Honest code. Infinite potential. Welcoming Renée van Liempt to Growcreate

Some people discover development. Renée van Liempt grew up with it.

With a mother who worked in software, the idea that you could build something powerful from logic and creativity was familiar early on.

"I've always been drawn to engineering and problem-solving," she says. "It's the perfect mix of structure and imagination."

That curiosity led her to study Embedded Systems, programming microcontrollers, and working closely with the hardware. It gave her a deep understanding of how things work beneath the surface. But her first professional step moved her into .NET and Azure development in the construction sector.

"I joined a company that laid tarmac," she laughs, "and ended up building systems to make their processes data-driven. I touched everything: infrastructure, backend, frontend, and databases. That's how I became full-stack."

After five years, Renée wanted a new challenge — a place to grow, learn new technologies, and meet new people. That's what brought her to Growcreate.

"I loved my old team, but everything was becoming too familiar. I wanted to be challenged again, to work on different projects with new ideas and new people."

Building agile habits

Coming to a sprint cycle with daily client stand-ups was a shift, but one she's embraced.

"It was new to show progress every single day," she explains. "Sometimes you're deep in backend work and there's nothing visible to show yet. But it builds trust and transparency. It's very different from handing over a full product at the end. It's truly agile."

That mindset — focused on adaptability, communication, and learning — fits her perfectly. And it's what makes Growcreate tick.

The Queen of Opal

When Optimizely introduced Opal, its agentic AI orchestration platform, Renée became one of the first at Growcreate to earn the Optimizely Opal Developer Accreditation.

The certification tests an understanding of the CLEAR framework, workflow design, agent orchestration, and prompting strategies for a new generation of AI-driven development.

"Opal gives developers and marketers real power to scale," she explains. "You can train and orchestrate agents to automate complex workflows, connect APIs, and analyse content. It's a bridge between creativity and automation."

She sees agentic AI as the next evolution of development — systems where multiple AI agents work together to achieve goals intelligently.

"Clients will be able to automate more themselves, but developers will still play a vital role, helping them design, connect, and optimise these systems. It's less about writing lines of code and more about building smart architecture."

On AI, Optimizely, and Umbraco

Renée sees AI not as a replacement for developers, but as an accelerator that pushes them to think more strategically.

"AI can write code, but it doesn't always write the right code," she says. "There's still huge value in understanding what you're building. The basics of .NET and solid programming knowledge will always matter."

Her work spans both Optimizely and Umbraco projects. She believes both ecosystems will evolve through AI, but at different speeds.

"Optimizely is already ahead with Opal," she notes. "But you can connect Umbraco too, triggering workflows and automations through APIs. It's about using AI tools in the right way — to make things faster and smarter, not to replace developers."

Life beyond code

When she's not coding, Renée's rhythm changes completely; she's an avid Lindy Hop dancer, a vintage swing style that's as joyful as it is complex.

"I love it because it's technical but expressive, a bit like coding," she jokes.

This year, she and her partner travelled to Brussels for Europe's biggest Lindy Hop festival. And when she's not dancing, she's learning bass guitar, a new hobby that's helping her find balance after hours of deep focus.

Looking ahead

At Growcreate, Renée's focus is on improving legacy Optimizely projects, modernising, optimising, and helping clients evolve their digital platforms with Opal-powered intelligence.

"I want our clients to be proud of their websites," she says. "That's when we know we've done our job."

From embedded systems to agentic AI, from .NET to Umbraco, and from logic to Lindy Hop, Renée's story is proof that curiosity and creativity go hand in hand.

Her journey embodies what Growcreate stands for: honest code, bold moves, and an infinite future powered by people who love to learn.

Welcome to the team, Renée – the Queen of Opal:-)