Senior Backend Engineer (Kotlin, Python, AI/LLM Systems & Agents)

You will work on the next generation of digital experiences, including Steijn, our AI-powered chatbot used by millions of customers. We are looking for experienced backend engineers who are excited about AI and eager to help build AI-powered products and services. Experience with LLMs, agent systems, conversational applications, or other AI technologies is highly valued, but a strong engineering foundation, curiosity, and willingness to learn are equally important.

You will work on real production systems, shaping how conversational experiences and backend platforms come together at scale.

This Is How You Will Reinvent Food Retail

• Design, build, and maintain Kotlin-based backend services, APIs, and integrations.
• Work on systems behind real-time conversational experiences, including our AI-powered chatbot.
• Help integrate AI and LLM capabilities into production systems and explore new ways to create value for customers.
• Take ownership from design to deployment and ongoing operation.
• Build reliable integrations with existing AH systems and ensure consistent data flows.
• Collaborate with Product Owners, engineers, and stakeholders to turn ideas into working solutions.
• Contribute to new initiatives, ranging from AI-powered experiences to traditional backend services.
• Ensure systems are scalable, reliable, and maintainable in a complex retail environment.

Your New Team and Office

You will join a team focused on building the backend foundations behind Albert Heijn's newest digital products.

We turn ideas into production-ready systems that operate at scale. This includes designing APIs, integrating with existing AH systems, and ensuring reliable data flows across a complex retail landscape.

Our work spans a variety of domains and technologies. Some initiatives involve AI-powered experiences, such as our chatbot Steijn, while others focus on backend platforms, integrations, and core digital capabilities. This offers a unique opportunity to work on innovative products while strengthening the systems that power them.

We are looking for engineers who enjoy solving complex technical challenges, take ownership of their work, and are excited to explore new technologies. Whether you already have experience building AI-driven solutions or are eager to deepen your expertise in this area, you will have the opportunity to contribute and grow within the team.

The common denominator across everything we build is strong engineering, collaboration, and a focus on delivering reliable solutions that create value for our customers.

Do you have a Master's degree?, We are looking for a proactive and motivated Senior Backend Engineer to join our innovation-focused team at Albert Heijn., * 5+ years of experience as a backend engineer.

• Strong experience with Kotlin or Java (willingness to work in Kotlin is required).
• Willingness to work with Python when needed, particularly for AI- and data-related use cases.
• Hands-on experience with Spring / Spring Boot.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, or GCP.
• 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 services end to end.
• Experience working in Agile product teams.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-moving environment.
• Comfortable using modern developer tooling such as GitHub Copilot and similar AI-assisted development tools effectively.

Experience with AI and Emerging Technologies

• Enthusiasm for AI and a strong interest in applying AI technologies to real-world customer experiences.
• Experience building AI-powered, LLM-based, or conversational applications is highly valued.
• Familiarity with concepts such as RAG, embeddings, prompt engineering, or agent-based systems is a plus.
• Experience integrating AI capabilities into production systems is beneficial.
• Curiosity to explore new technologies, experiment, and continuously learn in a rapidly evolving field.

We believe strong engineers can learn new technologies quickly. If you have a solid backend engineering background and are excited about the opportunities AI creates, we encourage you to apply, even if you do not meet every AI-related qualification listed above.

Albert Heijn goes way back. More than 135 years, to be exact. So for millions of people, food shopping is synonymous with the Albert Heijn brand. We didn't achieve this with a complacent, 'hey, if it works today, it'll work tomorrow' approach, but by continually rethinking our propositions and staying plugged in to customer demands. * More than 125,000 colleagues? * Over 1,250 stores in the Netherlands and Flanders? * The leading online food retail platform? * We build, run and love it! Together we make eating better the easy choice. For everyone! The world around us has changed, and significantly at that. These changes have impact on the lives of our customers, colleagues and partners. And therefore, also on Albert Heijn. We are moving towards a new world with new opportunities and challenges. Albert Heijn wants more people to eat fresher, healthier and more sustainable food. Eating brings us together, keeps us healthier and contributes positively to the world. Our mission is: Together we make eating better the easy choice. For everyone. Albert Heijn the Netherlands is B Corp certified. This underscores our purpose, through which we aim to contribute to a healthier, more social, and sustainable society. B Corp certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency.