Chapter Lead Backend

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

As Chapter Lead Backend, you’ll be the driving force behind our team of full stack engineers. You provide direction and structure, while also supporting their personal and professional growth. With your vision on core technologies within the chapter, you aim for high standards in efficiency, quality, security, and performance. You’ll define workflows, tooling, and automation solutions to help the team perform at its best. At HEMA, we work with over 200 services built using AWS serverless technologies. These services power everything from ETL jobs and recommendation engines to streaming solutions and order management systems. Your challenge? Build an efficient team that can deliver modern solutions across all business domains within HEMA. Feeling excited? Keep reading!

In Short

• You translate strategic objectives into a clear vision, ensuring engineers and your team know exactly which direction to take and how to execute their work effectively.
• You make sure roadmaps and quarterly plans are accurately translated into team compositions and resource schedules. In collaboration with product teams, you identify the right capabilities and competencies and assemble efficient, cross-functional teams.
• You document technical workflows and continuously improve them to enhance efficiency and quality within HEMA.
• You ensure that laws and regulations are correctly implemented in our technical products.
• You advise and support product teams in team composition and planning of technical product implementations. Additionally, you contribute to the development of complex product architectures based on best practices.
• You provide content-driven leadership within the department, safeguard quality, offer coaching, and act as a go-to expert for your team. You ensure team members continue to grow and are supported in their work, in line with HEMA’s DNA and core values.
• Together with your team, you develop technical platforms that serve as the foundation for HEMA’s internal and external user interfaces.
• You draft contracts, negotiate with suppliers, and maintain long-term relationships. You collaborate with legal and procurement to secure the best agreements and act as the main point of contact for vendors.
• You are responsible for managing the development budget for the platforms. You ensure digital solutions are delivered within HEMA’s standards and IT budget.
• Finally, together with your team, you contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and help safeguard it. You actively participate in strategic and tactical sessions, support the implementation of improvements, and share best practices and learnings.

What We Offer

• 💸 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

• At least 8 years of experience as a (Senior) Engineer working with AWS technologies in an enterprise environment with complex systems
• Experience in developing technical product roadmaps
• Proven leadership experience with engineering teams, and the ability to help your team grow
• Strong conceptual thinking, with the ability to translate ideas into a vision, roadmap, portfolio, and long-term development plan for products and your team
• Excellent communication skills, and you know when and how to use them
• Skilled at managing multiple projects in different phases — and consistently bringing them to a successful conclusion
• Deep knowledge of software development and architecture

HEMA

At HEMA, over 17,000 colleagues work together to create a better everyday life in a more beautiful world. With products that are more practical, more beautiful, better—and that last longer too. And with colorful stores in towns, cities, and online. 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. Are you in?

Unfortunately, we are not able to offer visa sponsorship for this role.