Senior Tech Lead / Software Architect – Airports Domain

Vanderlande is a global leader in logistics automation, empowering the world’s biggest retailers, airports and e-commerce giants. With more than 11,000 employees worldwide, we drive innovation across 3 domains: Airports, Warehouse and Distribution.

We’re looking for a Senior Tech Lead / Software Architect to join our Airport domain, where we deliver market-leading baggage handling systems and passenger solutions. Our technology is deployed in more than 600 airports worldwide—from small regional airports to major international hubs.

As part of an innovative software development environment, you will be responsible for ensuring that all baggage items are accurately sorted and directed to their correct destinations.

In this role, you will support and guide one of our software development teams. It’s ideal for someone who thrives on solving complex technical challenges, enjoys mentoring others, and is passionate about helping a team grow—not just in terms of delivery, but also in how they think, collaborate, and evolve.

You’ll be the go-to person for architectural decisions, reliability improvements, and technical direction. More than that, you’ll help the team build software that lasts—solutions that are scalable, maintainable, and thoughtfully designed.

What will you be doing?

You will be a member of a cross-functional scrum team focused on continuous improvement and collaboration. While acting as a technical leader, you will actively contribute to the solution by doing hands-on coding work.

Our software solution has been in use for several years, but the teams are currently working on updating and refactoring it to ensure its long-term viability. You will then evolve in the following technical ecosystem:

• Java and Java Spring Boot
• Kubernetes, Docker, Rancher, VMs
• Kafka, Keycloak
• Devops
• Microservice architecture and hybrid infrastructure (Cloud and On-premise)
• Angular, TypeScript / JavaScript, NgRx / RxJs

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

• Define and evolve the team’s architecture and technical strategy.
• Ensure solutions are reliable, scalable, and aligned with business needs.
• Tackle the “hard parts” of architecture—trade-offs, boundaries, and long-term thinking.
• Perform hands-on coding tasks (as technical leader, we think it’s important for you to actively contribute to the code).

Mentoring & Team Development

• Support developers in growing their skills and confidence.
• Encourage clean code, thoughtful design, and continuous learning.
• Lead by example in engineering practices and decision-making.

Strategic Oversight

• Maintain a broad view of the team’s technical landscape.
• Identify risks, dependencies, and opportunities early.
• Work closely with the Product Owner and Scrum Master to align technical and delivery goals.

Collaboration & Communication

• Foster open communication and knowledge sharing within the team.
• Help bridge gaps between technical and non-technical roles.
• Promote a culture of trust, collaboration, and shared ownership.

What You Bring

• Solid experience in software development and architecture.
• Proven ability to mentor and lead a development team.
• Strong understanding of system design, reliability, and scalability.
• Interest in topics like:
  • Reliability Masterclass – building systems that stay up under pressure.
  • Software Architecture: The hard parts – making smart trade-offs and designing for change.
• Good communication skills and a collaborative mindset.

What We Value

• A strategic thinker with a hands-on approach.
• Someone who’s curious, pragmatic, and always learning.
• A team player who lifts others up and leads with empathy.
• Passion for software craftmanship and building things that last.

What we offer

In this challenging and responsible position, you will have the chance to make a significant contribution to industry-leading projects and be connected to our dedicated people and customers. We offer a position in an informal, international and professional working environment with a lot of scope for personal development. By joining our profitable and growing company you will be able to reach your goals and focus on your future.

This position offers a competitive salary range of € 5449 to € 7396 gross per month (excluding 8% holiday allowance). Through exceeding performance expectations, you even have the possibility to grow outside this scale.

On top of your fixed salary you’ll receive the following secondary benefits:

• 40 vacation days (20 statutory days and a flexible budget worth 20 days).
• Flexible working hours.
• A hybrid workplace (40% working from home and 60% in the office).
• A Health & Wellbeing budget worth €300,- per calendar year.
• Commuting allowance, including full reimbursement of travel by public transport.
• Working from home allowance.
• Collective pension scheme and discount on additional health insurance.
• On-site company health centres with a gym, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
• Vanderlande Academy and training facilities to boost your skills.
• A variety in Vanderlande Network communities and initiatives.
• And a great company restaurant and coffee bar with barista.