Principal Software Engineer - Zalando Payments (all genders)

Principal Software Engineer - Zalando Payments (all genders)MenuAll JobsCareers HomeOur CultureToggle accordionPerks & BenefitsDiversity & InclusionSustainabilityWhat We DoToggle accordionJob CategoriesEarly CareersWhere We WorkHow We HireBlogENDEAll JobsPrincipal Software Engineer - Zalando Payments (all genders)LocationGermany - BerlinContractFull timeJob CategorySoftware Engineering - Principal EngineeringApplyBack to job descriptionApplication FormFirst Name*Last Name*Email*Country Code*Germany (+49)---Afghanistan (+93)Åland Islands (+358)Albania (+355)Algeria (+213)American Samoa (+1)Andorra (+376)Angola (+244)Anguilla (+1)Antigua and Barbuda (+1)Argentina (+54)Armenia (+374)Aruba (+297)Australia (+61)Austria (+43)Azerbaijan (+994)Bahamas (+1)Bahrain (+973)Bangladesh (+880)Barbados (+1)Belarus (+375)Belgium (+32)Belize (+501)Benin (+229)Bermuda (+1)Bhutan (+975)Bolivia (+591)Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (+599)Bosnia and Herzegovina (+387)Botswana (+267)Brazil (+55)British Indian Ocean Territory (+246)British Virgin Islands (+1)Brunei (+673)Bulgaria (+359)Burkina Faso (+226)Burundi (+257)Cabo Verde (+238)Cambodia (+855)Cameroon (+237)Canada (+1)Cayman Islands (+1)Central African Republic (+236)Chad (+235)Chile (+56)China (+86)Christmas Island (+61)Cocos (Keeling) Islands (+61)Colombia (+57)Comoros (+269)Congo (+242)Congo, Democratic Republic of the (+243)Cook Islands (+682)Costa Rica (+506)Côte d'Ivoire (+225)Croatia (+385)Cuba (+53)Curaçao (+599)Cyprus (+357)Czechia (+420)Denmark (+45)Djibouti (+253)Dominica (+1)Dominican Republic (+1)Ecuador (+593)Egypt (+20)El Salvador (+503)Equatorial Guinea (+240)Eritrea (+291)Estonia (+372)Eswatini (+268)Ethiopia (+251)Falkland Islands (+500)Faroe Islands (+298)Fiji (+679)Finland (+358)France (+33)French Guiana (+594)French Polynesia (+689)Gabon (+241)Gambia (+220)Georgia (+995)Ghana (+233)Gibraltar (+350)Greece (+30)Greenland (+299)Grenada (+1)Guadeloupe (+590)Guam (+1)Guatemala (+502)Guernsey (+44)Guinea (+224)Guinea-Bissau (+245)Guyana (+592)Haiti (+509)Holy See (Vatican City State) (+39)Honduras (+504)Hong Kong (+852)Hungary (+36)Iceland (+354)India (+91)Indonesia (+62)Iran (+98)Iraq (+964)Ireland (+353)Isle of Man (+44)Israel (+972)Italy (+39)Jamaica (+1)Japan (+81)Jersey (+44)Jordan (+962)Kazakhstan (+7)Kenya (+254)Kiribati (+686)Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (+850)Korea, Republic of (+82)Kosovo (+377)Kosovo (+381)Kosovo (+383)Kosovo (+386)Kuwait (+965)Kyrgyzstan (+996)Laos (+856)Latvia (+371)Lebanon (+961)Lesotho (+266)Liberia (+231)Libya (+218)Liechtenstein (+423)Lithuania (+370)Luxembourg (+352)Macao (+853)Madagascar (+261)Malawi (+265)Malaysia (+60)Maldives (+960)Mali (+223)Malta (+356)Marshall Islands (+692)Martinique (+596)Mauritania (+222)Mauritius (+230)Mayotte (+262)Mexico (+52)Micronesia, Federated States of (+691)Moldova (+373)Monaco (+377)Mongolia (+976)Montenegro (+382)Montserrat (+1)Morocco (+212)Mozambique (+258)Myanmar (+95)Namibia (+264)Nauru (+674)Nepal (+977)Netherlands (+31)New Caledonia (+687)New Zealand (+64)Nicaragua (+505)Niger (+227)Nigeria (+234)Niue (+683)Norfolk Island (+672)North Macedonia (+389)Northern Mariana Islands (+1)Norway (+47)Oman (+968)Pakistan (+92)Palau (+680)Palestine (+970)Panama (+507)Papua New Guinea (+675)Paraguay (+595)Peru (+51)Philippines (+63)Pitcairn Islands (+64)Poland (+48)Portugal (+351)Puerto Rico (+1)Qatar (+974)Reunion (+262)Romania (+40)Russian Federation (+7)Rwanda (+250)Saint Barthelemy (+590)Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (+247)Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (+290)Saint Kitts and Nevis (+869)Saint Lucia (+1)Saint Martin (+590)Saint Pierre and Miquelon (+508)Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (+1)Samoa (+685)San Marino (+378)Sao Tome and Principe (+239)Saudi Arabia (+966)Senegal (+221)Serbia (+381)Seychelles (+248)Sierra Leone (+232)Singapore (+65)Sint Maarten (+1)Slovakia (+421)Slovenia (+386)Solomon Islands (+677)Somalia (+252)South Africa (+27)South Sudan (+211)Spain (+34)Sri Lanka (+94)Sudan (+249)Suriname (+597)Svalbard and Jan Mayen (+47)Sweden (+46)Switzerland (+41)Syria (+963)Taiwan (+886)Tajikistan (+992)Tanzania (+255)Thailand (+66)Timor-Leste (+670)Togo (+228)Tokelau (+690)Tonga (+676)Trinidad and Tobago (+1)Tunisia (+216)Turkey (+90)Turkmenistan (+993)Turks and Caicos Islands (+1)Tuvalu (+688)U. S. Virgin Islands (+1)Uganda (+256)Ukraine (+380)United Arab Emirates (+971)United Kingdom (+44)United States Minor Outlying Islands (+1)United States of America (+1)Uruguay (+598)Uzbekistan (+998)Vanuatu (+678)Venezuela (+58)Vietnam (+84)Wallis and Futuna (+681)Western Sahara (+212)Yemen (+967)Zambia (+260)Zimbabwe (+263)Phone Number*Résume*Attach FilePDF only. Maximum file size: 10 MB.Cover LetterAttach FilePDF only. Maximum file size: 10 MB.LinkedIn ProfileHow did you hear about this job?Please enter your earliest possible starting date.Please tell us your salary expectations (annual gross salary, number format without special characters)*Attach a file, if applicable.Attach FilePDF only. Maximum file size: 10 MB.Are you currently based in the European Union or do you possess a valid work permit/residence title for the European Union (EU)?*Yes, I am an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen or hold a valid work permit.No, I would require visa/a work permit to work.Are you employed by any of Zalando entities?*Yes, About You GroupYes, Other EntityNo, former temporary workerNoI identify as*ManWomanNon-binaryPrefer not to sayWe process your gender for statistical reasons and separated from the recruitment process to foster inclusivity and diversity. Learn more in our Privacy Information.Please read our privacy information before you submit your application.In the case that I have provided data which could be considered sensitive in my application (e.g. sexual orientation, ethnic origin, political opinions, health, criminal record), I explicitly agree that Zalando may process my application containing this data during the application process.Note: In general, we do not ask you to provide us with any sensitive information. In the case that you provided us with sensitive information, we need your consent to be able to process your application.THE ROLE & THE TEAMReporting directly to the Director, you will move beyond a single team’s scope to provide hands-on technical leadership for the entire department while also influencing engineering strategy, technical standards, and culture at the organizational level. You will be responsible for the architecture of the systems built within this area, serving as a key partner for Product and Engineering Management to ensure technology enables departmental objectives and business value. You will play a pivotal role in driving project delivery with an "agent-augmented delivery" concept, shaping how our engineering teams integrate autonomous agents into the software development lifecycle.As a Principal Software Engineer, you own and drive technical design creation for mid-to-large scale projects, factoring in scale, reliability, and architectural constraints. You are a proactive member of the Principal Engineering Community, leveraging insights from across Zalando to set technical direction and raise the bar for engineering excellence within your department.INCLUSIVE BY DESIGNIf 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-inclusionWHAT WE’D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING)Own technical design and end-to-end delivery of departmental projects. Drive the creation of robust technical designs for mid-to-large scale initiatives and maintain direct ownership of the implementation phase, taking an active, hands-on part in the development bearing sometimes full responsibility for implementation and delivery of robust, high-quality solutions across the entire project lifecycle.Partner with leadership to drive hands-on product solutions. Act as the primary technical point of contact for Product and Engineering Management, translating departmental objectives into concrete, deliverable software solutions through active participation in the development lifecycle.Execute through high-impact, hands-on engineering. Tackle the toughest engineering problems via significant code contributions, prototyping, and deep-dive troubleshooting to de-risk complex product features and maintain codebase mastery.Lead "agent-augmented delivery" through practical implementation, ensuring the successful integration of autonomous agents and AI-assisted workflows directly into our engineering teams' daily delivery cycles.Strengthen departmental expertise through coaching and paired delivery. Onboard and mentor engineers by working alongside them on critical paths, acting as a Talent Champion while ensuring technical excellence in shared codebases.Drive operational excellence through active systems improvement. Proactively lead improvements in systems and processes, moving beyond reviews to implement enhancements that bolster production readiness and architectural scalability.Drive cross-departmental and organizational initiatives: Collaborate with other Principal Engineers and leadership to shape technical strategy, standards, and engineering culture at the organizational level.WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU IFYou are comfortable taking end-to-end ownership of mission-critical engineering initiatives and building a deep understanding of departmental domains quickly.Customer focus drives your problem solving approach. Your deep understanding of engineering excellence required in building customer-facing products at scale enables you to guide delivery, unblock projects through hands-on work.Experience in agentic systems, AI-driven SDLC, or autonomous agent integration within engineering organizations.You are a proactive technical leader who builds deep understanding of new domains quickly and brings others along. You embrace end-to-end ownership and have guided teams through mission-critical engineering initiatives, creating clarity and enabling others to do their best work.You have exceptional leadership and communication skills, with clear proof points for inspiring teams and influencing technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels.You have shaped and contributed to company-wide strategy and led teams through the aligned change management journey.AI is more than a buzzword to you, backed by concrete examples of how you leveraged new tools and methods to take delivery, quality, or engineering excellence to the next level.Proven experience developing solutions for regulated financial institutions or the payments/fintech space.You have a proven track record of reporting to a Head of Engineering (or higher) and initiating impactful technical improvements across a department.OUR OFFERZalando 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 program40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Zalando Lounge, discounts from external partners2 paid volunteering days a yearHybrid working model with 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 year27 days of vacation a year to startRelocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement)Family services, including counseling and supportHealth and wellbeing options (including Gympass)Mental health support and coaching availableLearn all about Zalando and our values here: https://jobs.zalando.com/en/?gh_src=22377bdd1us RecruiterCasimir Udegbunamcasimir.udegbunam@zalando.dePlease note that all applications from this job page must be completed using the online form - we do not accept applications via e-mail. Once reviewed, our recruiters will contact applicants via an official Zalando email address (@zalando.de).In some cases we also work with a selection of headhunters and agencies to fill specific roles. Please note that neither Zalando nor our recruiting partners will ask for any kind of payment to apply for a job or attend an interview.If you have any questions about our recruitment process, please take a look at our FAQ page.ApplySoftware EngineeringOur Software Engineering teams deploy software extensively, managing a broad set of applications and conducting thousands of deployments per week. The Software Engineering team enables Zalando as Europe’s number one multi-brand, digital platform for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle for our partners and customers. As a Zalando Software Engineer, you’ll be part of a community of thousands of colleagues across Europe. Learn MoreSoftware EngineeringAbout ZalandoIt’s the perfect time to join Zalando on our journey to build the leading pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e-commerce. Help us offer an inspiring and quality multi-brand shopping experience for fashion and lifestyle products to about 50 million active customers in 25 markets. Or be part of our logistic infrastructure, software or service capabilities to help brands and retailers run and scale their entire e-commerce business, on or off Zalando. Join our Zalando ecosystem, to enable positive change for the fashion and lifestyle industry. Learn more about our cultureCareers HomeOur CultureToggle accordionPerks & BenefitsDiversity & InclusionSustainabilityWhat We DoToggle accordionJob CategoriesEarly CareersWhere We WorkHow We HireBlogAll JobsZalando ShopZalando CorporateZalando LoungeZalando OutletFollow us onLegal NoticePrivacy InformationData Preferences© 2025 Zalando SE All rights reserved.