Senior Backend Engineer (Kotlin)

Who we are

At Vandebron, we're transforming the energy landscape, steering away from the conventional to champion sustainability.

Now, in Chapter 2, we are dedicated to ensuring 100% green energy availability - 100% of the time. Think smart solutions - flexible use of wind and solar farms, Smart EV Charging, and efficient energy storage.

About the Role

We’re reinventing our technological backbone, and you can be a part of it! In this role as a Senior Backend Engineer, you’ll play a crucial part in our transition from a Scala/ZIO foundation into our next generation of services using Kotlin and Spring Boot. You’ll be helping to greenfield our future-proof platform and create scalable, high-quality services that power Vandebron’s mission of 100% green energy.

Working closely within a collaborative, cross-functional team of engineers, designers, and product stakeholders, you’ll turn complex energy challenges into elegant backend solutions. Here, sharing knowledge and learning by doing are not just encouraged - they are a fundamental part of our culture.

What you’ll do

• You partner with fellow engineers to design and build new microservices using Kotlin and Spring Boot.
• Design and maintain clean, performant APIs that serve our React and React Native frontends.
• Create clean, efficient, and well-documented code that meets our product requirements with increasing independence.
• Participate in all stages of development, including writing tests, performing code reviews, and ensuring high-quality software.
• Share ideas and feedback with your team to foster a collaborative and productive work environment.
• Actively contribute to our engineering culture by sharing insights through our Guilds structure, and mentor developers through code reviews and technical discussions.
• Continuously improve your knowledge of programming, design patterns, and testing frameworks while staying updated on industry trends.

What you bring

• Proven experience in a senior role building Kotlin services, and experience (or a strong interest) in API Design.
• Experience with Spring Boot (or a similar JVM framework).
• A strong product mindset where you care about the end-user experience and enjoy building products from scratch.
• Experience working in a product-based company, ideally in cross-functional teams.
• You enjoy learning, improving, and staying up to date with new technologies.
• You take pride in writing reliable, clean, and maintainable code. Quality matters to you, and you’re committed to improving your craft through testing and thoughtful delivery.
• You’re comfortable communicating with your team and stakeholders, asking the right questions to clarify requirements, and ensuring alignment. You can bridge the gap between technical and business perspectives and work collaboratively with others.
• Experience using observability tools and product metrics to validate if a feature actually works for the user.

What’s in it for you

• An annual bonus based on company performance.
• 30 paid days off per year to recharge and find inspiration.
• Work abroad for up to 6 weeks per year (max 4 consecutive weeks, including up to 4 weeks outside the EU).
• A sabbatical opportunity for employees with three years of service (one month paid with holidays, two unpaid).
• Special leave for significant personal events, volunteering and an additional day for religious or personal celebrations.
• An annual €1200 learning budget, plus access to Learning & Development workshops and programs.
• A pension scheme to plan for the future.
• A monthly €50 net allowance for your phone and Wi-Fi.
• A one-time €200 net allowance to create a comfortable home workspace.
• A flexible hybrid setup - split your time between our carbon-neutral Amsterdam office and home.
• Daily healthy, warm and vegetarian lunches prepared by our in-house cooks.
• An NS business card if you live 10km or more from the office.