AI Innovation Lab Lead

Lead the Future of AI Innovation at Rentman

About us

Rentman is a B2B SaaS scaleup building a smart, powerful operations management platform for event and production teams. Our users plan everything from small shoots to massive festivals in 70+ countries — and they all rely on Rentman to keep their gear, people, and timing perfectly in sync.

We’re based in Utrecht (NL) with a second office in Toronto (CA), and our team includes 100+ people with 30+ nationalities. We work in English, and our culture is open, inclusive, and flat — built on curiosity, ownership, and the freedom to challenge ideas.

Mission of this role

As AI Innovation Lab Lead, you will set up and lead a brand-new function at Rentman. Your mission: rapidly build, test, and validate AI-driven concepts that enhance how customers interact with our platform. You’ll move fast from idea to proof-of-concept (POC), and when something works, you’ll work with our product teams to bring it to life.

You’ll own the Lab’s roadmap, experimentation framework, and tech stack — and act as the go-to AI champion across the company.

What you’ll be doing

• Establish the AI Lab’s setup, processes, and tools for rapid experimentation
• Develop a roadmap for AI agents based on customer needs, product vision, and feasibility
• Build and benchmark working AI agent POCs using best-in-class models and frameworks
• Adapt agents as new models, data, and insights become available
• Share results — wins and fails — clearly with stakeholders
• Collaborate closely with Product and Data teams, reporting directly to the CEO

Essential attributes to be successful

• Proven track record of being a hands-on, fast-iterating problem solver who learns from failed experiments
• You have spent some time in N8N or a similar framework and have built some AI workflows that showed meaningful results
• Understanding of LLM scaffolding beyond basic wrappers
• Ability to translate customer pain points into small, automatable subtasks
• Realistic view of AI capabilities and limitations
• Comfortable integrating APIs, working with vector databases, and using OpenAI embeddings
• Proficient in Python; familiar with Dockerized environments
• Bonus points for understanding classical ML techniques and knowing when to use them

What you’ll get

• The chance to build something from scratch with full ownership
• An ambitious, inclusive, international team
• A 13th month annual bonus based on company results
• 25 days of paid vacation, plus one extra day per year from your 2nd year up to your 5-year anniversary
• A paid 4-week sabbatical after 5 years
• Flexible WFH policy — work from anywhere for 4 weeks/year
• A shiny Windows, Linux, or Mac laptop
• Annual training budget to boost your skills
• Pension plan via BrightPension
• Access to OpenUp for mental well-being and personal growth
• Sports activities — Rentman football, squash, padel, OneFit subscription
• OV Business Card if you live more than 10km from the office
• An amazing office in the heart of Utrecht at the historical Drift 17

At Rentman, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that our differences make us stronger and strive to foster a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected.