that of an advanced university degree in one of the fields above.
Experience:
At least five (5) years of demonstrated experience with a specific focus on designing and implementing automated data pipelines. Technical knowledge in:
- Python, SQL, Git, PostgreSQL, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Docker, Kubernetes, Apache Airflow, etc.
- Frontend Development in JavaScript, TypeScript.
- Backend Development in Python (FastAPI). API design.
- Python pipelines, Databricks workflows, ETL security.
- Cloud (AWS).
- OAuth2, OIDC, JWT, role-based design.
- DevOps/CI/CD (GitHub, AzureDevops or similar).
Languages:
Knowledge of English at advanced level. Knowledge of another official language of the Union (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) would be an advantage.
REMUNERATION INFORMATION
Between USD 230 and USD 420 per working day to be defined according to the work experience of the consultant and the complexity of the assignment.
INFORMATION ON RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the ITU career website. The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. ITU uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates. Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided. Messages originating from a non ITU e-mail account - @itu.int - should be disregarded. ITU does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.
ITU applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment. ITU is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. Achieving gender balance is a high priority for ITU.
