About the role
Working Student - Product Engineer
Over 4 million merchants use our card readers to process payments in 34 countries. As we build a world where every business can thrive, we continually expand our range of products and services. We are a truly global fintech company, with 3,000+ people from 93 nationalities spread across 22 offices on four continents.
As the People Tech team, our mission is to enable long-term scalability by fostering a data-informed culture through seamless systems and a people-centric employee experience. As our Product Engineer - Working Student, your first mission will be to help us rethink Feedback and Team Reviews: learn how the process works today, find the friction and turn promising ideas into product experiences that colleagues can test.
The work starts frontend-first: build realistic prototypes in React, Next.js or similar and explore a simpler product layer over Workday, our system of record. If a direction proves valuable, you may help grow it into a standalone internal app - from interface and APIs to data models, authentication and integrations - alongside People Tech and engineering partners.
This is a real product challenge, not a side quest: you will learn across discovery, UX, frontend, testing and product decisions, supported by mentorship and code review. You will collaborate with Product Owners, process owners, people tech and workday specialists, sumuppers, managers, people partners, people analytics and senior stakeholders, with potential exposure to backend development, integrations and production delivery. If your favourite way to answer "what if?" is to build it, you will fit right in.
What you'll do
Find the right problem: Speak with process owners, employees and managers to understand Feedback and Team Reviews, identify friction and decide what is worth solving first.
Shape a focused product slice: Turn requirements, questions and constraints into clear user journeys and an MVP that can teach us something useful.
Prototype and iterate quickly: Build realistic frontend experiences in React, Next.js or similar; compare directions, test assumptions and adjust when the evidence points somewhere better.
Design for different kinds of work: Create accessible, intuitive flows for office-based teams, metrics-driven Field Sales colleagues and on-site teams without building three separate products.
Think end to end: If the concept is validated, help evolve it towards a standalone app while considering APIs, data, authentication, privacy, deployment, integrations and what should remain in Workday.
Use AI as a co-pilot, not an alibi: Use tools such as Cursor, GitHub Copilot, v0, Lovable or similar to accelerate development while still understanding, checking and owning the result.
Make the learning visible: Demo your work, explain decisions and trade-offs, respond to feedback and document the findings and technical choices that should shape the next version.
You'll be great for this role if
Student status. You are currently enrolled at a university and available for a part-time role based in Berlin.
Modern web development skills. You have built web applications with React, Next.js or a similar frontend framework. Coursework, internships, hackathons, personal projects and portfolio work all count.
Product-minded builder. You care about the user's goal and accessibility, and can turn an ambiguous problem into the simplest useful solution, test it and iterate.
Full-stack and AI curiosity. You want to learn how APIs, data and services turn an interface into a reliable product, and can use AI-assisted tools while still understanding, checking and owning the result.
Clear, team-first communication. You can explain what you built end to end, make technical choices understandable, ask for input and respond well to feedback.
Nice to have
Backend and integration foundations. Some experience with Node.js, TypeScript, Python, databases, APIs, serverless functions, Supabase, Firebase, AWS or comparable technologies.
Identity and data concepts. A basic understanding of OAuth, SSO, permissions or responsible data handling.
What we don't expect: years of professional experience, previous Workday knowledge or a perfect first attempt. If you do not tick every box, please apply anyway and show us what you can build, how you think and how you learn.
Job Application Tip
We recognise that candidates feel they need to meet 100% of the job criteria in order to apply for a job. Please note that this is only a guide. If you don't tick every box, it's ok too because it means you have room to learn and develop your career at SumUp.
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