{"id":2307293,"url":"https://alion.io/job/zalando-principal-software-engineer-cuca-tech-all-genders-2","title":"Principal Software Engineer CuCa Tech (All Genders)","company":{"id":139,"name":"Zalando","domain":"zalando.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/zalando","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":80,"open_postings":16,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":12,"computed_at":"2026-10-20T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Backend","role_family":"Backend","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Berlin, Germany"],"countries":["DE"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":83000,"max_usd":167000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_cell","sample_n":8},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Human-in-the-Loop","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-08T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-08","last_verified_at":"2026-10-20T08:01:12Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":42,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":42},"description":"THE ROLE & THE TEAM\nAs a Principal Software Engineerin Zalando’s Customer Care (CuCa) Tech department, you will be the primary architect of our transformation from traditional service models to AI-powered automated resolution. You will move beyond a single team's scope to provide hands-on technical leadership for the entire department.\nYour mission is to define the architecture for systems where complex AI models meet customer-facing production environments. You will ensure that automated intelligence handles high-volume customer queries monthly while maintaining a seamless \"human-in-the-loop\" fallback for complex cases. You will be the go-to expert for Product and Engineering Management, ensuring our technology roadmap directly supports the next generation of automated customer care.\nINCLUSIVE BY DESIGN\nAt 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.\nWe 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.\ndo.BETTER - our diversity & inclusion strategy: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/dobetter-our-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy\nOur employee resource groups: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/our-employee-resource-groups\nWHAT WE’D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING)\nSystem Architecture for AI: Own and drive the technical design for large-scale projects that integrate Python-based AI/ML microservices into our production environment.\n\nApplied Science Collaboration: Partner with Applied Scientists to move experimental models into reliable, high-performing production services at Zalando scale.\n\nStrategic Automation: Design and execute technical improvements for intelligent query routing and automated response workflows that impact the long-term (2-3 year) strategic vision.\n\nEngineering Excellence & MLOps: Act as a guardian of Operational Excellence, conducting architecture and production readiness reviews to ensure AI systems are observable and scalable.\n\nTechnical Leadership & Mentoring: Lead other Engineers across the department, enabling them to deliver complex features and proactively supporting their growth.\n\nInnovation & Standards: Proactively contribute to setting engineering standards for AI productionization (MLOps) and influence our internal Tech Radar.\n\nWE'D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF…\nPython & Engineering Expertise: You are a recognized expert in Python with a deep understanding of software design, data modeling, and distributed systems.\n\nAI/ML Productionization at Scale: You have a proven track record of deploying AI models into production and managing the technical debt associated with high-volume AI applications.\n\nComplex Problem Solving: You can decompose highly ambiguous AI requirements into clear technical designs that balance business value with technical constraints.\n\nDepartment-Level Impact: You have experience leading cross-team projects and managing dependencies across multiple delivery teams.\n\nCommunication & Alignment: You can explain complex AI technical concepts to non-specialists and Senior Management to drive decision-making.\n\nCommunity & Talent: You are an active member of the engineering community and act as a Talent Champion for hiring and developing senior talent.\n\nOUR OFFER\nZalando 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.\nEmployee shares program\n\n40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Zalando Lounge, discounts from external partners\n\n2 paid volunteering days a year\n\nHybrid working model with 60% remote per week, actual practice is up to each team to best support their collaboration\n\nWork from abroad for up to 30 working days a year\n\n27 days of vacation a year to start\n\nRelocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement)\n\nFamily services, including counseling and support\n\nHealth and wellbeing options (including Gympass)\n\nMental health support and coaching are available","description_format":"text","description_chars":4386,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Hybrid work","Paid volunteering days","Relocation assistance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"Germany","iso":"DE","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":[],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-11T23:27:51Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":8,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.302,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":42,"expected_fill_days":12,"reasons":["conf:2","stale_co","velocity","win:tail","crowd:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-20T05:45:00Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/zalando-principal-software-engineer-cuca-tech-all-genders-2","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/zalando-principal-software-engineer-cuca-tech-all-genders-2.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-20T10:16:12Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":11267,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-21T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":139},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=139"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fzalando-principal-software-engineer-cuca-tech-all-genders-2"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fzalando-principal-software-engineer-cuca-tech-all-genders-2"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fzalando-principal-software-engineer-cuca-tech-all-genders-2"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/zalando-principal-software-engineer-cuca-tech-all-genders-2\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fzalando-principal-software-engineer-cuca-tech-all-genders-2"}]}