Dear Selection Committee at poltextLAB,
I am writing to express my interest in the IT Project Manager position at poltextLAB. Having spent the last six years managing software and data science projects specifically within the Hungarian academic landscape, I’ve followed the work coming out of your lab with great interest. My background in bridging the gap between high-level research and technical execution feels like a natural fit for the initiatives you’re leading.
In my current role at the Magyar Tudományos Akadémia (Centre for Social Sciences), I coordinate four concurrent research IT projects. Much of my day-to-day involves translating the complex needs of political science researchers into actionable tasks for developers. I’ve found that success in this environment isn't just about tracking tasks—it’s about managing the unique friction that exists between academic rigor and technical constraints. Recently, I successfully navigated this by facilitating an international collaboration between research teams and vendors across several countries, ensuring everyone stayed aligned despite differing priorities.
While I am deeply rooted in methodology—holding both PMP and Scrum Master certifications—I believe tools should serve the project, not the other way around. For instance, when I introduced Jira and Confluence at the Centre, it wasn't just to "use a tool," but to solve a specific bottleneck in our delivery cycle, which ultimately improved our turnaround by 25%. My technical foundation (MSc in IT Project Management/BSc in Computer Science) and my comfort with Python, R, and SQL allow me to speak the same language as your data scientists and engineers without needing a translator.
One project I am particularly proud of was the migration of a legacy research database to the cloud. By anticipating potential data integrity issues early, we managed to wrap up the transition two weeks ahead of schedule. Beyond the technical side, I enjoy the "human" element of the job; I’ve personally trained over 25 research staff members in agile workflows to help make their project cycles less stressful and more predictable.
I am a native Hungarian speaker with C1 English fluency, and I am eager to bring my experience in academic IT coordination to the innovative environment at poltextLAB. Thank you for your time and for considering my application. I look forward to the possibility of discussing how I can support your upcoming projects.
Best regards,
Márton László Kovács