Head of Software Engineering

JobCubby; Eindhoven; Hybrid; EUR 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

25 vacation days + 3 holidays

Travel expenses

Free lunch, coffee, tea

Job summary

Shapeways in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is seeking a Head of Engineering to run our engineering organization, own our MES and ERP systems, and lead a team of 7 engineers across ~40 services. This hands-on leadership role balances people management, project prioritization, and practical AI-enabled improvements.

You will collaborate with operations, sales, and marketing to align roadmaps and deliver high-quality software at scale.

Qualifications

• 2–4 years of experience as an engineering manager or team lead.
• Hands-on experience with PHP/Symfony and relational databases (MySQL).
• Strong people leadership: mentoring, hiring, and coordinating others.
• Experience with modern infrastructure practices (Kubernetes, GitOps, containers).

Responsibilities

• Lead the engineering team day to day across ~40 services.
• Prioritize AI investments and drive adoption of AI workflows.
• Own project prioritization and sequencing, translating requests into plans.
• Contribute hands-on to the codebase and set architecture standards.
• Coordinate with operations, sales, and marketing for roadmap alignment.
• Maintain delivery visibility, track progress, and report risks to CTO.

Skills

Engineering management

PHP/Symfony

Team leadership

Project prioritization

Cross-functional comms

Kubernetes

GitOps

Containerization

MySQL

Tools

MySQL

Kubernetes

GitOps

Containerization

Job description

About ShapewaysShapeways is a digital manufacturer serving global customers from their world class manufacturing facility in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. We offer production-grade on-demand manufacturing services for low volume production. Our parts are used in a myriad of high tech applications like bespoke medical devices, UAVs, drones and robots.

Why is a Head of Engineering important to us?

Shapeways is looking for a Head of Engineering to run our engineering organization day to day and own our bespoke MES and ERP systems which are an important part of our competitive edge in the high tech on-demand manufacturing market. Reporting to the CTO, you lead a growing team of 7 engineers operating a platform of ~40 services. You have the opportunity to own the technical direction and architecture, the development of the team, and the flow of work between engineering and the rest of the business. This is a hands-on leadership role: you'll split your time between people, project prioritization, and implement your own projects.

What You'll Do

• Lead the engineering team day to day, running planning, unblocking work, and keeping delivery on track across the ~40 service estate (core stack: PHP/Symfony on MySQL)
• Motivate and coach the team, support hiring, and help structure day-to-day workflows as the team grows, working closely with the CTO on team decisions
• Prioritize AI investments and drive the adoption of AI-powered workflows across the engineering organization to increase development velocity, software quality, and code robustness.
• Own project prioritization and sequencing, turning requests from operations, sales, and marketing into a realistic plan the team can execute, and communicating trade-offs back clearly when timelines or scope need to shift
• Contribute hands-on to the codebase, taking on your own projects and features within the architecture and standards set by the CTO
• Be the first point of contact for day-to-day engineering questions from the rest of the business, escalating architecture, infrastructure, or system-design decisions to the CTO
• Help keep delivery visible, tracking progress, surfacing risks early, and reporting status to the CTO and stakeholders

What we're looking for

• 2-4 years of experience as an engineering manager, with experience leading, mentoring, and coordinating the work of others (e.g. as a team lead or similar)
• Strong hands-on experience with PHP/Symfony (or a comparable modern web framework) and relational databases (MySQL or similar)
• A genuine interest in people leadership: motivating a team, unblocking people, and creating a good day-to-day working environment
• Good project management instincts: able to break down work, sequence priorities, and keep a small team focused
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with non-technical stakeholders (operations, sales, marketing), and confidence communicating trade-offs and pushing back constructively
• Experience with modern infrastructure practices (Kubernetes, GitOps, containerization)
• A pragmatic, get-it-done attitude, and eagerness to grow into a broader leadership role over time

Why Join Shapeways?

• We are a fast growing company with lots of opportunities for growth
• An open and high-trust culture in an international environment
• We value teamwork, adaptability and eagerness to learn
• We love what we do and want you to love it too!
• We offer free lunch, coffee, tea
• Pension scheme
• 25 vacation days a year + 3 Extra National Holidays
• Travel expenses
• Remote work possible

Shapeways is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.