Role Overview
We are looking for an experienced AEM Headless Tech Lead to drive the development, integration, and optimization of Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) as a headless CMS. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in AEM as a cloud service (AEMaaCS), content modeling, API development, data migration, and integration with CDNs and external services. This role focuses more on backend CMS architecture and integration rather than frontend development.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the implementation of AEM as a headless CMS, leveraging Content Fragments (CFs) and GraphQL APIs for structured content delivery.
- Design and develop scalable content models to optimize content reuse across multiple channels (web, mobile apps, digital signage, etc.).
- Ensure efficient content API strategies, optimizing GraphQL and REST endpoints for performance and security.
- Define structured content models in AEM to support multi-channel delivery.
- Lead content migration strategies, including automation, transformation, and ingestion from legacy CMS platforms.
- Work with business stakeholders to migrate and restructure content in AEM while ensuring content integrity and SEO best practices.
- Architect CDN integration (Akamai, Cloudflare, etc) for optimized content delivery.
- Implement cache strategies and API response optimizations to improve performance and reduce latency.
- Ensure image & asset optimizations using AEM Dynamic Media or DAM integrations.
- Integrate AEM with external DXPs, e-commerce platforms, personalization engines, and third-party APIs.
- Work with identity & access management for API security (OAuth, JWT, API Gateway).
- Optimize API caching and implement GraphQL federation strategies when needed.
- Ensure role-based access control (RBAC) and content governance best practices in AEM.
- Maintain compliance with GDPR, CPRA, and other data protection regulations.
- Implement secure API practices to protect sensitive content and data.
- Work closely with content authors, marketers, and developers to align CMS capabilities with business needs.
- Lead AEM development teams, define best practices, and conduct code reviews.
- Collaborate with DevOps & cloud teams to ensure AEM deployments align with CI/CD best practices.
Required Skills & Experience
- 6-10 years of strong expertise in AEM (Adobe Experience Manager) ; or AEM as a Cloud Service (AEMaaCS).
- Experience with AEM headless capabilities, including Content Fragments (CFs), GraphQL, and JSON API.
- Experience on building the support modules in AEM using Java and JUnit
- Knowledge of CDN integrations (Akamai, Cloudflare, etc.) and caching strategies.
- Expertise in content modeling for structured, reusable content across multi-channel platforms.
- Strong experience in data migration, including automation, scripting, and integration with legacy systems.
- Proficiency in API development & integration, including REST, GraphQL, OAuth, JWT, and API Gateways.
- Hands-on experience in AEM workflows, permissions, and user access control.
- Experience with Cloud-based AEM deployments specifically on Adobe Cloud Manager.
- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, Git, Jenkins, and DevOps practices for AEM.
- Basic knowledge of frontend technologies is a plus but not required.
- Strong leadership and technical mentorship capabilities.
- Ability to bridge the gap between business needs and technology solutions.
- Excellent problem-solving, debugging, and performance optimization skills.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills with cross-functional teams.
Preferred Qualifications
- Adobe Certified Expert AEM Sites Architect or AEM Headless Developer certification.
- Experience with composable architecture, MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) principles.
- Background in e-commerce or enterprise CMS migrations.
