Location: UK
Contract Type: Permanent
About the Opportunity
Were looking for a Principal Platform Engineer who will lead enterprise engineering modernisation initiatives for our clients. This role is perfect for a technical leader who thrives on orchestrating complex transformations whilst aligning diverse specialist teams towards common engineering excellence goals.
Youll be a technical architect of change, designing comprehensive modernisation strategies that span infrastructure, security, quality assurance, and governance.
Think of yourself as the conductor of a technical orchestra - you dont need to play every instrument, but you must understand how they harmonise to create transformational outcomes.
What Youll Be Doing
Technical Leadership & Innovation
* Help design and drive enterprise-wide engineering modernisation strategies encompassing automated workflows, CI/CD frameworks, and development lifecycle improvements with MMT and client engineering teams.
* Lead aspects of Service Asset and Configuration Management (SACM) initiatives that bring order to complex enterprise estates.
* Lead the transformation of secrets management practices across heterogeneous environments, ensuring solutions scale effectively whilst strengthening organisational security posture
* Help define engineering standards, frameworks, and guardrails that accelerate delivery whilst ensuring compliance.
* Create technical roadmaps that balance quick wins with long-term architectural sustainability.
Cross-Team Leadership & Alignment
* Orchestrate collaboration between infrastructure, security, quality, and governance teams to deliver cohesive solutions, that exist in silos around client businesses.
* Translate between specialist domains, ensuring each team understands their role in the bigger picture.
* Identify and resolve conflicts between competing technical priorities across different teams.
* Foster a unified engineering culture whilst respecting domain expertise.
* Lead architectural review boards and technical decision forums.
Enterprise Level Transformation Delivery
* Break down complex modernisation programmes into achievable phases with clear success metrics
* Make pragmatic build vs. integrate decisions that prioritise speed vs. value
* Integrate automated testing strategies that span unit, integration, performance, and security testing
* Implement CI/CD framework architecture that works across multiple technology estates, with particular focus on GitHub Actions as the strategic direction.
* Design frameworks with reusable patterns and libraries, ensuring each framework/toolkit makes the next one faster and more predictable.
* Leverage Data Lake platforms for comprehensive platform observability and compliance auditing.
* Ensure solutions consider enterprise constraints like regulatory compliance and legacy system integration.
Client Strategy & Engagement
* Work directly with C-suite executives and key client stakeholders to understand their business goals and technical challenges
* Transform complex technical concepts into clear business narratives that drive decision-making.
* Guide clients through their journey with strategic recommendations and practical next steps.
* Present technical strategies that clearly articulate business value and risk reduction.
* Build trust through early wins whilst maintaining focus on strategic objectives.
Business Growth & Thought Leadership
* Drive the technical aspects of high-value proposal responses and RFP.
* Present technical solutions and demonstrations that showcase our capabilities.
* Contribute to thought leadership content (our CTO office) and represent the company at industry events.[AT2]
* Help shape our service offerings based on market trends and client feedback.
What Were Looking For
Core Experience:
* Extensive hands-on engineering and architecture experience - if youre not excited about writing Infrastructure as Code and testing prototypes, this role isnt for you.
* Proven ability to lead technical teams and manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
* Deep understanding of enterprise constraints and how to navigate them.
* History of defining and implementing engineering standards at scale
Technical Expertise
* Strong background in infrastructure automation, CI/CD, and modern DevOps practices - think turning manual chaos into elegant, self-healing systems that deploy flawlessly
* Solid understanding of AWS and Azure architectures, particularly around identity, security, and secrets management solutions
* In-depth knowledge of Git workflows, branching strategies, and their implementation at enterprise scale
* Knowledge of cloud security frameworks and compliance requirements
* Understanding of cost optimization strategies and cloud financial management
* Familiarity with monitoring, observability, and incident response best practices
* High-level understanding of Service Asset and Configuration Management principles and their practical implementation in enterprise environments
* Understanding of Data Lake solutions (Snowflake, Databricks) for platform telemetry and auditing, plus ETL concepts for operational data pipelines
* Comprehensive knowledge of quality assurance practices and implementing automated quality gates throughout the development lifecycle
* Ability to read and understand Python and other common languages to review architectural decisions and integration points
Communication & Business Skills
* Excellent presentation skills with experience speaking to technical and executive audiences
* Strong written communication abilities, especially for proposals and technical documentation
* Natural curiosity about business challenges and how technology can solve them
* Collaborative mindset with the ability to work effectively across different teams and disciplines
* Experience managing stakeholder expectations and navigating complex organizational dynamics
* Strong grasp of Agile/Scrum practices and how they integrate with platform engineering initiatives
Languages:
* Fluency in English (spoken and written) is essential
J-18808-Ljbffr