Senior Backend Engineer (Kotlin, Python, AI/LLM Systems & Agents)

Bij Albert Heijn werken is niet zomaar een baan. Het is werk met betekenis. Je werkt in een informele cultuur samen met een bevlogen team dat graag voorop wil blijven lopen en verschil wil maken. Met jouw unieke talent maak je impact op het leven van al onze klanten. Je leert van experts in hun vakgebied en we helpen je jouw loopbaan vorm te geven. Je kunt bij ons flexibel werken, zowel vanuit huis als op ons hoofdkantoor in Zaandam. Een baan bij Albert Heijn is niet alleen een baan voor nu, maar ook voor later.

Senior Backend Engineer (Kotlin, Python, AI/LLM Systems & Agents)

We are looking for a proactive and motivated Senior Backend Engineer to join our innovation-focused team at Albert Heijn.

You will work on the next generation of digital experiences, including Steijn, our AI-powered chatbot used by millions of customers. We’re looking for engineers who have practical experience with LLMs, agent systems, or AI-driven applications, not just an interest in AI, but real hands-on work.

You will work on real production systems, shaping how conversational experiences and backend platforms come together at scale.

This is how you will reinvent food retail

• Design, build, and maintain Kotlin-based backend services, APIs, and integrations
• Work on systems behind real-time conversational experiences, including our AI-powered chatbot
• Integrate LLM capabilities into production systems
• Take ownership from design to deployment and ongoing operation
• Build reliable integrations with existing AH systems and ensure consistent data flows
• Collaborate with Product Owners, engineers, and stakeholders to turn ideas into working solutions
• Contribute to new initiatives, both AI-driven and traditional backend services
• Ensure systems are scalable, reliable, and maintainable in a complex retail environment

Your new team and office

You will join a team focused on building the backend foundations behind Albert Heijn’s newest digital products.

We turn ideas into production-ready systems that operate at scale. This includes designing APIs, integrating with existing AH systems, and ensuring reliable data flows across a complex retail landscape.

Our work varies. Some initiatives involve AI-driven experiences such as our chatbot Steijn, while others focus on backend integrations or platform capabilities. The common denominator is strong backend engineering and ownership.

Together with your team of (Product Owners/Backend Developers/Mobile Developers) you will work on inspiring projects to accelerate our transition into a hybrid Food & Tech company. We want to leverage data and technology to future-proof food shopping and give our customers the accessibility to healthy food more easily available for everyone. At Albert Heijn, you team up with inspiring peers in the data, digital and tech domains. A community of diverse individuals who share a common goal; to create digital solutions that make (online) shopping simpler and more inspiring. Are you ready to reinvent the way millions of people buy and enjoy their food? We invest heavily in data, digital and tech. And that includes investing in your career! Our teams work in a hybrid way: both from home as well as in the office.

What we offer

• A minimum of 20 days paid vacation, optionally 12.5 days extra
• Flexible working hours
• Access to a challenging and extensive training curriculum – AH Tech Academy
• An excellent pension plan where we as an employer contribute 4.5 more than you as an employee
• A travel allowance or a NS-business card for traveling to and from Zaandam by train
• Attractive discounts on various insurance policies
• 10% staff discount on groceries in all Albert Heijn stores, to a maximum of €300 per year
• A free Mijn Albert Heijn Premium membership with many benefits
• A company laptop and telephone

The recipe for maximum impact

• 5+ years of experience as a backend engineer
• Strong experience with Kotlin or Java (willingness to work in Kotlin is required)
• Willingness to work with Python when needed, particularly for AI/LLM-related use cases
• Hands-on experience with Spring / Spring Boot
• Experience with cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, or GCP
• Experience building and maintaining APIs, integrations, and backend services
• Experience with relational and/or NoSQL databases
• A DevOps mindset, comfortable with CI/CD, deployments, and owning services end to end
• Experience working in Agile product teams
• Strong analytical skills and ability to work in a dynamic, fast-moving environment
• Comfortable using modern developer tooling such as GitHub Copilot and similar assistants effectively

AI / LLM experience (required)

• Hands-on experience building LLM-based or AI-driven applications
• Solid understanding of RAG, embeddings, and prompt engineering
• Experience integrating AI capabilities into backend systems in production
• Familiarity with agent-based systems or orchestration frameworks
• Experience designing or working with tool-using LLM workflows or multi-step reasoning systems

This is not a general backend role. Candidates without hands-on experience with AI/LLM systems are unlikely to be a fit!