Help us build serious tech

Serious tech, built by people who take the craft seriously

We build complex digital solutions for clients who want the best: microfluidics research platforms, multi-country e-commerce, custom integrations, and the occasional thing nobody has built before. If you've done this kind of work for a while and want to keep doing it with people who take it as seriously as you do, we should talk.

This page exists so you can decide whether El Niño is the right next step. We're not looking for everyone, we're looking for experienced people who want real ownership, interesting problems, and colleagues who push them to be better. If that's you, read on.

What you'll actually work on

Our projects aren't templated websites. A recent sample:

Victron Energy - VRM (Victron Remote Monitoring) A platform that connects thousands of off-grid energy systems worldwide: boats in the Mediterranean, RVs in the Australian outback, tiny houses running on unstable grids in South Africa. Real-time data from temperature sensors, inverters, and batteries, consumed by two very different audiences: professional installers managing hundreds of client installations, and end-users who just want to know their system is fine.
Just Eat Takeaway - Scoober driver recruitment platform A recruitment platform handling 120,000 applicants per month across 12 countries and 340 cities. Dynamic city-specific question flows, multi-language support, integrations with Salesforce, automated screening, and logic for opening and closing cities based on seasonal demand. The kind of project where a small UX improvement moves thousands of conversions, and a bad deploy is very visible very quickly.
Segway - A European Magento platform A webshop built to sell Segway products in multiple countries within Europe. With the implementation of a custom checkout and integration with their SAP platform to synchronise product and customer data.

You'll typically work across 2–3 projects at once, own significant parts of them end to end, and talk directly to clients. No layers of account managers between you and the problem. If you want to see the range, our case studies cover it in more detail.

What we offer

Compensation and security

Competitive salary, benchmarked against Dutch market rates for senior roles. We're happy to discuss specific bands per role.
Pension contribution through your salary. You have the freedom to arrange your pension your own way.
24 vacation days per year, plus Dutch public holidays
Full salary top-up during statutory parental leave
Permanent contracts after a successful second year

Flexibility that respects a life outside work

Hybrid by default: work from our Enschede or Den Haag office, from home, or a mix that fits your life Flexible hours — shift your day around school runs, appointments, or a long lunch
Part-time arrangements possible for the right person and role
Up to 8 weeks per year working from elsewhere in the world

Growth

€1,500 annual learning budget — conferences, courses, books, whatever moves you forward
10% of working hours dedicated to learning
Future Development conversations every four months. Not performance reviews — actual conversations about where you want to go.
Internal Show & Tells and the chance to lead them

The office, when you want it

Two offices in prime locations (Enschede and Den Haag), both set up for focused work and collaboration
On-site gym with a trainer, or a subscription to the building's gym if that's more your thing
Chef-prepared takeaway meals twice a week Interest groups that actually meet: chess, bouldering, climbing, painting nights, series nights

Our culture

We’ve worked hard to build the culture we have today: a mix of nationalities, backgrounds, and interests, all united by one passion: building cool stuff.
During interviews we assess your hard skills, of course, but your soft skills matter just as much (sometimes more). We look at how you think, what your priorities are, and where you want to be a few years from now. We always ask what you want to learn, you better have a good answer to this!

What we're looking for

Experience and judgment

You've been doing this long enough to know when to ship fast and when to slow down. You've owned systems in production, made architectural calls you had to live with, and learned from the ones that didn't go to plan.

Ownership, end to end

Our projects run from first client conversation to years of iteration after launch. We expect people to own their work until the end. Not just write the code, but think about what's worth building, talk to the client, and care about the support and maintenance afterwards.

Direct communication

We work across offices, home, and timezones. Clear written communication isn't optional here. We want you to tell us when something is wrong — with a project, a client, a teammate, or how we're running the company.

Range

You'll often work across multiple projects and domains in the same week. People who get bored with one thing forever tend to thrive here.

A genuine interest in the craft

Not "passion" in the LinkedIn sense. We mean people who notice when something is well-built and care about the difference.

Experience and judgment

Ownership, end to end

Direct communication

Range

You'll often work across multiple projects and domains in the same week. People who get bored with one thing forever tend to thrive here.

A genuine interest in the craft

Not "passion" in the LinkedIn sense. We mean people who notice when something is well-built and care about the difference.

How we work together

We're flat. Decisions get made by the people closest to the problem, with input from anyone who can help. We work in self-managing teams, everybody has an equal say. Senior people are expected to mentor, to set technical direction, and to make the hard calls. They're not expected to perform authority for its own sake.

We dress and speak informally. Plain language, honest feedback, no corporate theater. If you've got something to say, say it.

Our work domain is expanding fast, and the challenges keep getting bigger. To keep surprising our customers, we need some of the brightest minds out there.

Michael

- Founder of El Niño

Interested? Let's talk.

Tell us about the work you've done and what you're looking for next. We read every application and get back to you within 2 working days.

Apply now