Technical Solutions Engineer

Wakefern Food Corp. is the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States and supports its co-operative members' retail operations, trading under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage, Fairway Market, and Di Bruno Bros.

Employing an innovative approach to wholesale business services, Wakefern focuses on helping the independent retailer compete in a big business world. Providing the tools entrepreneurs need to stay a step ahead of the competition, Wakefern’s co-operative members benefit from the company’s extensive portfolio of services, including innovative technology, private label development, and best-in-class procurement practices.

As a Technical Solutions Engineer, you will serve as the critical bridge between our grocery business operations and our advanced technology division. You will be embedded closely with business stakeholders—from supply chain managers to merchandising leaders—to understand their unique challenges. Armed with these insights, you will utilize our data, development, and AI-forward environments to design, build, and deploy high-impact technical solutions.

We are looking for a self-driven, highly detail-oriented problem solver who thrives in a fast-paced retail environment and can take a project from an ambiguous business problem to a fully operational technical solution.

Key Responsibilities

• Business Partnership & Requirement Gathering: Actively engage with non-technical business stakeholders across the grocery chain to deeply understand their workflows, pain points, and objectives. Translate these needs into clear, actionable technical requirements.
• Solution Design & Architecture: Architect scalable, efficient solutions that leverage our modern data ecosystem and AI capabilities to drive business value (e.g., inventory optimization, personalized customer experiences, or supply chain automation).
• End-to-End Development: Hands-on building and deployment of software and data products. Utilize Data, Development, and AI-forward environments to write clean, maintainable code and build robust pipelines.
• Deployment & Adoption: Oversee the successful rollout and adoption of your solutions within the business units. Monitor performance, troubleshoot issues, and iterate based on user feedback.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work alongside data scientists, core platform engineers, and product managers to ensure your solutions align with the broader enterprise technology strategy.

Who We're Looking For

• Self-Driven & Detail-Oriented: You do not wait for tasks to be handed to you. You proactively identify problems, take ownership of projects from start to finish, and sweat the small stuff to ensure data integrity and system reliability.
• Exceptional Problem Solver: You can break down complex, ambiguous business challenges into logical components and systematically design technical solutions to solve them.
• Technical Translator: You possess strong communication skills and can seamlessly switch between speaking "business" with operators and "tech" with engineers.
• Technical Proficiency: You have strong hands-on experience with modern development and data ecosystems, specifically:
• Cloud & AI Platforms: Deep familiarity with Google Cloud Platform (GCP), specifically BigQuery, AI Platform, and Vertex AI.
• Programming Languages: Strong coding skills in Python and Node.js.
• Databases: Expert-level SQL and experience with relational databases such as PostgreSQL, DB2, or SQL Server.
• GenAI & Productivity Tools: Experience accelerating development using AI tools like GitHub Copilot and Claude.
• Retail/Grocery Context: Previous experience or a strong interest in retail operations, supply chain logistics, or grocery technology is a significant plus.

Core Competencies

• Communicate Effectively: Communicates thoughts and ideas in a well-organized manner, encouraging two-way communication.
• Build Relationships: Creates cross-functional partnerships through the development and maintenance of constructive and cooperative relationships.
• Stay Competitive: Demonstrates a mindset of continuous improvement while exhibiting passion and enthusiasm for their work.
• Embrace Change: Looks for new ways of working by supporting advancements in processes and technology.
• Develop You: Identifies and capitalizes on opportunities for personal and professional career growth.
• Drive for Results: Supports divisional and strategic objectives through achievement of work goals.

Wakefern is proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the health, well-being, and professional development of our Associates. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and disability insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan with company match & annual company contribution, paid time off, holidays, and parental leave. Associates also enjoy access to wellness and family support programs, fitness reimbursement, educational and training opportunities through our corporate university, and a collaborative, team-oriented work environment. Many of these benefits are fully or partially funded by the company, with some subject to eligibility requirements.