Alexander

Front-End Developer Alexander and his team bring Albert Heijn to life.

A blue bus stops in front of your house, the doorbell rings, and shortly after, your fridge is stocked again: many people haven't been leaving their homes for their daily Albert Heijn groceries for a long time. Why would you, when you can order everything with just one press of a button. But nowadays, we often want more: to browse around, try new products, and score special deals - just like in a physical store. Good news: that's also possible with the Albert Heijn app. Alexander and his team turn shopping through the app into an experience in itself.

Surprising twist

"To be honest: I never thought I would become a developer. I always pictured someone sitting at the back of an office all day bent over a computer screen. Not my thing! I prefer social gatherings with fun colleagues and a place where I can be creative. So no, programming was far from my mind. Until a friend asked if I wanted to help build websites. I had just finished my bachelor's in marketing and had a few months to bridge until my master's. Fine, I thought, a nice challenge. And what I never expected happened: I was hooked! I never did that master's."

Flying start

"I started working at a startup and built complete news apps. I did everything myself: from designing to actual programming. It's a thrill when, after endless trial and error, you have a smoothly functioning app. I learned a lot in a short time, but after a few years, I was ready for the next step. I was lucky because all companies are desperate for IT professionals. Of all the job postings, one caught my eye: front-end developer at Albert Heijn. I applied, and I knew right away it was a good fit. And it turned out to be mutual."

Visual code

"The Albert Heijn app now has over a million active users, completely different from the small-scale apps at the startup. With so many users, you need a huge IT team, each with their specialty. I'm responsible for the front-end of the Assortment & Search section. Let's say you want to buy cheese. You search 'cheese' in the app and get 30 hits. To display photos of cheese, you have to translate data into visible information. That's - in a nutshell - my task as a front-end developer. I work closely with the back-end developers and the designer. Everything the designer imagines, I translate into code. For example: Prepare these thirty images for the search term 'cheese.' My back-end colleagues provide the data that allows me to display the images in the app on the screen."

Incredibly creative

"To accomplish this, you have to be incredibly creative. Coding is an art that you can refine endlessly. Plus, you learn from each other because everything you create has to be tested by at least two teammates. If everything is okay, your code is added to the app. My colleagues inspire me with their discoveries. For example, I recently read the work of a colleague - he had written new code for loyalty stamps. It looks the same on the front end, but everything works faster. Because he coded it more beautifully, totally different from before. I can enjoy such code as much as a good book."

Room for new ideas

"Of course, the app has to be 100% fast and smart, but that's just the beginning. We always want to do something extra. You want to make people laugh or inspire them. That's why we include hidden features in the app. For example, a big moving chocolate egg appears when you buy Easter eggs. Or you hear a Christmas song when you add turkey to your shopping cart. Then we really have fun together. Also, in other areas, you can continue to challenge yourself with our Tech Fridays. If you want to develop a new idea, you write it on the digital bulletin board, and others join in. So you always have a project that has nothing to do with your daily work, and you continue to challenge each other. I can completely unleash my creative energy here."

Being yourself

"And as for fun gatherings: there are plenty here! With Young Ahold Delhaize, we do all sorts of fun things, from pub quizzes to surfing. At Albert Heijn, I feel free to be who I am because everyone is themselves. My colleague is transgender and recently told the team about it. It was such an open conversation that I thought: wow, what an amazing group we have here together. I can be direct sometimes, and it's dealt with so sincerely - also by management. I also feel freedom in the way work is viewed. You can flexibly schedule your working hours, and we have more days off than at other employers. Because my mental health comes first, I also enjoy building a fun app and new tools more. They understand that very well at Albert Heijn!"