THE ROLE & THE TEAM
Zalando is on a mission to become a pan-European fashion and lifestyle ecosystem. Partner Tech acts as a key gateway to Zalando’s brand ecosystem. We build the infrastructure, digital interfaces, foundational data services and AI-driven intelligence that enable thousands of brand partners—from global fashion powerhouses to local boutiques—to operate and thrive within our B2C marketplace. By solving complex challenges along the full partner journey - from partner onboarding, article lifecycle and order management to assortment planning and commercial steering - we are on a mission to transform Zalando into the preferred platform for fashion and lifestyle across Europe.
As Senior Principal Product Manager (Head-level IC), you will act as the horizontal steward of our end-2-end digital partner journey. You will bridge the gap between complex backend capabilities, data products and high-performing partner experiences, while architecting a next-generation AI platform that transforms static tools into intelligent, automated and agent supported workflows. If you’re ready to redefine how partners interact with and operate on the Zalando ecosystem, then we’d love to speak!
Find out more about our Software engineer team: https://jobs.zalando.com/en/what-we-do/software-engineering
INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN
If you think you have what it takes, we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every single requirement. You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles!
At Zalando, our vision is to be the leading pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e-commerce – one that thrives on diversity and is truly inclusive by design. We believe that diverse teams fuel innovation and creativity, and we actively seek out talent from all backgrounds.
We actively seek to reduce bias in our hiring and employment processes, focusing on your qualifications, skills, and contributions. To support this, we kindly ask that you refrain from including personal details such as your photo, age, or marital status in your CV, ensuring a fair and equitable evaluation based solely on your abilities and potential.
We are committed to providing an exceptional and accessible candidate experience for everyone. If you require any accommodations to support you throughout the hiring process, please let us know – we are here to assist you.
Discover more about our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace: https://jobs.zalando.com/en/our-culture/diversity-and-inclusion
WHAT WE’D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING)
Horizontal Experience Stewardship: You will oversee the end-to-end digital partner journey. You look beyond individual team boundaries to identify friction points in the ecosystem, coordinating cross-functional efforts to drive a cohesive, high-performance experience for our brands.
AI Platform Strategy & Orchestration: You will define the vision and strategy for our central AI Platform powering our digital partner ecosystem. This includes building internal infrastructure—such as LLM orchestration, agentic frameworks, and RAG patterns—that empowers our product teams to deploy intelligent automation for partners.
Ecosystem-Led Infrastructure: You will be a key driver of our platform evolution, ensuring our infrastructure is modular, extensible, and ready to integrate deeply with relevant external systems of our partners via APIs and autonomous agents
Central Infrastructure Ownership: You will directly oversee the roadmap for key central products, including our Partner Design System and the foundational technical infrastructure upon which partner-facing digital applications are built.
Executive Communication & Influence: You act as a high-bandwidth bridge between Engineering and leadership. You translate complex technical trade-offs into compelling business narratives that align with our long-term ecosystem goals.
Leadership & Mentorship: While primarily an individual contributor, you will play an active role in leveling up our product craft by coaching and mentoring more junior product colleagues in your product area and become a key member of our product craft leadership team in Partner Tech.
WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF
Systemic Platform Thinking: You have 10+ years of experience in high-scale platforms, SaaS, or Marketplaces. You understand APIs-as-products, developer experience (DX), and the nuances of building distributed platform services.
AI-Fluent Product Craft: You are technically firm in the Generative AI stack. You have a deep understanding of LLM orchestration, Agentic workflows, and how to move from AI experimentation to production-grade automation. While you uncover new product opportunities in these new technologies, you always work backwards from a deep understanding of your customer and the value it can bring to the business.
Mastery of Influence: You are an expert at driving alignment across complex organizations. You know how to manage high-stakes change management and strategic programs without requiring direct line-management authority.
Technical Authority: You can spar with Principal Engineers on architecture and system design, then pivot to a commercial leadership meeting to discuss partner performance and scalability.
Customer & UX Excellence: You believe enterprise software should be as intuitive as B2C. You advocate for high-quality, consistent digital experiences as a strategic differentiator for our ecosystem.
OUR OFFER
Zalando provides a range of benefits, here’s an overview of what you can expect. Ask your Talent Acquisition Partner to learn more about what we offer.
27 days of holiday a year to start for full-time employees (+1 day for every calendar year up to 30 days)
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
Skills Required
- 10+ years experience in high-scale platforms, SaaS, or marketplaces
- Deep expertise in Generative AI stack including LLM orchestration, agentic workflows, and RAG
- Proven experience defining and executing AI platform strategy and building production-grade AI automation
- Expert-level cross-functional influence and executive communication skills for alignment and change management
- Technical authority to collaborate on architecture and system design with principal engineers
- Experience owning partner-facing UX, design systems, and ensuring high-quality digital experiences
- Experience mentoring and coaching more junior product colleagues
Zalando Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Zalando and has not been reviewed or approved by Zalando.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off includes a sizable annual allowance that can grow with tenure, plus additional paid days for volunteering. This breadth is highlighted as supportive of work–life balance.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Mental health support, round‑the‑clock counseling for employees and households, and broad fitness/wellness access are emphasized as robust. Substantial product discounts and partner offers add meaningful lifestyle value.
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Parental & Family Support — Structured support around parental leave—such as buddy programs, re‑onboarding, and paid child sick days—helps ease family responsibilities. Flexible and part‑time leadership options further accommodate parents.
Zalando Insights
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What We Do
Welcome to Zalando. Here’s some key info about us: Our position and vision: - We’re Europe’s leading online platform for fashion and lifestyle - Founded in Berlin in 2008, we bring head-to-toe fashion to more than 50 million active customers in 25 markets; offering clothes, footwear, accessories, and beauty - Our vision is to become The Starting Point For Fashion. Our offering: - Our assortment of international brands ranges from world-famous names to local labels - Our platform is a one-stop fashion destination for inspiration, innovation, and interaction - As Europe’s most fashionable tech company, we work hard to find digital solutions for every aspect of the fashion journey: for our customers, partners, and friends of our brand. - Our logistics network with 12 centrally located fulfillment centers allows us to efficiently serve our customers throughout Europe, supported by warehouses in Italy, France, Poland, and Sweden with a focus on local customer needs. Our beliefs: - Our ambition is to combine our passion for self-expression through fashion with our unwavering commitments to sustainability and D&I - We believe that our integration of fashion, operations, and online technology gives us the capability to deliver a compelling value proposition to both our customers and fashion brand partners.
