Backend Engineer Innovation Team (Kotlin, AI, Chatbot)

Join Albert Heijn as a Backend Engineer in the Innovation Team (Kotlin, AI, Chatbot).

How you can make a difference

We are looking for a proactive and motivated Backend Engineer to join our innovation-focused team at Albert Heijn. In this team, you’ll help turn new business ideas into real, scalable digital products that are used by thousands of customers and colleagues every day.

You will work on backend systems that power products such as AH Steijn (our AI-powered chatbot), Laatste Kans Koopjes, and other new initiatives that are still taking shape. This is a role for someone who enjoys solid backend engineering first and is curious enough to explore new technologies when the product requires it.

You’ll be part of a team that sits at the heart of innovation within AH: translating concepts into reliable APIs, integrations, and data flows that can run at scale. As with any growing landscape, this can also include improving or evolving existing solutions when needed.

This is how you will reinvent food retail.

Engineering: You will design, build, and maintain Kotlin-based backend services, APIs, and integrations that power innovative AH products. Comfortable working with modern developer tooling such as GitHub Copilot and other coding assistants, and able to use them effectively to improve productivity and code quality.

Ownership: You will take responsibility for your services from design to deployment and lifecycle management (DevOps mindset).

Integration: You will work on integrations with existing AH systems and ensure reliable data flows between platforms.

Collaboration: You will work closely with Product Owners, other engineers, and business stakeholders to turn ideas into production-ready solutions.

Innovation: You will contribute to new initiatives where technologies may vary depending on the product needs, including AI-related solutions when relevant.

Scalability & Reliability: You will ensure that new concepts are built in a robust way and can operate reliably within a complex retail landscape.

Your new team and office.

Our team focuses on building and maintaining the backend foundations behind Albert Heijn’s newest digital products. We work closely with business stakeholders to transform innovative ideas into production-ready systems that can scale across the organization.

We are responsible for designing APIs, handling integrations with existing AH systems, managing data flows, and ensuring that new concepts can actually run reliably in a complex retail environment. Products like AH Steijn and Laatste Kans Koopjes are examples of what we deliver, but we are continuously working on new initiatives as well.

Because we operate at the intersection of innovation and engineering, our work is varied. One project may involve AI-driven solutions, while another focuses on robust backend integrations. The common denominator is always 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 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.

• An annual salary up to 72k including holiday allowance and a flexible bonus, depending on your experience.
• 45 days of paid leave: 25,5 regular vacation days and 19,5 ADV days.
• Flexible working hours.
• Access to a challenging 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:

• 3+ years of experience as a backend engineer.
• Professional experience with Kotlin or Java (our stack is fully Kotlin; willingness to work in Kotlin is required).
• Hands-on experience with Spring / Spring Boot.
• 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 the full lifecycle of your services.
• Experience working in Agile product teams.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to work in a dynamic, innovation-driven environment.
• Comfortable working with modern developer tooling such as GitHub Copilot and other coding assistants, and able to use them thoughtfully to improve productivity and code quality.
• Willingness to work hybrid from our Zaandam office.
• Must already live and work in The Netherlands.

Nice to have:

• Familiarity with LLMs, AI agents, or frameworks like LangChain4j.
• Interest in how AI can be applied in backend systems.
• A curious mindset and openness to work with new technologies when relevant to the product.

Meet your colleagues

We need to offer the best digital experience: that's our goal!

Robert Němec Solution Architecture Manager

An endless race we must win

Christy Elgee Manager of Cyber Defense and Operations, Ahold Delhaize USA