Senior Director – Digital Applications & Engineering

Senior Director – Digital Applications & Engineering

• Location: Ideally Netherlands (Hybrid: 2–3 days/week onsite)
• Role Level: Senior Director / Executive Leadership Team

High-impact executive appointment leading digital, application, and AI capabilities for the business unit. Serving as a key strategic partner and designated successor to the BU Head, this role translates commercial strategy into technology roadmaps and leads a unified team spanning application development, UX, AI integration, and engineering footprint optimization.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategy & Executive Leadership
• Align business vision with modern digital architecture; deliver quarterly roadmaps and investment cases to the Executive Board.
• Partner with the Data Transformation Lead to integrate data science, UX, and core applications.
• Serve as operational right-hand to the BU Head with a succession plan into broader leadership.
• Application Engineering & AI Transformation
• Modernize application engineering, introducing high-velocity agile practices inspired by gaming/e-commerce architectures.
• Champion aggressive AI adoption to accelerate the software development life cycle.
• Embed customer-centric UX across all internal and external software platforms.
• Global Footprint & Delivery Optimization
• Evaluate and rebalance global engineering teams, pivoting from offshore hubs toward nearshore delivery centers for increased proximity and retention.
• Sync core application layers with global innovation hubs (including Asia) focused on bleeding-edge R&D.

• Experience: Director/Senior Director level leading product engineering, modern app development, or digital transformation in a matrixed enterprise environment.
• Domain Skills: Strong expertise in software engineering, UX paradigms, AI/ML integration, and nearshore/offshore workforce optimization.
• Executive Presence: Proven capability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, commercial strategies for board-level stakeholders.
• Leadership Style: Charismatic, high-energy leader capable of driving cultural change, managing cross-cultural teams, and fostering innovation.