INTERNSHIP : Metabase Governance & Optimization Project

About Shapeways

At Shapeways, we are revolutionising digital manufacturing by bringing production-grade 3D printing solutions to the market. Our platform helps companies with high-tech, cutting edge production needs in various industries like drones, autonomous vehicles, robotics and bespoke medical gear. As we continue to grow, we are looking for talented engineers to help shape the future of our platform.

Project Context

Our company uses Metabase as the main Business Intelligence (BI) tool across all departments (sales, finance, operations, production, etc.). Over time, our Metabase environment has grown organically with lots of dashboards and queries created by different users.

While Metabase is widely adopted, we face several challenges:

• No structured intake process for BI requests
• Lack of governance around who builds, maintains, and approves dashboards
• Missing or inconsistent data models
• Duplicated or conflicting dashboards
• No clear documentation or ownership
  

The goal of this internship is to bring structure, scalability, and trust back to our BI environment, turning Metabase from a “wild west” into a clean, governed, and efficient BI platform.

Project Objectives

1. Analyze & Audit
• Inventory all Metabase dashboards, questions, and models.
• Identify duplicates, unused dashboards, and owners.
• Map dependencies between dashboards and database tables.
  
2. Design Governance & Structure
• Define a folder structure for dashboards by department.
• Establish naming conventions for dashboards, models, and metrics.
• Propose roles and permissions (e.g., who can create vs. who can approve).
  
3. Optimize Data Models
• Identify the most used queries and convert them into Metabase Models.
• Ensure models have clear documentation, field descriptions, and filters.
  Standardize metrics (e.g., Revenue, Active Customers, Conversion Rate).
  
4. Implement Request & Review Process
• Create a lightweight BI Request Intake workflow, e.g.:
• Google Form / Notion / Jira board for new dashboard requests
• Clear criteria for request priority and expected delivery time
• Feedback loop for requesters after completion
5. Educate & Document
• Build a Metabase User Guide (short and visual) for internal users.
• Host a short internal workshop or presentation.
  

Deliverables

At the end of the internship, you will deliver:

• A Metabase audit report (inventory + recommendations)
• A new folder structure and naming convention implemented
• A set of standardized Metabase models (e.g., Customers, Orders, Sales KPIs)
• A documented BI request process with a simple intake form or workflow
• A “How We Use Metabase” guide for company-wide onboarding

• A final presentation to management summarizing before/after improvements
  

Technical

• SQL (intermediate)
• Metabase (models, dashboards, permissions)
• Notion for documentation
• Git or version control for SQL queries

Soft Skills

• Communication with non-technical stakeholders

• Process design and documentation
• Analytical and problem-solving mindset

Duration

• 3–6 months (part-time or full-time) -  flexible based on the school’s requirements.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this internship, the student will:
• Understand how BI systems are managed in a real business environment.
• Gain hands-on experience structuring a company-wide BI platform.
• Learn best practices for data governance and dashboard management.

• Present a measurable improvement project to a business audience.
  

Free lunch + tea + coffee

Paid Internship