Head of Software Engineering (Backend) Netherlands +7-10 years of experience backend engineering Software Engineer python +1

About the company

An AI-driven hiring platform that connects highly skilled professionals with employers across multiple regions. The platform covers the entire hiring lifecycle — search and candidate matching, scheduling, contracts, timesheets, invoicing, and payments — and supports freelance, payroll, and permanent engagements. Its core capability is a semantic search and matching engine that emphasizes real skills and context rather than keyword matching. Profiles are anonymized by design in early screening to promote fair, expertise-based decisions. The Company is now focused on strengthening engineering foundations, restructuring the codebase, and embedding AI as a core part of product and development practices.

Role summary

We are seeking a Head of Software Engineering who views AI as a fundamental evolution in software development. This hands‑on leadership role will guide the engineering organization through an AI-native transformation: defining architecture, raising engineering standards, and delivering high-quality execution. You will be closely involved with the codebase, form strong technical opinions, and translate them into a clear roadmap and deliverables.

Key responsibilities

• Define and drive the technical vision for an AI-native platform, spanning semantic search, platform-wide intelligence, and engineering workflows
• Evolve the semantic search into an intelligence layer that delivers ranking, insights, and continuous learning across the product
• Lead adoption of AI-assisted development practices (code generation, refactoring, test creation, code review) across the engineering lifecycle
• Ensure engineering quality across backend (Python), frontend (React), CI/CD, testing, and repository structure
• Establish and enforce execution discipline: improve planning accuracy, scope management, and review culture
• Grow and mentor engineering teams, reduce single points of failure, and cultivate constructive feedback practices
• Recruit engineers with strong expertise in AI-native development
• Communicate technical direction and trade-offs clearly to product and business stakeholders

Target outcomes

• A semantic search engine that functions as the platform’s intelligence layer, understanding intent and improving through usage
• A structured AI-assisted development program integrated into daily engineering workflows
• An engineering organization that moves faster while maintaining high quality, with strong standards and well-defined practices

Candidate profile

• Extensive senior engineering experience with backend systems and production architecture (strong Python background)
• Practical experience with semantic search, vector search, or NLP-driven matching systems
• Hands‑on experience implementing AI-assisted development tools and workflows at team scale
• High engineering standards and a track record of mentoring and developing engineering talent
• Proven ability to scale and lead engineering teams while preserving delivery velocity
• Clear understanding of how AI impacts engineering quality, risk, and workflows
• Strong expertise in CI/CD, testing strategy, and refactoring discipline
• Direct, precise communicator capable of aligning engineers and business stakeholders

What’s offered

• Full ownership of engineering direction in a high-impact leadership role
• Opportunity to build a product with a real-world, ethical focus on skills‑based hiring
• The chance to shape a codebase at an inflection point rather than inheriting a mature system
• Executive support for engineering‑led decisions and culture change
• The opportunity to define and embed an AI‑native engineering culture from the ground up
• Hybrid work model with on‑site presence most of the week (office‑first expectations)
• Competitive salary, travel reimbursement, equity participation, and regular team benefits (meals and events)

If you’re motivated by shaping an AI-native engineering organization and raising the technical bar on a mission‑driven product, this is a rare opportunity to lead that transformation.