Principal Backend Engineer

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!

the challenge

In this role, the Principal Engineer moves fluidly between ideation, design, and hands‑on implementation. Rather than being tied to a single team or solution, you operate across an entire business domain or program, providing the technical and architectural leadership needed to keep solutions coherent, reusable, and aligned with broader business goals.

You'll work closely with engineering teams, product teams, and business stakeholders, helping shape the direction of solutions while keeping a firm grasp on the overall technology and architecture landscape. With this wider view, you ensure that every team understands how their work connects to the larger ecosystem.

As the person leading architecture and solution design across domains, you support the process from the earliest ideas through to implementation. You’ll translate business needs into concrete architectural and technical requirements and serve as the overarching technical voice for the relevant domain or program.

The focus is not just on individual solutions but on ensuring harmony across the landscape, promoting scalability, consistency, and adherence to enterprise standards. Preventing fragmented solutions and unnecessary duplication is part of your core responsibility, which you achieve by encouraging reuse and shared patterns.

HEMA's tech stack is centered on full‑stack TypeScript within an AWS‑native architecture, building customer‑facing applications with React and serverless backend services using Lambda, API Gateway, and event‑driven systems. Apache Kafka is used for event‑driven architecture and Kong for API management. Developers are equipped and supported with AI development tools (such as Kiro), and teams actively build and integrate AI‑powered features, including documentation assistants, while being encouraged to use AI throughout the entire development lifecycle.

Collaboration and enablement are equally important in this role. You help developers understand the business context behind technical choices and support them in engaging effectively with stakeholders. Depending on what the initiative requires, you'll assist teams with shaping and refining epics and user stories.

You’ll guide teams in selecting the right services, tools, and software patterns, coaching developers on how to apply these choices appropriately in different situations. You'll operate in a self‑organizing way, balancing priorities across multiple initiatives while ensuring alignment with both business objectives and engineering goals.

Flexibility is central to how this role functions. You'll adjust your approach based on context: sometimes fully embedded in a specific program, such as our composable commerce project, and in other cases acting as the overarching technical leader across multiple teams or domains. You’ll shift between different responsibilities depending on the phase of work, team maturity, and the needs of the business, always wearing the hat that best supports the direction and success of the initiative.

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.

• 💸 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.

you'll bring

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in software engineering, including substantial experience in senior or principal-level technical roles.
• A strong background in solution design, architectural decision‑making, and guiding teams through implementation.
• Ability to translate complex business requirements into clear, pragmatic, and scalable technical solutions.
• Proven track record working with our tech stack in an AWS-native, event-driven architecture.
• Proven coaching and mentoring skills, especially in helping developers grow their technical and architectural capabilities.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Experience working in complex enterprise environments involving multiple teams, systems, and stakeholders.
• High adaptability and comfort with ambiguity, adjusting effectively to shifting contexts.
• A natural balance between strategic thinking and hands‑on pragmatism.
• A deep commitment to coherence, simplicity, and the long‑term sustainability of the technology landscape.
• The ability to naturally build trust with developers, product partners, and business stakeholders.

HEMA

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

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.