Ubitec GmbH
Robert Aistleitner, Principal Engineer bei Ubitec
Description
Principal Engineer bei Ubitec Robert Aistleitner redet im Interview über die Organisation des Devteams, auf was beim Recruiting und Onboarding Acht gegeben wird und welche technologischen Challenges das Bot-Framework von Ubitec mit sich bringt.
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Video Summary
In "Robert Aistleitner, Principal Engineer bei Ubitec," Robert Aistleitner outlines a six-person dev team with no strict backend/frontend split, rotating between framework development and client projects, and taking on technical lead roles early. The culture is hands-on, open, and supportive; candidates are hired via in-house job profiles, CTO screening, an interview, and a half-day hands-on review, with team fit highly emphasized. Growth is supported through selectable project complexity, peer help, and a standardized onboarding checklist that includes meeting every colleague; the work centers on a generic Docker-based bot framework (Python-Django, Postgres) for heterogeneous, often on-prem deployments, plus editorial and widget front-ends.
Inside Ubitec’s Bot Framework: Autonomy, On‑Premise Delivery, and Hands‑On Leadership — Insights from “Robert Aistleitner, Principal Engineer bei Ubitec” (Ubitec GmbH)
Why this techleadstory resonates with engineers
At DevJobs.at, we listened closely to “Robert Aistleitner, Principal Engineer bei Ubitec” from Ubitec GmbH. Few talks capture an engineering culture so clearly in so few words: a compact team, a generic bot framework, real customer deployments, and a working style that blends autonomy with strong peer support. The result is a setting where engineers grow by taking on responsibility, stepping into technical lead roles early, and navigating heterogeneous deployments as part of the everyday reality.
Several themes run through the session: freedom to move across frontend and backend, early ownership in customer projects, a structured hiring and onboarding process, strong on‑premise capabilities for public sector and enterprise clients, and a Docker-based, generic infrastructure that adapts to OpenShift and Kubernetes environments.
“Unser Dev-Team besteht aus sechs Personen … Backend- und Frontend-Team [ist] eigentlich nicht wirklich aufgeteilt … jeder kann sich da frei entfalten.”
That mindset shapes how Ubitec GmbH builds and ships its technology — and it’s precisely what makes this story compelling for hands-on developers who want room to maneuver and the challenge of real-world integrations.
The team: small, focused, and cross‑functional by default
Robert sketches the setup plainly: a six-person dev team with three senior and three junior engineers. The working model is the key: no hard split between backend and frontend. People choose the tasks they take on, and the team backs them up.
“… jeder kann sich da frei entfalten … und sich aussuchen, welche Arbeiten man machen will.”
What this signals to engineers:
- Cross‑functionality is the norm: You won’t be boxed into a narrow role. You’ll build breadth across backend services, frontend widgets, data, and deployment — the full lifecycle that a bot platform requires.
- Autonomy is intentional: Tasks are not only assigned; they are actively chosen. That requires trust and builds ownership.
- The senior/junior mix enables mentoring: Three seniors provide experience and guidance, while juniors learn through real delivery.
Ubitec GmbH also states the obvious — heterogeneous deployments consume real time — instead of treating operations as a footnote.
“Recht viel Zeit [geht] auch für Infrastruktur und Deployment … weil wir eben sehr heterogene Deployments haben.”
For many engineers, that combination is exactly the draw: product development, customer adaptation, and operational responsibility without silos.
The product core: a generic bot framework
Everything builds on Ubitec’s own bot framework — the foundation for all bots the company delivers.
“Wir entwickeln grundsätzlich ein Bot-Framework … sehr generisch umgesetzt.”
The framework supports multiple scenarios:
- Classic chatbots
- Customer service integrations and live chat
- Advisory systems
- Voice bots
- Search integrations
That breadth is not about box‑ticking. It reflects the variety of customer needs and the amount of adaptation involved. A generic core is the lever that keeps this variety tractable while maintaining quality and maintainability.
For engineers, that means building abstractions and extensions that support multiple outcomes: molding a single foundation into different bot scenarios — and ensuring those outcomes integrate cleanly on client systems.
Customer projects and early technical lead roles
A standout element is how responsibility is distributed. Beyond core framework work, customer projects play a central role — and team members are encouraged to take on technical leadership.
“Mitarbeiter [sollen] auch gleich ein Lead übernehmen … selbst wenn sie noch nicht lange da sind.”
Project complexity varies, and engineers can opt for simpler or more challenging engagements.
“Es gibt auch unterschiedlich komplexe Projekte. Man kann sich einfache Projekte aussuchen oder schwerere.”
This translates into:
- Leadership early, not eventually: Ownership, customer contact, prioritization, and technical decision‑making become part of your day-to-day.
- Team support as a safety net: “Wir schauen … dass wir uns da gegenseitig unterstützen” — courage to stretch is encouraged and supported.
- Growth over comfort: In Robert’s words, people grow by sometimes taking on more than they’re fully ready for, rather than staying underchallenged.
On‑premise is the rule, not the exception: infrastructure and deployment
Ubitec GmbH puts particular weight on on‑premise delivery. Many customers are public sector organizations or enterprises that expect solutions to run in their own data centers.
“Ein Riesenpunkt ist … On-Premise-Lösungen … in ihren Rechenzentren …”
Flexibility becomes the key operational skill:
- Integrations with OpenShift environments
- Integrations with Kubernetes environments
- Adaptation to individual customer setups
“Es gibt individuelle Lösungen beim Kunden jeweils, an die man sich anpassen muss.”
Technically, the team uses a generic infrastructure based on Docker that can be adapted across different targets.
“Eine möglichst generische Infrastruktur, die auf Docker aufbaut … auf alles adaptierbar.”
For engineers, that means learning to package and design services so they run reliably not only in greenfield cloud setups, but inside diverse enterprise landscapes. It’s challenging — and that’s the point.
Stack and frontends that make the framework usable
Robert keeps the tech stack concise:
“Wir arbeiten großteils mit Python-Django, mit Postgres-Datenbanken, [und] diversen anderen Datenbanken.”
Two frontend tracks make the platform productive in everyday use:
- An editorial interface to create and review bot content and to monitor operations
- A widget framework that enables fast, highly adaptable customer widgets, commonly embedded on websites
“Möglichst schnell zu Ergebnissen … [und] völlig adaptierbar.”
Again, the throughline is clear: generic building blocks that enable quick results, but remain customizable to customer needs.
Hiring that starts with engineering needs
A strong signal: the development team writes the job requirement profiles.
“Wir erstellen natürlich selber die Job-Ausschreibungsprofile … wir wissen genau, was für Anforderungsprofile wir haben …”
Publishing is handled outside the dev department. Incoming applications are briefly pre‑sorted; CTO Dominik makes the call on who to invite.
“Dann von unserem CTO, dem Dominik, ausgewählt, wer dann tatsächlich eingeladen wird.”
What follows is deliberately hands‑on:
- Conversations for technical and personal fit
- If positive, a half‑day practical session: discuss what the candidate has built, review work samples, and watch how they work
- Expectations vary with seniority
- Team fit and openness matter as much as skills
“Ein bisschen Hands-on … Arbeitsproben … über die Schulter geschaut … passt derjenige ins Team … von der Offenheit her. Wir sind ein sehr Hands-on orientiertes Team.”
For candidates, the message is clear: practice matters, people matter, and how you work is as important as what you know.
Onboarding: standardized, human, and network‑oriented
Onboarding follows a standardized checklist that ensures everyone gets the same high‑level view of the company and its work.
“Eine gute Checkliste … ein sehr standardisierter Prozess … jeder kriegt einen guten Überblick über die komplette Firma.”
The standout element is disarmingly simple and unusually deliberate:
“Mit jedem Mitarbeiter einmal reden und herausfinden, was jeder macht … damit man … weiß, zu wem man gehen muss.”
That social map is critical in a small, fast-moving team. It reduces guesswork, keeps knowledge discoverable, and makes it easier for new colleagues to become productive quickly.
Culture: collegial, supportive, and built around real responsibility
The session paints a culture that holds two forces in balance: high expectations for personal responsibility and strong collegial support. Engineers are encouraged to stretch beyond their comfort zone, with the team providing cover and help when needed.
“Wir schauen … dass wir uns da gegenseitig unterstützen … man wächst … dadurch, dass man sich vielleicht mit Aufgaben eher übernimmt, als unterfordert ist.”
For engineering talent, the attraction is the blend:
- Freedom over micromanagement
- Real project leadership over shadow roles
- Infrastructure and deployment as a first‑class concern, not an afterthought
- A generic product that must succeed in varied environments — and therefore demands mature engineering
Concrete reasons tech talent should consider Ubitec
Based on the session, here are grounded, practical reasons:
- Broad technical exposure: Python‑Django, Postgres, frontend widget development, and Docker‑based deployments across OpenShift/Kubernetes and custom on‑prem setups
- Product core plus project diversity: a generic bot framework used across chat, live chat, advisory, voice, and search scenarios
- Early technical leadership: stepping into lead roles on customer projects is encouraged, even for newer team members
- Cross‑functional freedom: no rigid backend/frontend divide; engineers choose tasks and move across boundaries
- Hands‑on hiring and onboarding: practical work samples and a half‑day collaboration session, followed by a standardized onboarding process
- Real on‑premise experience: build and run software in the environments public sector and enterprise clients actually use
- A team culture that backs you up: openness, collegiality, and mutual support are explicit values
What this reveals about leadership at Ubitec
Leadership at Ubitec GmbH is evident less in titles and more in everyday decisions: who takes responsibility, how alignment happens, and how the team creates clarity amid changing deployment requirements. Robert’s description highlights three pillars:
- Decisions close to code and customers: devs define requirement profiles; CTO Dominik leads invitation decisions; practical collaboration is surfaced early
- Enablement over control: engineers are encouraged to take the lead, with the team providing support so that stretching becomes growth
- Process as stabilizer: an onboarding checklist and a generic infrastructure approach provide consistency without rigidity
The result is an environment where engineers can develop technically and personally without losing sight of customer needs.
Lessons from an on‑premise‑first reality
Many teams talk cloud‑native excellence. Ubitec GmbH lives a broader reality: cloud principles, yes, but put to work inside enterprise and public sector constraints. Docker as a portable base. OpenShift and Kubernetes as target environments. Adaptations for individual data centers.
This hones three capabilities engineers need everywhere:
- Package over patchwork: Design services for reproducible deployment across varied targets.
- Observe over assume: An editorial and monitoring interface keeps operations visible and actionable.
- Abstract over entangle: A generic framework forces clear interfaces and extension points.
Engineers who master these build more robust software in any environment.
Quotes and cues that define the culture
A few lines from “Robert Aistleitner, Principal Engineer bei Ubitec” linger because they encode the operating system of the team:
“… frei entfalten … aussuchen, welche Arbeiten man machen will.”
“… gleich ein Lead übernehmen … selbst wenn [man] noch nicht lange da ist.”
“… man wächst … indem man sich eher übernimmt, als unterfordert ist.”
“… On-Premise … OpenShift, Kubernetes … individuelle Lösungen … Docker‑basiert adaptierbar.”
“… eine gute Checkliste … mit jedem Mitarbeiter reden … wissen, zu wem man gehen muss.”
Taken together, they describe a setting where engineering is both product and practice: generic, adaptable, and anchored in human collaboration.
Our takeaway from the techleadstory
“Robert Aistleitner, Principal Engineer bei Ubitec” lays out a crisp picture: Ubitec GmbH builds a generic bot framework that powers chat, live chat, advisory, voice, and search use cases. The dev team is small and deliberately cross‑functional. Responsibility appears early — up to and including technical leadership in customer projects. Hiring and onboarding are standardized and personal at once: practical work samples, a half‑day hands‑on session, a clear checklist, and deliberate introductions to every colleague.
For engineers who want responsibility, who enjoy combining breadth and depth, and who are energized by heterogeneous deployments, this setup is compelling. If you stretch, the team has your back. If you want to lead, you’ll get a chance early. And if you want to build robust software for real‑world IT landscapes, Ubitec GmbH’s on‑premise orientation is a powerful proving ground.
In short, this is engineering leadership without theatrics: hands‑on, collegial, generic by design, and adaptable to whatever environment the work encounters.
