Lead Engineer - Automation Integration & Scale Engineering

Roundel; Brooklyn Park (MN); Hybrid; USD 132,000 - 238,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

employee discount

Short term disability

Long term disability

Paid sick leave

Paid national holidays

Paid vacation

Job summary

Target's Minnesota team seeks a Lead Engineer, Automation Integration & Scale Engineering to join a high-impact group transforming supply chain and stores with scalable backend integrations powering operations.

You will own architecture, mentor engineers, and collaborate with product and operations to deliver reliable, high-throughput systems using Kotlin, Kafka, and modern datastores.

Qualifications

• 4-year degree or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of software development with at least one full cycle implementation.
• Strong domain knowledge of Target’s technology capabilities and key competitors’ features.
• Strong expertise in designing distributed systems and event-driven architectures.
• Hands-on experience building resilient, high-throughput backend systems.
• Ability to work across ambiguous, fast-moving initiatives and bring clarity and structure.

Responsibilities

• Own architecture, design, and implementation of backend systems powering Target’s store and warehouse operations.
• Lead technical discovery and rapid prototyping to evaluate new ideas and prove value.
• Collaborate with product, operations and platform teams to translate real-world problems into scalable solutions.
• Guide the team through ambiguous problem spaces with smart trade-offs and timely delivery.
• Champion engineering best practices and mentor other engineers on design, performance and scalability.
• Integrate with automation software and systems that interact with physical devices and workflows.

Education

4-year degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Kotlin

Micronaut

Frameworkless

Kafka

Postgres

Mongo

Cassandra

Elastic

RocksDB

InfluxDB

Grafana

Redis

Job description

The pay range is $132,000.00 - $238,000.00. Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family.

Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves.

• 401(k)
• employee discount
• short term disability
• long term disability
• paid sick leave
• paid national holidays
• paid vacation

Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.

About us:

Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture.

Learn more about Target here.

The Lead Engineer, Automation Integration & Scale Engineering will join a brand-new, high-impact engineering team focused on transforming Target's Supply Chain and Stores—starting with Supply Chain. We're building a high-impact engineering team to bring next-generation automation to life across Target's Supply Chain. Engineers will build scalable, production-ready software integrations that connect Target systems with automation solutions, with a strong focus on reliability, observability, monitoring, and operational support. The team will own solutions from development through testing, site rollout, stabilization, and ongoing evolution—solving complex real-world integration challenges along the way. If you enjoy building resilient systems at scale, strong end-to-end ownership, and seeing your software directly power physical operations, this is the team for you.

As a Lead Engineer, you will be a key technical leader responsible for driving the design and delivery of innovative, scalable systems in a fast-paced and ambiguous environment. You will lead by example—writing high-quality code, mentoring engineers, and shaping the team’s technical direction.

What You’ll Do

• Own and drive the architecture, design, and implementation of backend systems that power Target’s store and warehouse operations
• Lead technical discovery and rapid prototyping to evaluate new ideas and prove their value
• Collaborate closely with product, operations, and platform teams to translate real-world problems into scalable engineering solutions
• Guide the team through ambiguous problem spaces—making smart trade-offs and ensuring timely, high-quality delivery
• Champion engineering best practices and mentor other engineers on design, performance, and scalability
• Integrate with automation software and systems that interact with physical devices and operational workflows

Core technologies:

• Languages: Kotlin
• Runtimes/Frameworks: Micronaut, Frameworkless
• Event Streaming: Kafka
• Datastores: Postgres, Mongo, Cassandra, Elastic, RocksDB
• Metrics & Monitoring: InfluxDB, Grafana
• Caching - Redis

Core responsibilities are outlined below and may evolve based on business needs.

About you:

• 4-year degree or equivalent experience
• 7+ years of software development experience with at least one full cycle implementation
• Demonstrates strong domain-specific knowledge regarding Target’s technology capabilities, and key competitors’ products and differentiating features
• Strong expertise in designing distributed systems and event-driven architectures
• Hands-on experience building resilient, high-throughput backend systems
• Ability to work across ambiguous, fast-moving initiatives and bring clarity and structure
• Experience working with automation, hardware integration, or operational tech is a plus
• Excellent communication and a strong bias for action
• Communicates and coordinates with project team, partners, and stakeholders
• Maintains deep technical knowledge within areas of expertise
• Stays current with new and evolving technologies via formal training and self-directed education.

This position will operate as a Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement based on Target’s needs.

A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member’s core role will need to be performed both onsite at the Target HQ MN location the role is assigned to and virtually, depending upon what your role, team and tasks require for that day.

Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target.

Click here if you are curious to learn more about Minnesota.

Benefits Eligibility

Please paste this url into your preferred browser to learn about benefits eligibility for this role: https://tgt.biz/BenefitsForYou_E

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to [e-mail]. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.

Target is one of the world’s most recognized brands and one of America’s leading retailers. We make Target our guests’ preferred shopping destination by offering outstanding value, inspiration, innovation and an exceptional guest experience that no other retailer can deliver.

Target is committed to responsible corporate citizenship, ethical business practices, environmental stewardship and generous community support.

Since 1946, we have given 5 percent of our profits back to our communities.

Our goal is to work as one team to fulfill our unique brand promise to our guests, wherever and whenever they choose to shop.

We'll contact you if you're selected for next steps.

In the meantime, follow us at A Bullseye View for the latest news.

Our Benefits

We care about and invest in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family.

Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves.

Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation.

Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.