Lead Software Engineer
Williams-Sonoma
Lead Software Engineer
Williams-Sonoma
Retailer of home furnishings and kitchenware
Lead Software Engineer (4 wall Tech)
Job Location – Pune (Hybrid)
Founded in 1956, Williams-Sonoma Inc. is the premier specialty retailer of high-quality products for the kitchen and home in the United States. Today, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is one of the United States' largest e-commerce retailers with some of the best known and most beloved brands in home furnishings. Our family of brands are Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teens, West Elm, Williams-Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, GreenRow and Mark and Graham. We currently operate retail stores globally. Our products are also available to customers through our catalogs and online worldwide.
Williams-Sonoma has established a technology center in Pune, India to enhance its global operations. The India Technology Center serves as a critical hub for innovation and focuses on developing cutting-edge solutions in areas such as e-commerce, supply chain optimization, and customer experience management. By integrating advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, data analytics, and machine learning, the India Technology Center plays a crucial role in accelerating Williams-Sonoma's growth and maintaining its competitive edge in the global market.
https://www.williams-sonoma.com/
The Logistics Technology team at Williams-Sonoma, Inc. builds and supports the platforms that move product across our supply chain — from distribution center operations and warehouse management to material handling automation, labeling, and sortation for brands including Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, West Elm, and Rejuvenation. We partner closely with Supply Chain, Distribution Center operations, and third-party automation vendors to keep fulfillment fast, accurate, and cost-effective. It is a hands-on, high-ownership team where engineers work end to end — designing systems, integrating with WMS, PLCs, and material handling equipment, and applying automation and AI to improve how our distribution network runs every day.
The Lead Software Engineer will lead the design, development, and delivery of a Windows-based sortation and labeling platform that integrates with PKMS/WMS systems, PLCs, and material handling equipment (MHE) across our distribution network. The system processes TCP socket messages for carton lifecycle events, persists data to enterprise databases, and coordinates downstream services, subject-matter depth in warehouse automation and MHE, and close collaboration with cross-functional business, DC operations, WCS and WES system integrations, and coordination with third-party vendor teams such as Savoye, Opex, Honeywell Intelligrated, Boxer, and bagger/print-and-apply solution providers.
Lead the delivery of high-throughput, low-latency Windows-based sortation and labeling solutions across the distribution network.
Improve fulfillment speed, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness through warehouse automation and material handling integrations.
Enhance operational reliability, throughput, and production support through monitoring, automation, and root-cause resolution.
Identify and deliver AI and automation opportunities that improve DC operations, production support, and business-user productivity.
Drive engineering standards, Agile execution, and technical mentorship across the team.
Windows-based services, Windows Service hosts, and desktop applications using WPF.
TCP/IP sockets, multithreading, asynchronous programming, and custom messaging protocols.
Warehouse management platforms including PKMS, Manhattan WMOS, and comparable WMS systems.
Warehouse Control Systems (WCS), Warehouse Execution Systems (WES), PLCs, and material handling equipment controllers.
MHE solutions from Savoye, Opex, Honeywell Intelligrated, Boxer, and bagger/print-and-apply solution providers.
Barcode scanners, serial devices, scales, dimensioners, printers, applicators, and OPC-style interfaces.
ZPL label print pipelines and event-forwarding mechanisms.
SQL Server, Oracle, and DB2 relational databases.
IIS, GitHub, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and Sonar.
AppDynamics, Splunk, ELK, and Grafana for monitoring and observability.
Kafka and RabbitMQ publisher/subscriber message brokers.
AI tools, AI agents, and automation platforms.
Jira for Agile sprint planning, estimation, and delivery tracking.
Provide technical leadership for the sortation and labeling domain — designing, developing, and leading delivery of high-throughput, low-latency Windows services and desktop applications.
Design and maintain TCP socket server/client components for high-volume carton lifecycle messaging with PKMS/WMS and MHE controllers.
Implement multithreading and asynchronous programming patterns for performance, responsiveness, and predictable throughput under peak volumes.
Build and maintain desktop UI using WPF and coordinate with Windows Service hosts for end-to-end operational workflows.
Lead integrations with PLCs, serial devices, scanners, print-and-apply, and material handling equipment, ensuring robust error handling, retry logic, and consistent state across data stores.
Own ZPL label workflows and print pipelines, including label design, throughput tuning, and printer/applicator fault recovery.
Define and enforce engineering standards for secure coding, unit testing, Git branching strategy, and code quality.
Lead deployments, IIS configuration, and CI/CD automation, including automated testing and release readiness.
Own application health in production — monitoring, alerting, incident triage, and root-cause resolution during peak fulfillment periods.
Partner with Distribution Center operations, Supply Chain, and third-party MHE vendors to translate operational requirements into scalable technical solutions.
Identify and deliver AI and automation opportunities that improve DC operations, production support, and business-user productivity.
Drive Agile delivery — sprint planning, estimation, and delivery tracking — adhere to IT change management, and mentor engineers to raise the bar across the team.
10–15 years of software engineering experience, including at least 3 years in a technical lead or staff-level role.
Proven track record delivering enterprise-scale applications in a retail, supply chain, or logistics environment.
Demonstrated experience as an individual contributor with strong ownership, self-direction, and vendor coordination.
Experience delivering in Agile environments using Jira for sprint planning, estimation, and delivery tracking.
Strong knowledge of warehouse management, sortation, labeling, and Distribution Center operations.
Hands-on experience integrating with PKMS, Manhattan WMOS, or comparable WMS platforms.
Experience leading third-party vendor integrations, integration platforms, and enterprise web services.
Strong business acumen with the ability to align technology solutions to throughput, accuracy, and cost goals.
Subject-matter expertise in material handling equipment and warehouse automation, with hands-on integration experience across one or more OEM solution sets: such as Savoye, Opex, Honeywell Intelligrated, Boxer, and bagger / print-and-apply systems.
Deep understanding of MHE process flows — induction, singulation, scanning, sortation, diverts, put walls, unit sortation, carton and bag creation, weigh-in-motion, and label print-and-apply.
Experience defining and supporting MHE interface specifications and message contracts between WMS/WCS/WES and equipment controllers, including carton lifecycle events, divert confirmations, no-reads, exceptions, and recirculation handling.
Hands-on integration with PLCs, barcode scanners, scales, dimensioners, printers, and applicators over TCP/IP, serial, and OPC-style interfaces.
Ability to troubleshoot live MHE issues on the floor — jams, mis-sorts, label misapplication, throughput degradation, and equipment/host message desynchronization — and drive root-cause resolution with vendors.
Experience participating in MHE implementations: interface testing, dry runs, integration and acceptance testing, commissioning, go-live support, and post-go-live hypercare.
Familiarity with MHE performance metrics — units per hour, sort accuracy, divert rates, read rates, and equipment uptime — and using them to tune application behavior.
Ability to act as the technical point of contact and SME for MHE vendors, translating operational requirements into interface and application changes.
Extensive hands-on experience with multithreading, async/await, and TCP/IP sockets.
Experience with message parsing, custom protocols, and high-volume event processing.
Strong relational database skills and SQL data access patterns across SQL Server, Oracle, and DB2.
Knowledge of ZPL label workflows, logging, diagnostics, and performance tuning.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing.
Working knowledge of secure coding standards, GitHub repository and branching strategies, and code quality tools such as Sonar.
Proficiency with monitoring and observability tools such as AppDynamics, Splunk, ELK, and Grafana, including alert and notification setup.
Familiarity with publisher/subscriber message brokers (Kafka, RabbitMQ) and an understanding of message acknowledgment and idempotent operations.
Strong AI-first mindset.
Experience using AI tools, AI agents, and automation platforms to improve operations, production support, data validation, reporting, testing, and documentation.
Ability to design AI-agent led solutions for use cases such as issue triage, exception monitoring, MHE fault pattern detection, report generation, knowledge retrieval, regression testing support, and operational analytics.
Understanding of responsible AI practices, including data privacy, security, auditability, compliance, and validation of AI-generated outputs.
Demonstrated situational leadership — guiding teams, driving execution, and delivering measurable business value.
Self-driven with strong ownership; comfortable operating as a hands-on individual contributor.
Ability to facilitate productive discussions across DC operations, business, and vendor stakeholder groups and drive alignment.
Experience mentoring engineers and raising engineering standards across a team.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
This role is based in Pune, India and follows a hybrid working model.
Socket-based services and Windows Service hosts.
Integration with sortation devices, PLCs, MHE controllers, and WMS/PKMS via TCP.
ZPL label print pipelines and event-forwarding mechanisms.
Our people-first and performance-driven culture means that we provide opportunities to grow and build a career and invest in the well-being of our associates, including comprehensive benefits to support you and your family.
Scale and innovation of a Fortune 500 company combined with high ownership that empowers engineers to make a real impact.
Build and operate large-scale digital commerce platforms serving millions of customers worldwide, working on systems that run at a global scale.
Continuous learning environment with opportunities to work on cutting-edge technologies, AI-driven solutions, and large-scale engineering challenges.
Hybrid work model designed for flexibility and collaboration, with two in-office days for team engagement.
Retailer of home furnishings and kitchenware
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. operates through a multi-brand portfolio including Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, West Elm, and others, selling furniture, kitchen appliances, home decor, and specialty foods via stores and e-commerce. It differentiates itself with an upscale, curated brand lineup and an omnichannel shopping experience plus design services to help plan spaces. The company emphasizes sustainability and ethical sourcing, with certifications from Better Cotton, Fair Trade, FSC, and the Global Recycled Standard. Its goal is to serve both residential and business home-furnishing needs while maintaining responsible sourcing and environmental stewardship.
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