Engineering Manager – PHP/AI

Millions of visitors a month, four platforms across three countries and an engineering team that treats AI agents as part of the daily workflow rather than an experiment. For a leading digital player in the heart of Rotterdam I am looking for an Engineering Manager who gives direction to engineers, tech leads and product owners. No micromanagement, but full ownership of execution from roadmap to release.

About the company

An informal, well-established tech organisation in the real estate sector, based in central Rotterdam. Dutch and international consumer platforms connecting house hunters with rental professionals. Short lines of communication, no politics, a lot of autonomy, and an engineering culture where AI-first working is genuinely meant. You report directly to the Head of Tech and are part of the engineering management team.

The role

You are responsible for the people, the processes and the execution power of your team(s). In practice that means:

• People leadership: one-on-ones, development plans and coaching tech leads and product owners on both the technical and personal side.
• Giving direction to product and engineering at the same time. You are the person who can hold a product discussion and an architecture discussion in the same conversation, and bring the whole team along on the outcome.
• Steering on measurable impact: SEO, SEA and CRO, Core Web Vitals, conversion and reliability, balanced against maintenance and technical debt.
• Safeguarding quality, security and scalability. Automated testing, monitoring and observability are a team responsibility here.
• Taking agentic AI further. Agents that write code independently, run spikes and substantiate architectural choices are already part of daily practice. You push the boundaries and bring the teams with you. Leading by example.
• Stakeholder management towards marketing, business and the board, plus attracting new senior talent.

Technically you work with PHP (DDD/CQRS) and JavaScript, Docker and Kubernetes on Google Cloud Platform, mature CI/CD pipelines and tooling such as PHPStan, CS Fixer and Deptrac. Legacy components are being migrated to modern architectures step by step.

What you bring

• At least 8 years of experience in software engineering, of which 3 to 5 in a leadership role (EM, Team Lead or Engineering Lead).
• Technically strong, preferably in PHP and JavaScript, with a feel for architecture, trade-offs and the challenges of high-traffic platforms.
• Experience with or strong affinity for SEO, SEA and CRO in a consumer context.
• You understand product: roadmaps, prioritisation and user value are as natural to you as code.
• A servant leader: you get energy from the growth and success of your people.
• Analytical, pragmatic and decisive in the triangle of time, quality and scope.
• You actively use agentic AI tooling yourself and know how to embed it in team workflows.
• Fluent in Dutch and English, both spoken and written.

What do we offer?

• EUR 6,250 to 7,500 gross per month based on 40 hours, plus holiday allowance.
• Excellent pension scheme with 70 percent covered by the employer.
• Flexible working hours and the option to work partly from home.
• Budget for training, conferences and your development as a leader.
• Laptop of your choice, Mac or Dell.
• A workplace on one of the highest floors in Rotterdam, with a view worth showing your guests.
• Shared lunches, a weekly bootcamp, Friday drinks, team outings and a discount on your gym membership.

Interested?
Call or WhatsApp +31 6 83 93 19 68, or email r.sadloe@haystackpeople.nl for an informal conversation. No CV at hand? A phone call is enough to get acquainted.

Why now?
This is not a management role where you sit through meetings. You lead teams building for millions of users, in an organisation that already has agentic AI in daily practice and wants to push that acceleration further. Do you want to define how engineering works at this scale, while watching people grow under your leadership? Then this is your moment.