Principal Software Engineer

About the Role As a Principal Software Engineer, you will guide multiple teams within Zalando's Risk Management department, driving software and machine learning solutions to manage risk and detect fraud in high-volume payment transactions. You will elevate architectural and software engineering standards, mentor engineers, and lead strategic initiatives as part of the leadership team. What You'll Do

• design and drive technical solution design for high impact ambiguous projects developed by multiple teams.
• break down complex solutions into iterations to reduce risk and complexity, and ship large-scale projects to production by driving, mentoring, designing and contributing code.
• evangelize good software practices based on your experience and industry established patterns.
• drive technical innovation in the department or across teams.
• provide technical guidance and mentorship to software engineers on their day-to-day work.
• contribute to improving the operational excellence of the systems by driving operational review meetings and post-mortems of incidents.
• drive or provide hands-on support for time-critical investigations on anomalies.
• establish yourself as a sparring partner for tech and product leadership on tech and product topics.
• research and propose solutions to improve productivity and effectiveness using technical knowledge and expertise. What We're Looking For
• 3+ years of experience as a Principal Engineer, Solutions Architect or Staff Engineer.
• extensive experience in software architecture and design in cloud environments, with a strong track record of leading complex projects spanning multiple teams and departments.
• experience with Machine Learning, especially around productionising and MLOps.
• strong leadership and communication skills to effectively guide and mentor teams through architectural decisions and project implementations.
• not afraid to get hands-on, even though you excel at delegation. Compensation & Benefits
• 27 days of holiday a year to start for full-time employees
• 2 paid volunteering days a year
• Hybrid working model with up to 60% remote per week; actual practice is up to each team to best support their collaboration
• Work from abroad for up to 30 working days a year
• Employee shares program
• 40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Lounge by Zalando, discounts from external partners
• Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement)
• Family services, including counseling and support
• Health and wellbeing options (including Wellhub, formerly Gympass)
• Mental health support and coaching available
• Drive your development through our training platform and biannual peer-to-peer review