Backend Software Engineer

bol; Utrecht; On-site; EUR 72,000 - 91,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

29 days to recharge

Travel costs covered

75% pension plan covered

Annual bonus based on sustainability

Job summary

bol is seeking a Backend Software Engineer in Utrecht to own and evolve the backend foundation used by dozens of shop teams. You will design and operate scalable services, collaborate with multiple product teams, and help shape the platform with a strong emphasis on reliability, automation, and developer experience.

With 7–10+ years of backend experience, you will contribute to architecture discussions, implement robust APIs, and work across Kubernetes, cloud infrastructure, and CI/CD workflows

Qualifications

• Bachelor or Master degree in a relevant field (Engineering, Computer Science, or similar).
• 7–10+ years of software engineering experience.
• Experience with backend systems and scalable services.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop scalable, resilient services and APIs.
• Work with Kubernetes, cloud infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure-as-code solutions.
• Monitor, operate, and improve the services you build.
• Contribute to architecture and system design discussions.
• Write clean, maintainable code with automated tests.
• Participate in code reviews and knowledge sharing.
• Collaborate with engineers, product managers and other bol colleagues.
• Explore how AI can help us build and operate an even better platform.

Education

Bachelor / Master

Job description

Backend Software Engineer
Own the backend foundation. Accelerate every shop team.

• Bachelor / Master
• 6.000-7.600
• Utrecht
• 7-10+ year

How will you make our customers happy?

Every feature bol's shop teams produce, whether it's a customer-facing website innovation, an in-app UX improvement, or an update across emerging shopping channels, is built on a backend environment that you help create, cultivate, and evolve.

As a Software Engineer in ShopCore-BackEnd, you build and operate the backend foundation that enables dozens of teams to scale, experiment, and ship with confidence, without having to worry about what's happening under the hood. This role goes beyond writing code. You'll help shape the platform, reliability, automation, and developer experience that product teams depend on every day. Every improvement you make accelerates product teams and helps millions of customers to a better shopping experience.

Get to know Engineering

This role is part of the Engineering Job Family.

The biggest challenge

The challenge is not building features for a single product team; it is shaping the platform that 55+ teams depend on. Behind every successful product team is a reliable, scalable, and well-operated foundation they can trust. You will help evolve that foundation by solving scalability challenges, improving engineering effectiveness and balancing software development with operational excellence.

What you do as the software engineer – ShopCore - BackEnd

You are part of the ShopCore - BackEnd team, which builds and operates the backend capabilities that enable shop teams to create better consumer experiences faster.

Your responsibilities include:

• Design and develop scalable, resilient services and APIs
• Work with Kubernetes, cloud infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure-as-code solutions
• Monitor, operate, and improve the services you build
• Contribute to architecture and system design discussions
• Write clean, maintainable code with automated tests
• Participate in code reviews and knowledge sharing
• Collaborate with engineers, product managers and other bol colleagues
• Explore how AI can help us build and operate an even better platform

How you can make a difference

You are a curious Software Engineer who enjoys learning, collaborating, and improving both the platform and the way we work. You will join the ShopCore-BackEnd team (~9 engineers), part of the Technical Shop Foundation within the Consumer Journey domain. The team owns the Shop API (federated GraphQL), the Shop Router and several backend services that form the foundation of bol's shopping channels.

You combine strong software engineering skills with a pragmatic mindset. You know when to optimize, when to simplify and when to challenge existing solutions. You take ownership, work well with others and enjoy solving complex technical problems.

Your challenge is balancing reliability and modernization. We run business-critical services where stability matters, while we continuously improve our architecture, reduce operational overhead, increase automation and explore how AI can help us build a better platform.

In short: you will help keep today's shop stable while building the foundation for tomorrow.

Tech stack:
Golang, Java, Kotlin, Spring Boot, GraphQL, Kubernetes, Google Cloud Platform, Gitlab, CI/CD, AI-assisted development.

3 reasons why this is (not) for you

• Curious engineer

  You enjoy tackling complicated problems and learning new technologies, tools, and domains. You do not need to know everything on day one, but you are eager to figure things out and continuously improve.

• Team ownership

  You believe great software is built together. You actively collaborate, you take responsibility , share knowledge, ask for feedback, and help your teammates succeed because you know the best solutions come from collective thinking.

• Growth mindset

  You continuously improve yourself, your team, and the way we work. Whether it is refining engineering practices, improving platform reliability, or exploring new technologies such as AI, you are always looking for ways to get better.

• Code-only engineer

  You only want to write features. Platform engineering requires understanding systems, configuration, operations, reliability, and the needs of the teams that build on top of our foundation.

• Solo performer

  You prefer working alone, do not value feedback, and see collaboration as a necessary evil. This team succeeds through teamwork, not individual heroics.

• Know-it-all

  You believe you've already mastered your craft and has little interest in learning new technologies, approaches, or other perspectives.

Perks of having a blue heart

29 days

to recharge

Travel costs

Public transport, car, parking & charging covered

Pension plan

75% premium covered

Annual bonus

Based on sustainability goals