Senior SEO/SEM AI Software Engineer - Optimera Team

IKEA; San Sebastián de los Reyes; On-site; EUR 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Senior SEO/SEM AI Software Engineer - Optimera Team at IKEA in Madrid collaborates on AI-powered search optimization, automation, and scalable platforms across global markets. You own end-to-end design, development, deployment, and operation of SEO/SEM solutions using React, TypeScript, Node.js, and GCP.

The role emphasizes AI-driven concepts, scalable architectures, and close collaboration with SEO/SEM specialists and product teams, requiring strong engineering fundamentals and a drive for

Qualifications

• Strong software engineering experience with TypeScript and Node.js.
• Experience building modern web applications using React.
• Strong experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or comparable cloud platforms.
• Experience working with databases and caching technologies such as MongoDB and Redis.
• Hands-on experience with Docker, CI/CD pipelines, and GitHub-based development workflows.
• Strong understanding of API design, system integrations, and scalable distributed architectures.
• Experience with technical SEO and search engineering, including crawling, indexing, rendering, structured data, sitemaps, internal linking, and search performance optimization.
• Understanding of how SEO and SEM work together, and how engineering can drive automation and optimization at scale.
• Experience, or a strong interest, in AI engineering and Generative AI, including LLM APIs, prompt engineering, embeddings, vector search, and RAG architectures.
• The ability to rapidly prototype and evaluate AI-driven concepts and evolve them into production-grade solutions.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience designing, building, and operating production systems end to end.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop scalable SEO and SEM solutions that support IKEA's search visibility across global markets.
• Build platforms and tools for technical SEO, automation, content optimisation, structured data, internal linking, crawling, indexing, and performance analysis.
• Develop integrations with Google Search Console, Google Ads, and other search and marketing platforms.
• Automate SEO and SEM workflows to drive efficiency and consistency at scale.
• Explore and develop AI-powered capabilities using technologies such as LLMs, Generative AI, embeddings, vector search, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
• Experiment with emerging areas such as AI Search, GEO, and Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), and translate successful concepts into scalable solutions.
• Design APIs, data flows, cloud-native architectures, and engineering frameworks from the ground up.
• Build and maintain high-quality frontend and backend applications using technologies such as React, TypeScript, and Node.js.
• Develop and operate solutions on Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Work with data and infrastructure technologies including MongoDB, Redis, Docker, and GitHub.
• Build and maintain automated CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes.
• Ensure robust monitoring, logging, alerting, and observability across production services.
• Apply engineering best practices including automated testing, code reviews, continuous integration, and iterative delivery.
• Collaborate closely with SEO/SEM specialists, product teams, architects, data teams, and engineering partners across IKEA.
• Provide technical leadership and contribute to architectural direction and engineering decisions.
• Continuously evaluate new technologies and identify opportunities to improve search performance, automation, and developer productivity.

Skills

TypeScript

Node.js

React

GCP

MongoDB

Redis

Docker

CI/CD

GitHub workflows

API design

AI engineering

LLMs / Prompts

End-to-end production

Analytical thinking

Tools

Docker tooling

GitHub

Cloud platforms

MongoDB

Redis

Job description

Senior SEO/SEM AI Software Engineer - Optimera Team

"You care about making a positive impact in the world. You understand greatness requires thinking differently. An inclusive and accepting work environment is important to you."

A job at IKEA is so much more than home furnishings. Together, we work to make a better everyday life for the many. It's the perfect fit if you want to contribute, grow, and share. Join the team and start a better life for yourself.

Optimera is IKEA\'s SEO optimisation and automation platform, helping improve and scale search performance across global markets. We\'re seeking an experienced engineer who is passionate about software development, search technologies, AI, automation, and solving complex problems at scale.

You take ownership from end to end, from understanding business challenges and identifying opportunities, to designing, building, deploying, and operating solutions. You\'re curious, outcome-focused, and motivated by creating measurable impact rather than simply delivering features.

You bring strong software engineering fundamentals and a track record of building scalable, maintainable, and high-quality solutions. You actively explore new technologies, challenge existing approaches, and contribute to raising the technical bar across the team.

As search continues to evolve through AI-powered experiences and Large Language Models (LLMs), you\'ll have the opportunity to explore and develop solutions across AI Search, Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), automation, and AI-powered SEO/SEM, turning innovative ideas into production-ready capabilities.

Your responsibilities

As a Senior SEO/SEM Software Engineer, you will:

• Design and develop scalable SEO and SEM solutions that support IKEA\'s search visibility across global markets.
• Build platforms and tools for technical SEO, automation, content optimisation, structured data, internal linking, crawling, indexing, and performance analysis.
• Develop integrations with Google Search Console, Google Ads, and other search and marketing platforms.
• Automate SEO and SEM workflows to drive efficiency and consistency at scale.
• Explore and develop AI-powered capabilities using technologies such as LLMs, Generative AI, embeddings, vector search, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
• Experiment with emerging areas such as AI Search, GEO, and Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), and translate successful concepts into scalable solutions.
• Design APIs, data flows, cloud-native architectures, and engineering frameworks from the ground up.
• Build and maintain high-quality frontend and backend applications using technologies such as React, TypeScript, and Node.js.
• Develop and operate solutions on Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Work with data and infrastructure technologies including MongoDB, Redis, Docker, and GitHub.
• Build and maintain automated CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes.
• Ensure robust monitoring, logging, alerting, and observability across production services.
• Apply engineering best practices including automated testing, code reviews, continuous integration, and iterative delivery.
• Collaborate closely with SEO/SEM specialists, product teams, architects, data teams, and engineering partners across IKEA.
• Provide technical leadership and contribute to architectural direction and engineering decisions.
• Continuously evaluate new technologies and identify opportunities to improve search performance, automation, and developer productivity.

Your Skills and Experience

At IKEA, we first look at values and capabilities. When these align with our expectations, we look at technical expertise and experience.

We believe you have:

• Strong software engineering experience with TypeScript and Node.js.
• Experience building modern web applications using React.
• Strong experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or comparable cloud platforms.
• Experience working with databases and caching technologies such as MongoDB and Redis.
• Hands-on experience with Docker, CI/CD pipelines, and GitHub-based development workflows.
• Strong understanding of API design, system integrations, and scalable distributed architectures.
• Experience with technical SEO and search engineering, including crawling, indexing, rendering, structured data, sitemaps, internal linking, and search performance optimisation.
• Understanding of how SEO and SEM work together, and how engineering can drive automation and optimisation at scale.
• Experience, or a strong interest, in AI engineering and Generative AI, including LLM APIs, prompt engineering, embeddings, vector search, and RAG architectures.
• The ability to rapidly prototype and evaluate AI-driven concepts and evolve them into production-grade solutions.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience designing, building, and operating production systems end to end.

Nice to Have

• Google Search Console API and Google Ads APIs.
• Enterprise SEO platforms and large-scale SEO automation.
• Search, ranking, or recommendation systems.
• Python for data engineering or AI workloads.
• LLM platforms such as OpenAI, Gemini, or similar technologies.
• Vector databases and semantic search solutions.
• GEO/AEO and optimisation for AI-powered search experiences.
• Experimentation, evaluation, and observability frameworks for AI solutions.

The role is based in Madrid, Spain.

"In line with our value of togetherness we believe the best way for us to collaborate and co-create is when we meet in the office. This is why we expect you to spend the majority of time in the office."

We will be interviewing continuously and are looking forward to hearing from you!

Internal title: Senior Software Engineer

"In this recruitment there is no relocation support provided by IKEA; hence we are looking for people living in the mentioned location."

Fluent English, both written and spoken, is essential, as English is the working language of the global platform team.

PLEASE NOTE Please respect that due to GDPR we cannot review any applications coming to us in other ways than through our recruitment program. Please submit with your application in English.