[Interim] Engineering Manager

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Riverflex is looking for an Interim Engineering Manager for an international fashion retailer in Amsterdam, onsite, full-time ASAP until year end with possible permanent extension. The role is purely managerial and strategic, no hands-on coding, focused on planning, delivery cadence, and cross-functional alignment between engineering, product, and customer-facing teams to support onboarding, in-store experiences, and the overall customer journey. You will bridge tech and business, escalating risks and keeping stakeholders informed on timelines and trade-offs, while partnering with architects and tech leads on the roadmap. To apply, highlight proven leadership of backend and frontend squads, experience stabilising teams, and the ability to translate technical topics into business language, with a calm, delivery-oriented style under pressure.

Job Title: Engineering Manager [Interim]

Location: Amsterdam, on site

Engagement: Full-time, ASAP until end of the year

Contract duration: End of the year (possible extension to permanent contract)

Start date: ASAP 

About the Client

Our client is an international fashion retailer strengthening engineering leadership to scale reliable, customer-centric technology across online and in-store channels.

Role Overview

As Interim Engineering Manager, you will provide experienced leadership across backend and frontend engineering teams. The role is purely managerial and strategic (no hands-on coding) and focused on planning, delivery, communication, and execution under pressure.

You will act as the bridge between engineering, product, and customer-facing stakeholders, ensuring technology initiatives directly support onboarding, in-store experiences, and overall customer journey improvements.

This role requires strong technical credibility, as you will operate in close proximity to senior digital leadership with deep technical backgrounds.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate backend and frontend engineering teams to deliver agreed priorities; own planning, design alignment, delivery cadence, and dependency management

• Ensure engineering output aligns with business priorities and customer experience goals; support onboarding of new initiatives, teams, and customer-facing capabilities

• Act as the primary engineering communication point for product, CX, and business stakeholders; maintain transparency on timelines, trade-offs, and delivery impact

• Provide technical oversight and direction without hands-on development; partner closely with architects, product owners, and tech leads on roadmap alignment

• Identify risks, bottlenecks, and delivery issues early; escalate pragmatically to protect outcomes

• Create clarity and calm in high-pressure, fast-moving environments

Required Experience & Profile

• Proven experience as an Engineering Manager (or similar) in a modern software environment

• Strong understanding of both backend and frontend systems and delivery challenges

• Comfortable operating at senior level with technically strong stakeholders

• Excellent communication skills — able to translate technical topics to business language

• Experience stabilising teams, onboarding workstreams, and driving execution quickly

• Pragmatic, delivery-focused, and comfortable making decisions with incomplete context

• No expectation of hands-on coding, but strong technical judgment is essential