Lead Engineer(Architect)

dunnhumby is the global leader in Customer Data Science, empowering businesses everywhere to compete and thrive in the modern data-driven economy. We always put the Customer First.

Our mission: to enable businesses to grow and reimagine themselves by becoming advocates and champions for their Customers. With deep heritage and expertise in retail – one of the world's most competitive markets, with a deluge of multi-dimensional data – dunnhumby today enables businesses all over the world, across industries, to be Customer First.

dunnhumby employs nearly 2,500 experts in offices throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas working for transformative, iconic brands such as Tesco, Coca-Cola, Meijer, Procter & Gamble and Metro.

We are looking for an Application Architect to join our engineering organization and help shape the future of our SaaS platform. Our platform powers retail media solutions for global retailers and CPGs, enabling end-to-end advertisement campaigns across e-commerce sites, in-store channels, and social media platforms.

This role is pivotal in defining architectural guardrails, frameworks, and patterns that enable multiple squads to deliver scalable, reliable, and secure solutions. You will combine hands-on technical depth with the ability to influence and align engineering managers, lead engineers, and product leaders. This is not an ivory-tower role — you will actively partner with teams, ensuring architecture decisions are practical, business-aligned, and execution-ready.

• Architectural Leadership: Define and evolve application architecture in line with business and product strategy for a global retail media SaaS platform.
• Set Guardrails: Establish repeatable patterns for microservices, APIs, identity/auth, observability, and data flows.
• NFR Ownership: Ensure non-functional requirements (scalability, reliability, resiliency, observability, security, maintainability) are embedded into design decisions.
• Cross-Squad Influence: Collaborate with multiple squads (frontend, backend, BFF, platform services) to align on architectural choices.
• Tech Evaluations: Lead structured assessments of new tools and frameworks (e.g., OPA, SpiceDB, caching, API gateways) and guide adoption.
• Decision Frameworks: Move teams away from ad-hoc debates by creating clear frameworks for architectural decision-making.
• Mentorship: Partner with engineering managers and lead engineers to strengthen design-level thinking and technical maturity.

• Hands-on technical expertise in:
• .NET Core, C#, REST APIs, microservices.
• If are open for candidates with Java expertise
• Event-driven architectures (Pub/Sub, Kafka, or similar).
• Databases (Postgres, SQL Server, caching strategies with Redis or Couchbase).
• Identity & authorization frameworks (Auth0, OPA, SpiceDB, OpenFGA).
• Observability platforms (New Relic, Prometheus, Grafana).
• Cloud-native experience (GCP preferred; AWS/Azure acceptable).
• Proven ability to architect SaaS or large-scale product platforms with multi-squad or multi-tenant complexity.
• Strong track record of embedding NFRs into platform and product design.
• Excellent communicator — can simplify trade-offs for both engineers and business stakeholders.
• Experience influencing without authority and driving closure across multiple teams.

• Experience designing multi-tenant SaaS platforms in the adtech or retail media domain.
• Exposure to API gateway solutions (Apigee, Kong, Ocelot).
• Knowledge of micro-frontend architectures or Backend-for-Frontend (BFF) patterns.
• Passion for balancing innovation with pragmatism.
• A track record of mentoring engineers on design and architecture.

• Build and scale a retail media SaaS platform at the heart of the global adtech ecosystem.
• Work on high-impact problems at the intersection of retail, data, and advertising technology.
• Influence the architecture of systems powering leading retailers and global brands.
• Be part of a culture that values engineering excellence, collaboration, curiosity, and growth.

Apply now to help shape the backbone of our retail media SaaS platform and make an impact at scale.

What you can expect from us

 We won't just meet your expectations. We'll defy them. So you'll enjoy the comprehensive rewards package you'd expect from a leading technology company. But also, a degree of personal flexibility you might not expect.  Plus, thoughtful perks, like flexible working hours and your birthday off.

You'll also benefit from an investment in cutting-edge technology that reflects our global ambition. But with a nimble, small-business feel that gives you the freedom to play, experiment and learn.

And we don't just talk about diversity and inclusion. We live it every day – with thriving networks including dh Gender Equality Network, dh Proud, dh Family, dh One and dh Thrive as the living proof. Everyone's invited.

Our approach to Flexible Working

At dunnhumby, we value and respect difference and are committed to building an inclusive culture by creating an environment where you can balance a successful career with your commitments and interests outside of work.

We believe that you will do your best at work if you have a work / life balance. Some roles lend themselves to flexible options more than others, so if this is important to you please raise this with your recruiter, as we are open to discussing agile working opportunities during the hiring process.

For further information about how we collect and use your personal information please see our Privacy Notice which can be found (here)

What you can expect from us

We won't just meet your expectations. We'll defy them. So you'll enjoy the comprehensive rewards package you'd expect from a leading technology company. But also, a degree of personal flexibility you might not expect.  Plus, thoughtful perks, like flexible working hours and your birthday off.

You'll also benefit from an investment in cutting-edge technology that reflects our global ambition. But with a nimble, small-business feel that gives you the freedom to play, experiment and learn.

And we don't just talk about diversity and inclusion. We live it every day – with thriving networks including dh Gender Equality Network, dh Proud, dh Family, dh One, dh Enabled and dh Thrive as the living proof.  We want everyone to have the opportunity to shine and perform at your best throughout our recruitment process. Please let us know how we can make this process work best for you. 

Our approach to Flexible Working

At dunnhumby, we value and respect difference and are committed to building an inclusive culture by creating an environment where you can balance a successful career with your commitments and interests outside of work.

We believe that you will do your best at work if you have a work / life balance. Some roles lend themselves to flexible options more than others, so if this is important to you please raise this with your recruiter, as we are open to discussing agile working opportunities during the hiring process.

For further information about how we collect and use your personal information please see our Privacy Notice which can be found (here)