--- title: 'Freelance / zelfstandige / contractor at AE' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/freelance-zelfstandige-contractor-ae-heverlee-fy3pz7w9b3ra' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-12' --- # Freelance / zelfstandige / contractor at AE - **Company:** AE - **Location:** Heverlee, Belgium / Berchem, Belgium / Gent, Belgium / Hasselt, Belgium / Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium / Klantencontext, Belgium - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2020-06-10 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/ae-2/0d54feb9-6d09-4a57-986b-909e765fbae5 ## Job description AE helpt zijn klanten met het innoveren van hun business modellen en/of transformatie projecten. Hierbij is planning cruciaal.  Wij alloceren onze consultants, met de hoogste aandacht naar hun interesses, ervaringen en voorkeuren. Wanneer onze capaciteit of kennis hier niet afdoende is, bekijken we dit breder en zijn onze trusted freelancers van groot belang om onze projecten tijdig op te kunnen starten. Jouw rol? - Als zelfstandige word je bij AE aangetrokken voor je ervaring en meerwaarde die je aan onze projecten kan toevoegen. - AE is een organisatie die met haar klanten meedenkt en mee sturing geeft aan de toekomstvisie van hun onderneming.  Als freelancer wordt er van jou verwacht dat je meedenkt vanuit de accountwerking en dat je bijdraagt tot de verdere professionalisering van de klantencontext. - De uitdagingen bij onze klanten lopen meestal over meerdere jaren. Als zelfstandige krijg je een engagement om op middellange termijn mee richting te geven en voorzien we de nodige opvolging wanneer je een volgende opdracht aanneemt. - AE voorziet bij iedere opstart een infaseringsperiode, waarbij je, ongeacht je niveau, wordt begeleid door één van onze eigen medewerkers, die de klant in kwestie reeds grondig kent. - Al onze accounts hebben een accountwerking. Je wordt betrokken bij de dagdagelijkse activiteiten en je kan steeds bij iemand terecht voor klantgevoelige topics. - Voor andere noden en ondersteuning voorzien wij de nodige aanspreekpunten binnen onze onderneming, die ervoor zorgen dat jij je focus on-the-job kan houden. Waarom AE? Je bent het gezicht van een organisatie die zich met trots inzet voor uitdagende projecten bij toonaangevende bedrijven in België, in verschillende sectoren, met een focus op digitalisering, transformatie en change, vanuit zowel IT als business perspectief. Zélf kan je dankzij coaching, een focus op persoonlijke evolutie en door de innovatieve context vanuit AE, verder groeien en innovatie binnen België mee vormgeven. AE is een stabiele, onafhankelijke speler waar gedrevenheid, kwaliteit en work-life-fun balans centraal staan. Een informele werkomgeving waar mensen elkaar kennen en elkaar verder helpen. ## About AE ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: AE is a Belgian digital consultancy and product engineering firm that helps organizations thrive through hyperautomation, Generative AI, and custom software solutions. - **Entity Type**: Private (bootstrapped/growth-stage consultancy) - **Headquarters**: Heverlee, Belgium (with offices in Berchem, Gent, Hasselt, and Groot-Bijgaarden) - **Founded**: Not publicly available - **Founders**: Not publicly available ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Digital Consultancy & Product Engineering (IT Services) - **Target customers**: Enterprise and mid-market organizations across various sectors in Belgium; B2B focus - **Mission or purpose**: "Thriving in a digital world" — helping clients adapt to and lead in digital transformation, with a strong emphasis on AI and automation ## Products & Services - **Digital Consultancy**: Strategic advisory and hands-on delivery for complex digital transformation projects, including AI implementation, process optimization, and technology selection. - **Product Engineering (AE QuietLoud)**: Custom software product development, building digital products and platforms for clients with a startup mentality and product mindset. - **AI & Hyperautomation Services**: Design and deployment of intelligent AI workflows, virtual assistants, autonomous agents, and GenAI-powered applications. - **Cloud & Platform Engineering**: Design and setup of robust, future-proof cloud platforms and DevOps pipelines. - **Quality Assurance & Software Delivery Coaching**: Coaching clients on quality processes, test automation, and modern software delivery practices. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company) - **Key Metric**: Approximately 150 senior professionals (engineers, ML researchers, product leads, operators) as of 2026 - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly available (appears to be independently owned) - **Growth Signals**: - 27 open positions as of August 2026, indicating active hiring - 94% of roles are hybrid, suggesting a flexible work model - Strong focus on GenAI and hyperautomation — a rapidly growing market - Active in both client delivery and internal AI research ## Competitive Advantages - **AI-Native Delivery**: AE embeds AI into its own workflows — prototyping before spec, using AI to compress discovery, testing, and documentation. This allows teams to ship in weeks what conventional teams ship in a quarter. - **Dual Research/Applied Model**: The company does frontier AI alignment research alongside production AI work, allowing engineers to move between research and applied projects. This creates a unique learning environment. - **Internal Startup Incubation**: When client work or internal research surfaces a real opportunity, AE team members can found startups internally with founder-level equity, often with a first customer already lined up. - **Senior-First Culture**: Described as ~150 senior professionals — not a junior-heavy consultancy — which means high-caliber peer learning and less hand-holding. ## Strategic Focus - **Generative AI & Hyperautomation**: The clear strategic priority is leading the GenAI transformation for Belgian enterprises, building intelligent workflows, agents, and AI-first applications. - **Product Mindset**: Moving beyond traditional consulting toward building and shipping real products, with AE QuietLoud as the product engineering arm. - **Client Embedding**: Consultants work directly within client teams through discovery, architecture, and release — not just delivering decks. - **Equity & Ownership**: Team members hold equity across client MVPs, incubated Skunkworks, and spun-out startups, aligning long-term incentives. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Described as having a "start-up mentality" with a focus on ownership, innovation, and speed. The company values "meebouwers" (co-builders) — people who actively think, build, and drive solutions. - **Work Model**: Strongly hybrid — 94% of roles are hybrid, 6% on-site, 0% fully remote. Offices in Heverlee, Berchem, Gent, Hasselt, and Groot-Bijgaarden. - **Engineering Environment**: - "No token caps, no access tiers, no IT queues" — engineers get the best AI tools and compute they need. - AI is embedded in the engineering workflow, not just a side project. - Real production systems for airlines, biotech companies, school systems, and enterprises. - **Career Growth**: Opportunity to move between frontier AI research and applied client work. Internal startup incubation offers a unique path to founding a company with support. - **Notable Perks**: Equity in client MVPs and internal startups; working software every Friday (applied side); direct impact on real users. ## Sources 1. [jobera.com](https://jobera.com/employer/ae-2/) — Open positions, hybrid/remote stats, job descriptions 2. [ae.studio](https://ae.studio/join-us) — Company description, culture, team size, research focus, equity model 3. [hirocareers.com](https://hirocareers.com/jobs/9000dbea-5feb-42b3-8b44-4842905a290b) — AI Software Engineer job posting 4. [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/ae2-s.r.l.) — Note: This appears to be a different Italian entity (AE2 S.R.L., 4 employees, electronics manufacturing) — not the same company. Excluded from profile. ## Other roles at AE - [Campus Recruiter](https://feeny.ai/job/campus-recruiter-ae-heverlee-c7ft4gvkxvp7) — Heverlee, Belgium - [Databricks Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/databricks-engineer-ae-heverlee-64x2z28h4ek8) — Heverlee, Belgium / Berchem, Belgium / Gent, Belgium / Hasselt, Belgium / Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium / Klantencontext, Belgium - [AI Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-software-engineer-ae-heverlee-2nkrpmz7qta5) — Heverlee, Belgium / Berchem, Belgium / Gent, Belgium / Hasselt, Belgium / Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium / Klantencontext, Belgium - [Functioneel Analist](https://feeny.ai/job/functioneel-analist-ae-c23capgsh2ea) - [.NET Technical Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/net-technical-lead-ae-antwerpen-zkp6k59xktcj) — Antwerpen, Belgium - [Technische Consultant .NET](https://feeny.ai/job/technische-consultant-net-ae-antwerpen-cxrvg5e3dvrr) — Antwerpen, Belgium - [MarTech Solution Architect](https://feeny.ai/job/martech-solution-architect-ae-heverlee-rp05wpr4wr0y) — Heverlee, Belgium - [Business Analyst - Digitale & AI Transformatie](https://feeny.ai/job/business-analyst-digitale-ai-transformatie-ae-heverlee-66yhvk49tytr) — Heverlee, Belgium / Berchem, Belgium / Gent, Belgium / Hasselt, Belgium / Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium / Klantencontext, Belgium - [AI Architect](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-architect-ae-heverlee-0r8nf3jbcx8a) — Heverlee, Belgium / Berchem, Belgium / Gent, Belgium / Hasselt, Belgium / Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium / Klantencontext, Belgium - [AI Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-engineer-ae-heverlee-35q5s4en8jan) — Heverlee, Belgium / Berchem, Belgium / Gent, Belgium / Hasselt, Belgium / Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium / Klantencontext, Belgium