For starters at Shapeways, people come first. Whether you’re running infrastructure behind the scenes, solving production puzzles, or supporting customers directly the work is hands-on, team-oriented and constantly evolving.

It’s not about hierarchy — it’s about culture, communication, and shared purpose. And that’s something people notice.

“We make sure that most of the time, people are self-directed and can use their initiative, but if they need it, the support is always there.”

explained Antoinette De Gee, HR Generalist and Office Manager in her recent Team Spotlight.

A culture worth returning to

Following the company’s relaunch, most of the Eindhoven team came back — not out of habit, but because they wanted to.

In his Team Spotlight Senior Systems Architect Hans Lambermont said: “A lot has changed over time, which is what basically has kept me here.” Change means challenge, and challenge means growth.

The draw to return was a combination of the work and the environment. Respect, curiosity and collaboration are baked into the way our team operates.

“I think there’s no such thing as a stupid question,” according to  Jeané Bresler, one of our Customer Service Representatives. “The ultimate goal for all of us is to serve the customer to the best of our ability.”

That shared mindset is why so many people chose to return — and why new team members tend to stick around. Service is a powerful force, especially when the output is often so exciting!

Communication that actually goes somewhere

When company values are aligned with the team and the job at hand, they become ingrained. More a collective habit than a conscious decision. Open communication is one of the unbreakable habits for the Shapeways team. Daily huddles, one-on-one chats and quick face-to-face check-ins help everyone stay aligned.

“We need to be open to that communication. That’s really, really important. It needs to be transparent and we need to be able to accept feedback at all times, whatever that means.” Explains Antoinette.

But it’s not just top-down — everyone has a voice and that information has daily positive impacts. Knowing what’s going on at the top strategic level is important, but so too is knowing about the minutiae of the production process.

“It [open communication] definitely helps… when a client reaches out, I can help them better, because I understand what they’re talking about — and what’s possible,” said Jeané.

Growth that feels personal

From front-line operators to technical leaders, our growth is often home-grown. People move through departments, take on new challenges, and grow into roles they didn’t originally apply for, didn’t know they wanted or never thought they’d be perfect for.

Jeané is a great example of someone who has taken that journey: “During my time in distribution, I started to learn the systems and processes and got the opportunity to work a bit more in post-production. Then I moved over to pre-production, doing some planning. And then about three months ago, the job opportunity opened up in customer service. I thought it might be a good fit — I applied and got the job.” Managers and teammates take notice and make space for development because sometimes the right solution (or even the right question) gets lost in the excitement of the now.

Tistou Geenen, our Continuous Improvement Engineer, has also had the opportunity to grow alongside us, starting out while still studying applied mathematics and returning after graduation to work full time. He explained: “I did not really recognize the opportunity that was here for me. It was really the management that reached out and said, ‘hey, we think you would be a really good fit for this’… I had no idea what being a continuous improvement engineer would entail or how that would look. So I needed a lot of guidance at the start. But I definitely got it.”

Stability through change

There are people here who’ve been through everything — the startup phase, global expansion, and now a leaner, more focused version of the company. That continuity creates confidence.

“From startup to grow-up, moving offices, building teams in the US, migrating infrastructure through six different data centers, moving to the cloud, then moving out again. I like that. I like change,” said Hans.

That experience doesn’t mean we’re stuck in our ways. It means we know how to solve hard problems — and still get excited by finding and solving new ones.

Real people, real passion

What unites the team isn’t a single background but a mindset. Our team is diverse in skills, nationality, focus and outlook. But we share some key characteristics.

“We want people who are passionate, who haven’t applied just to apply to a job, but have applied because they really want to come and work for us,” explained Antoinette.

That could mean deep technical experience. Or it could mean curiosity and drive. 3D printing and on-demand manufacturing remains an incredibly exciting area to work in, simply because the problems it can help to solve are so diverse and impactful.

We’re hiring!

We’re growing the team at the moment and looking for new people to join us on-site in Eindhoven. If you’re open-minded, eager to learn, and excited to work in a diverse, collaborative environment — there’s a place for you here.

We want team members who will have new insights, who have new ideas and who will be open to challenge, to change and to championing themselves and their colleagues.

Explore our open roles and apply now:

Account Executive EU (Eindhoven – Netherlands)

Marketing Manager

Part Time Bookkeeper Netherlands/US Support

TAGS:

Careers; 3D printing; team spotlight, HR

The post What It’s Like to Work at Shapeways appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

International culture

Antoinette joined Shapeways with varied international experience — from France with Disney, Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, to a Dutch recruitment agency — this variety made her a natural fit. “I knew it was a very international company. And for me, international is super important because I grew up outside of the Netherlands.”

She joined Shapeways as Office Manager and HR Support, the perfect role to build awareness of the whole team and discover what they needed for their continued success.

A natural shift into HR

As the team grew and developed, so did Antoinette’s responsibility. “It felt natural to flow into more of an HR role. And the more I did HR, the more I loved working with people. I’m a very much a people person… and I like to think that I am very empathetic. And I think that’s something that people need a lot of.”

Antoinette’s transition from managing the office to leading HR with a growing team also meant bigger challenges. In this role she could help shape the experience of everyone around her. “I think HR should be a very easy step for people to go to… I don’t like that version of HR where it’s disconnected or deemed to be negative, ‘my goodness, I have to go to HR!’ I don’t think that that’s a good reflection of the role. I want our team to know I am available or will make myself available for them so that HR is integrated day-to-day in the business”

Homecoming crowd

“More than 90% of our current employees were with us before 2024 which is a great statement in itself. With such good retention we are now growing with new team members who are helping us build on our stable foundations.”

Antoinette was one of the many who returned after Shapeways’ bankruptcy and helped bring others back too. “People were pretty much waiting, ‘can we come back and work for Shapeways?’ Every single person that we’ve called back pretty much came home and are still really happy to be here.” So what is it that people were returning to? “I think the international aspect of the culture… the way people communicate… Everybody’s respectful to each other. And people are allowed to be themselves. We thrive on the variety of experiences and outlooks that our team members bring.”

Two-way communication

Antoinette was able to ‘bridge the gap’ between the pre- and post-bankruptcy Shapeways, bringing learnings forward to improve the business. “It’s important to know that you will be heard when you share your ideas.” She is driven by commitment to connect and value everyone’s contribution.

Antoinette stresses the importance of defining and maintaining transparency in communication: “If somebody goes to their manager and says ‘I have a really great idea to set up this system’, and the manager’s like, ‘Yeah, good idea’ that is only half of the communication needed to drive transparency. I encourage our team to ask what happens next? Who takes the next step? What else do I need to know? And what real transparency means is that if the lead thinks it sounds like a good idea, but doesn’t think we’re ready yet, that is communicated back and that the employee knows where they stand. Being on the same page is crucial to our shared success.”

“Everybody’s using English pretty much as a second language and people can be misunderstood”. I see this as a great opportunity to master great communication skills as a team. Things like clarification, recapping meetings, checking in on everyone’s expectations at the start to keep projects and teams on track. These are the skills we use to ensure great communication is at the heart of the business.”

Supporting growth from within

Antoinette takes a proactive, personal approach to helping colleagues grow. “I like to take the time to understand our team members and their goals, beyond just an ‘I’m fine!’ response. We make sure that most of the time, people are self-directed and can use their initiative, but if they need it, the support is always there.”

For Antoinette the success Shapeways has experienced in retaining team members starts with understanding each person in the team. “It’s really important to identify the people who need a pat on their shoulder, … I encourage the managers to recognize individuals, have they looked into who’s done a really good job? Have they expressed the fact that they noticed? I love making these connections and helping the team grow stronger.”

What does it take?

“We like to have people who are passionate, who haven’t applied just to apply to ‘a job’, but have applied because they really want to come and work for us.” Experience matters, but it’s not everything. “If we’re looking for somebody to work in the factory, if that person is enthusiastic and says, ‘I think 3D printing is amazing and I would love to be part of it!’ I’m already interested in this person because of their energy.”

She also values curiosity and openness. “If somebody doesn’t ask me any questions about the company or hasn’t done their research… It shows that they’re not really interested. We have a team of skilled people, great personalities and we are all curious and engaged, this is the kind of thing that stands out at an interview.”

Working together in the Eindhoven facility as a team is another part of what works so well in driving a happy culture. “We need to be here, we need to be close to each other, we need to act quickly, so we can move forward and provide great service and products.”

Looking ahead

“What excites me is the fact that we are focusing on what we’re best at, 3D printing. And I can’t wait to continue our growth and attract more and more clients. I’m excited also to have new employees, new people that we can get to know, and to grow.”

Antoinette is helping shape the company’s values for the next phase of growth. “As we bring new talent into the team it is important that we have good onboarding structures so we can promote our values, how we want them to be interpreted and set examples of the values in action.”

Keeping things practical is part of the formula that Antoinette promotes for sharing Shapeways values. “People need to understand what the value is and how it fits their role. Our values can’t just be written in a handbook, they have to be lived from top to bottom.”

The post Antoinette De Gee — Building Culture, One Conversation at a Time appeared first on Shapeways Blog.