Senior Software Engineer - Ad Platform (all genders)

Zalando Marketing Services (ZMS) is revolutionizing e-commerce marketing by helping partners build love brands, create strong customer relationships, and accelerate their business through data-infused, inspirational marketing strategies. Within ZMS, the Ad Marketplace domain is on a mission to put the right ad in front of the right customer at the right time, delivering value to partners while building trust through efficient monetization strategies.

As a Senior Software Engineer in the Ad Platform team, you'll be at the heart of our advertising technology ecosystem, building and maintaining the critical infrastructure that powers our ad marketplace. You'll work on high-performance systems that handle thousands of requests per second, process massive volumes of user interaction events in near real-time, and manage hundreds of terabytes of data. Your expertise will be instrumental in developing advanced experimentation capabilities in our two-sided marketplace, directly impacting the success of our partners' campaigns and ZMS's financial performance. This role offers a unique opportunity to solve complex technical challenges at scale while contributing to a platform that connects ~50 million active customers across 25 European markets with fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands.

• Architect high-performance systems: Design and implement scalable, resilient services that power our ad marketplace platform, handling up to 4k RPS with strict latency requirements (p99 of 25ms 😉)

• Lead technical projects: Drive end-to-end implementation of new features and improvements, from conception through delivery, with a focus on quality and deep understanding of business needs

• Promote engineering excellence: Elevate our engineering practices through clean code, readability, comprehensive testing, and robust observability

• Mentor and collaborate: Guide other engineers, share knowledge, improve team processes and collaborate across teams to solve complex problems

• Innovate with data: Work with our real-time data processing pipeline to transform user interactions into actionable insights and optimized ad delivery

• Evolve our platform: Continuously improve our architecture to meet growing demands and explore new technologies that can enhance our capabilities

WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF

• You're inspired by quality

• You're organized

• You're a systems thinker

• You're user-focused

• You're tech-savvy, having deep experience with Java, Spring, and distributed systems, with knowledge of our tech stack or eagerness to learn:

  • Kubernetes, AWS (EC2, S3, Kinesis, Firehose, ElastiCache, MWAA)

  • Kafka (via Nakadi wrapper), Apache Flink

  • PostgreSQL

  • Databricks, dbt

At Zalando, our vision is to be inclusive by design. And this vision starts with our hiring - we do not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, personal expression, ethnicity, religious belief, or disability status. You are welcome to leave out your picture, age, or marital status from your application. We only assess candidates on their qualifications and merit. 

We want to provide you with a great candidate experience. Feel free to inform us of any accommodations you may need, so we can best support you throughout the hiring process. 

do.BETTER - our diversity & inclusion strategy: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/dobetter-our-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy

Our employee resource groups: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/diversity-inclusion/our-employee-resource-groups

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.

• Employee shares program

• 40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Zalando Lounge, discounts from external partners

• 2 paid volunteering days a year

• Hybrid working model, with flexible hours and up to 60% remote

• Work from abroad for up to 30 working days a year

• 27 days of vacation a year to start

• Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement)

• Family services, including counselling and support

• Health and wellbeing options (including Gympass)

• Mental health support and coaching available

Please note that all applications must be completed using the online form - we do not accept applications via email.