Principal Engineer - AI domain

At HEMA, we are building an efficient and future-proof retail technology landscape. To achieve this, we are establishing a new Engineering Organization. This is your chance to help lay the technological foundation for the most iconic, nearly 100-year-old department store in the Netherlands. Do you want to make a direct impact on HEMA’s digital progress? Then this role is for you!

Principal Engineer - AI domain

The challenge

In this role, you are the technical leader within the AI domain. You work closely with software engineers, product managers, and the enterprise architect to turn AI opportunities into real, usable products. You will:

• Build HEMA’s internal agentic AI applications. These include knowledge-driven assistants for HR, IT, store operations and other internal domains built on AWS Bedrock and Agent Core. You design the end-to-end solution: frontend interaction, backend logic, AI orchestration and user experience.
• Translate AI capabilities into simple, reliable user experiences. You ensure that complex LLM-powered workflows result in tools colleagues trust and enjoy using.
• Build the agentic platform that enables all HEMA-teams to create their own AI agents. You define reusable components, set architectural guardrails, and create the developer experience foundation that scales AI adoption across HEMA.
• Shape strategic AI architecture decisions. You work with AI leadership to determine when we use AWS Bedrock, when to leverage Microsoft Copilot, and when to build or buy external platforms like AgentForce or Candid. You ensure interoperability and long-term architectural flexibility.
• Act as the technical right hand of the AI strategic lead. You turn conceptual visions into concrete technical choices, evaluate emerging technologies, and help HEMA stay ahead in a rapidly evolving AI-landscape. By doing so, you bring coherence, clarity and direction to one of HEMA’s fastest-growing strategic domains.

What we offer

At HEMA, you’ll experience an environment where people truly work together. You’ll receive proper guidance, useful feedback, and gain valuable experience. Whether you are looking to extend your knowledge and skills or to help others grow, you are welcome here. In addition, at HEMA you’ll get:

• 💸 A competitive salary based on your knowledge and experience.
• 🌴 30 vacation days (based on a 40-hour week) and 8% holiday allowance, so you can recharge in time.
• 🎯 A variable bonus of up to 14% of your annual salary – depending on our collective results.
• 💸 A monthly net expense allowance.
• 🎄 A fixed year-end bonus of 4% of your annual salary.
• 🛍️ 15% staff discount on all your HEMA favorites: from tompouce pastries to towels and notebooks.
• 🧓 A solid pension plan, so you're well taken care of later too.
• 🚗 Travel allowance of €0.21 per kilometer (starting from 10 km one-way, up to a max of 30 km).
• 🎡 Access to the ‘benefits at work’ platform, with discounts on top brands, day trips, and other extras that make life more fun.

This is what you’ll bring

You are a Principal-level engineer who thrives at the intersection of strategy and hands-on engineering. You love diving into new AI developments, but you are equally strong in simplifying hype and making clear technical decisions. You bring:

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in software engineering, including substantial experience in senior or principal-level technical roles.
• Proven experience building AI-enabled or agentic applications (LLMs, structured workflows, retrieval, orchestration).
• Ability to operate as both Principal Engineer and Solution Architect.
• Strong system-level thinking across frontend, backend and AI layers.
• Experience with AWS Bedrock is preferred, or the ability to learn it rapidly.
• The ability to explain complex topics simply, including demystifying AI hype.
• Curiosity and enthusiasm for emerging models, protocols and tools.
• Comfort working in enterprise-scale engineering environments.
• Preferably experience in product-led or startup environments where you owned delivery end-to-end.
• Ideally experience building agentic applications using frameworks like Agent Core or similar tools.

HEMA

At HEMA, over 17,000 colleagues work together to create a better everyday life in a more beautiful world.

We’re proud of how far we’ve come, but we’re not done yet. HEMA is truly HEMA again and ready for the next step. Our ambition? To become a frontrunner in a challenging market. We do this together, as one team, with proud colleagues, entrepreneurs, and partners.

By playing to win. That means being curious, seizing opportunities, working together with joy, and always aiming for the best result. You speak up, challenge others, and help each other grow. With your unique contribution, you can help build the HEMA of tomorrow.