Lead Engineer

About Us We're November Five. We’re makers. Doers, designers, strategists. Different backgrounds, one mindset. We say what we mean and do what we say. Passion walks in the door; expertise evolves over time. ‍ Feedback is direct. We’re hard on the work but soft on the people behind it. As craftsmen and women across our core capabilities, our passion transcends our expertise, and the roles we assume are fluid. United in our drive to defy limits and move beyond, we collaborate deeply, always on the lookout for more allies. About the Role We're looking for an experienced engineering lead to join me in elevating our engineering organization at November Five. As Head of Engineering, I'm focused on building a high-performing team culture built on quality, collaboration, and continuous improvement. I need strong leaders alongside me to make that happen. This is a hands-on leadership role. You'll be in the trenches with your team, writing code, reviewing pull requests, and solving technical challenges, while also developing people and driving team performance. You'll split your time between technical contribution and leadership, not choose between them. This isn't a traditional engineering manager position where you step away from the keyboard. You'll have direct impact at the company level, working closely with me to develop engineers, implement best practices, and create the conditions for engineering excellence. This isn't about maintaining steady-state operations. It's about leading a team through meaningful growth and evolution. If you're energized by balancing hands-on technical work with developing engineers, building team capability, and creating a culture where candid feedback and accountability drive results, let's talk. What You'll Do Lead and manage a team of 5-8 engineers, providing technical direction and career development Balance hands-on technical contribution with people leadership and team development Partner with the Head of Engineering, to implement and drive engineering transformation initiatives Help define the engineering roadmap, including how we leverage AI to enhance our products and processes Foster a culture of candid feedback, accountability, and continuous learning within your team Collaborate with product and other engineering leads to deliver high-quality solutions Establish and reinforce engineering standards, best practices, and processes Coach team members to elevate their technical skills and professional capabilities Participate in hiring and building out the engineering organization What We're Looking For Experience working in an agency or consulting environment, you understand client delivery, shifting priorities, and managing multiple projects simultaneously 7+ years of software engineering experience with proven technical depth 2+ years of direct people management experience leading engineering teams Track record of improving team performance and developing engineering talent Strong communication skills and the ability to give and receive candid feedback Experience balancing technical contribution with people management responsibilities Comfortable working hybrid in Antwerp, Belgium Our Technical Environment Our engineering team builds across mobile and web platforms, working with native mobile technologies (Swift, Kotlin, KMP), React, React Native, and several backend technologies. While we value leadership ability and technical adaptability over specific stack expertise, you should be comfortable building credibility with teams across these different platforms and technologies. How you grow here We use our Impact x Growth x Reward (IGR) framework, to make progression clear and evidence-based. Your growth is tied to the impact you create: on clients, on the work, on the team around you. N5 is also a place where ideas become ventures. Four businesses have been built here already. If you’re working on something, we don’t ask you to leave it at the door. Why join us? Because the work matters. And so do our people. Ship real products for Coca-Cola, Le Pain Quotidien, Telenet, and others. Work with people who will tell you when something isn’t good enough. They mean it as a compliment. Build the design culture, don’t inherit someone else’s. Stay close to the craft while growing the team around you. Hybrid work arrangement with meaningful in-person collaboration Optimized benefits and compensation package build around trust