Principal Software Engineer CuCa Tech (All Genders)

THE ROLE & THE TEAM As a Principal Software Engineer in 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. Your 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. INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN At 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.  We 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.    do.BETTER - our diversity & inclusion strategy: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/dobetter-our-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy Our employee resource groups: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/our-employee-resource-groups   WHAT WE’D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING) System Architecture for AI: Own and drive the technical design for large-scale projects that integrate Python-based AI/ML microservices into our production environment. Applied Science Collaboration: Partner with Applied Scientists to move experimental models into reliable, high-performing production services at Zalando scale. Strategic Automation: Design and execute technical improvements for intelligent query routing and automated response workflows that impact the long-term (2-3 year) strategic vision. Engineering Excellence & MLOps: Act as a guardian of Operational Excellence, conducting architecture and production readiness reviews to ensure AI systems are observable and scalable. Technical Leadership & Mentoring: Lead other Engineers across the department, enabling them to deliver complex features and proactively supporting their growth. Innovation & Standards: Proactively contribute to setting engineering standards for AI productionization (MLOps) and influence our internal Tech Radar. WE'D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF… Python & Engineering Expertise: You are a recognized expert in Python with a deep understanding of software design, data modeling, and distributed systems. AI/ML Productionization at Scale: You have a proven track record of deploying AI models into…