Step into a world where creativity meets functionality, innovation is a way of life, and every day is a chance to make a difference. Welcome to Ingka. We are digitally transforming the technology landscape and related processes to ensure a modern workplace for over 177,000 co-workers across our markets who utilise our systems every day.
As part of the transformation agenda for the Operations Center, we are now looking for a Lead System Engineer to join us as the mastermind behind the seamless operation of intricate digital landscapes. The unit is assigned to define and lead the product and technology strategies for Operations Center. It is responsible for ensuring the reliability and availability of digital products and services across the IKEA landscape through observability, monitoring, reporting and modernization of business-critical flows paired with 24/7 operations following the Service Continuity and Major Incident Management frameworks.
Your role is to envision, design, and implement systems that are not only powerful but also elegantly efficient. With a blend of technical prowess and strategic foresight, you troubleshoot the unseen, optimize the complex, and innovate the routine. In this ever-evolving realm of technology, you are the custodian of stability and the catalyst for progress, ensuring that every system, no matter how intricate, runs like a well-oiled machine, propelling the organization towards its zenith.
WHO YOU ARE
You will be a voice for engineering, share visions and news from the field, inspire engineers, and support our architects and leaders in exploring the tech world and best practices. You get fired up when you're asked to pitch in to solve business problems and at the same time, you love jumping in to code.
Your passion and innovative mindset enable you to leverage modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, and advanced analytics to deliver high-quality and high-performing products and services. You thrive in a fast-paced environment and are driven by the desire to revolutionize ways of working.
To be successful in this role, we are looking for a seasoned person who encompasses:
• Ability to understand the complexity of IKEA's business and the role of technology as an integrated part of the business.
• Extensive knowledge of Service and product delivery and engineering practices using industry-standard toolsets and processes.
• Extensive knowledge of ServiceNow, Observability tools and technologies, Cloud technologies (GCP or Similar), Automation tools and scripting, Infrastructure platforms and Integration technologies.
• Extensive knowledge of working in agile/iterative software development teams and with agile development practices.
• Extensive knowledge of design and architecture concepts, i.e. Microservices.
• Good knowledge in cybersecurity.
• Good knowledge of IKEA's corporate identity, core values and vision of creating a better everyday life for the many people.
• Ability to encourage simplicity, efficiency, ownership, and accountability.
• Ability to actively acquire new knowledge and skills and champion new methods, digital systems, and processes to improve performance.
• Ability to lead in change of direction as appropriate based on innovative ideas, approaches, and strategies.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate, network and build strong relations with team members and stakeholders.
• Strong ability to communicate technical concepts and processes clearly at an appropriate level to a wide range of audiences, including team members, stakeholders, and suppliers.
As our Lead System Engineers, you have the following key previous experiences and skills:
• Formal qualifications in computer science, software engineering, or any engineering equivalent.
• Excellent architectural experience on the service/solution level.
• Professional experience as Lead/Senior System Engineer or equivalent, with extensive experience in automation scripting using Selenium or similar, backend technologies like Java/Spring boot, front-end technologies like React/Node.js, and cloud technologies like GCP. Experience working with observability tools like Splunk, Grafana, and Catchpoint.
• Several years of experience working in product-focused development/ service/ infrastructure teams with a DevOps working set-up and with an emphasis on self-organisation and delivery to agreed commitments.
• Several years of experience in driving change in big and complex organisations.
• Strong ability to use influential leadership and manage stakeholders and teams without any formal authority on them.
• Strong demonstratable experience of working with 3rd party IT partners/service providers.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.
TOGETHER AS A TEAM
As Lead System Engineer, you will facilitate engineering alignment across the unit, by promoting modern software engineering principles, fostering technical synergies across engineering teams, including strategic partner, and service areas as well as leading the implementation of engineering initiatives at unit level.
Being a Lead System Engineer is about envisioning the future, designing the present, and ensuring that every component works in perfect harmony.
Together with the unit, as the Lead System Engineer you will be:
• Accountable for aligning design, operations, and support across the unit level and from a holistic viewpoint, harmonize and drive the development of assigned products and services.
• Responsible for ensuring the overall solution and implementation across products from a technical engineering perspective to fit together in the scope of the unit, aligned with strategies and direction to maintain consistency and alignment with the broader IKEA ecosystem.
• Align with Technology and Enterprise Architecture on design and integrate products and services from the broader perspective and on the unit level. Ensure scaling, performance, and support across units and beyond in the service and product landscape.
• Drive reliability across the products and services for the assigned area, ensuring resiliency and robustness for the products and services.
• Lead the security work for the products and services in the unit. Planning and designing for implementing security by design on a technical level and ensuring legislation and requirements on a compliance level.
• Provide extensive IKEA business model knowledge and how that is reflected in the Technology Landscape, to guide teams and strategic partners, and enable information flows to be efficient for the area of responsibility.
• Lead the work of benchmarking and continuous evaluation of the systems, technologies used and products and services scopes to ensure optimisation across the unit.
• Together with the strategic partner, lead adoption of design patterns, efficient usage of cross-cutting technology platforms and solutions to reuse across teams in the unit to enable efficiency and avoid unnecessary duplications.
• Act as an ambassador for engineering and security best practices across engineering teams in Group Digital.
• Own and deliver Technology onboarding for new co-workers across the unit to ensure needed competence within the area.
• Decide and communicate on strategic engineering priorities, emphasize collective goals, co-create and own technical roadmap that will increase the velocity of delivering products and services at the unit and unlock new engineering capabilities.
• Evaluate existing engineering practices and recommend improvements.
• Act as a senior member of the broader technology organisation, expected to represent technology both internally within IKEA and externally in the market.
QUESTIONS AND SUPPORT? LET'S CONNECT!
This role will be based in Helsingborg, Sweden, and will report to the Service Manager of Operations Center. It is expected that this role requires some travel between the different Digital Hubs.
In this recruitment there is no relocation support provided by Ingka, hence we are looking for people already living in or within commuting distance of the mentioned location.
For more information about the role, reach out to the hiring manager in Operations Center - asa.bayne@ingka.ikea.com.
If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please reach out to tech recruiters carl-johan.andersson@ingka.ikea.com or ashurina.aorahim@ingka.com