Lead SWE - Forward Deployed Engineering Itc

**WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH** ------------------------ You will be part of **Nike’s Supply Chain and Planning Technology (SCPT)** organization supporting **Demand Planning and Pricing (DPP) platforms**. As a Lead Software Engineer, you will report to an Sr. Engineering Manager and collaborate closely with Demand and Assortment Planners, Principal Engineers, Product Managers, and cross-functional partners. You will act as the **technical leader for your squad**, **guiding and mentoring engineers** while working across teams to deliver scalable platform capabilities across DPP. This role is **critical to building and scaling Nike’s Planning platform** - enabling reliable, scalable, and extensible systems that support enterprise-wide capabilities across domains. **WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR** -------------------------- **Education & Experience** * Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field * **8 - 12 years of experience** building scalable backend systems * **2+ years in a technical leadership role**, guiding teams and driving architecture decisions **Technical Expertise (Core - Required)** * **Domain expertise in implementing solutions for retail apparel industry specific demand planning, forecasting, and pricing capabilities** * Strong expertise in **Full-stack software** development and systems architecture * Proven experience designing and operating large-scale distributed systems including **API Design, Integration and Microservices, Database systems and Data Modeling, Security, Compliance and data privacy** * Hands-on experience with event-driven architecture and messaging systems (**Kafka, RabbitMQ, or similar)** * Exposure to **data engineering ecosystems** (Spark, Databricks, or similar) * Strong fundamentals in **SQL and data modelling** * Understanding of **batch and real-time data processing patterns** * Exposure to **frontend technologies** such as React or Angular * Experience working on **enterprise-scale platforms and integrations** * Familiarity with **distributed systems and external service integrations** * Solid experience with Cloud infrastructure and deployment patterns **(AWS preferred)** and cloud-native design principles * Strong understanding of **CI/CD, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), and DevOps** practices **Leadership & Behavioral Skills** * Strong ability to **mentor and influence engineering teams** * Proven experience driving **technical roadmaps and cross-team alignment** * Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, ability to directly work with the business users. * Ability to adapt and operate effectively in a **continuously changing, fast-paced, ambiguous environment** * Bring a strong mindset of **Forward Deployment Engineer to implement &  deliver at speed and scale** **WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON** ----------------------- As a Lead Software Engineer, you will drive strategy, architecture, and execution for Demand planning and pricing capabilities. ### **Technical Leadership & Strategy** * Own and drive the **technical roadmap** for your domain in partnership with Product and Architecture * Translate complex business requirements into scalable technical solutions * Lead architectural design decisions and technical reviews across systems ### **Backend System Design & Development** * Design and build **highly scalable backend systems and microservices** using Java, Spring Boot, and cloud-native patterns * Develop **robust Data Driven, RESTful APIs and event-driven services** for enterprise-scale platforms * Build resilient distributed systems leveraging messaging platforms like Kafka or similar ### **Data Engineering & Integration (Preferred Strength Area)** * Design and implement **data pipelines and integrations** across systems and platforms * Work with modern data platforms (e.g., Spark, Databricks, Delta Lake or equivalent) where required * Contribute to **data quality, consistency, and availability** across services * Strategize and design Ontology based explainable systems that can drive decisions and insights at high accuracy ### **Cloud & Platform Engineering** * Lead development and deployment of services on cloud platforms (AWS preferred), ensuring scalability and efficiency * Drive adoption of **CI/CD pipelines, observability, and DevOps best practices** ### **Engineering Excellence** * Establish and enforce high standards in **coding, testing, and system reliability** * Continuously improve system performance and scalability * Promote modern engineering practices and platform-first thinking ### **Collaboration & Mentorship** * Mentor engineers across levels and foster a strong engineering culture * Partner with Business, Product and Engineering leaders to align priorities and execution ### **AI & Engineering Productivity** * Leverage **AI-assisted development tools** (e.g., Copilot, code assistants) to improve coding efficiency, testing, and documentation * Identify opportunities to apply **AI/GenAI capabilities** to enhance system workflows, automation, and user experiences * Contribute to establishing **best practices for responsible AI usage**, ensuring security, data privacy, and reliability * Balance AI usage with strong **engineering fundamentals, system design, and code quality standards**