Data & AI Platform Lead

KPMG Careers; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

KPMG is seeking a Data & AI Platform Lead to drive the strategic direction of the Clara Data Labs platform. The role involves leadership in platform engineering, collaborating with cross-functional teams to develop innovative audit technology solutions. The ideal candidate should have strong proficiency in cloud technologies and a proven track record in managing high-performing teams. KPMG offers a collaborative environment that encourages growth and diversity.

Qualifications

• Strong technical skills in platform engineering and cloud engineering.
• Deep understanding of platform architecture and design patterns.
• Proven ability to excel in a dynamic environment.

Responsibilities

• Own the platform roadmap and continuously adapt architecture to business needs.
• Evaluate development tools and ensure architectural standards.
• Provide mentorship and foster a culture of knowledge sharing.

Skills

Platform Engineering

Cloud Engineering

Agile

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Cost Optimisation

Education

Relevant Azure certifications

Relevant Databricks certifications

Tools

Jira

Atlassian

Job description

Location: Aberdeen, Birmingham & Other locations

Location: Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham, Reading, South Coast - Southampton, Watford

Capability: Audit

Experience Level: Senior Manager

Type: Full Time

Service Line: Central Audit

Contract type: Permanent

Job Title: Data & AI Platform Lead

Type: Full Time, Hybrid working

The Team

The KPMG Audit Technology team is dedicated to building cutting-edge solutions in close collaboration with the Audit function. We blend audit expertise with the latest technology, enabling us to understand the challenges our customers face daily and develop indispensable products that simplify their lives while promoting Audit Quality.

As a crucial member of the team, you will collaborate with a talented mix of Product Owners/Managers, Solution Architects, Experience Designers, Business Analysts, and Testing Specialists. Together, we build, deliver, and manage a portfolio of truly exciting products.

In recent years, our products' size and scale have rapidly expanded, leading to significant growth in our technology capability. There's never been a better time to join us.

With our ambitious growth plans, your future here is something to get excited about. As a valued team member, you'll be expected to stay current with the tech field and the latest trends in Audit delivery.

The role

We are seeking an experienced, skilled, and proactive Platform Lead to join our dynamic team. In this role, you will be the owner of the data and AI Clara Data Labs (CDL) platform, which is used for the development and delivery of new products that are vital to our modern audit approach.

You will be responsible for setting the strategic direction and operational excellence for the platform, establishing a platform roadmap that enables the achievement of business goals and objectives, and establishing platform capabilities that empower the platform team to deliver high quality products consistently and effectively. Your expertise will be crucial for building and maintaining a robust, scalable, and secure platform that meets the evolving needs of the business.

Responsibilities

• Platform leadership
  • Own the platform roadmap for continuous growth of platform capabilities aligned to strategic business goals and objectives.
  • Continuously assess and adapt the platform architecture to meet evolving business needs, technological advancements, and industry best practices so that the platform remains resilient, secure, competitive, and innovative.
  • Maintain the platform’s Software Audit Tool accreditation status, ensuring that required due diligence and documentation is performed and communicated in line with firm wide processes.
  • Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, providing insights and recommendations on platform strategy and execution, as well as proactively identifying, managing, and communicating platform level risks and issues.
  • Establish effective working relationships with the leadership of adjacent teams such as Enterprise Wide Technology (EWT), who provide tenant wide services used by the platform, for close collaboration and alignment.
  • Collaborate with cloud engineers, solution architects, security engineers and engineers across the team.
• Operational excellence
  • Evaluate and select appropriate development tools, frameworks, and technologies to optimise platform development, deployment, and monitoring.
  • Define and implement architectural patterns and standards, ensuring alignment with firm wide business and technology strategies.
  • Define and refine development standards, including clear and consistent branching strategies, enforcement of coding standards, and adoption of CI/CD practices, to promote collaboration, maintainability, and efficiency of platform solutions.
  • Define and implement robust development governance processes, including code reviews, security checks, and performance testing, to ensure high quality code and platform stability.
  • Establish and own change management, release management and support processes to protect the integrity, quality, and consistency of the platform.
  • Ensure the platform is optimised for performance, reliability, and scalability, with FinOps to ensure we optimise use of platform investment.
• Team leadership
  • Provide technical guidance and mentorship to development teams, fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and continuous learning.
  • Work closely with the Delivery Lead to reinforce a clear purpose and strategic direction for the team, with visibility of the lasting impact of provided out of the platform.

Requirements

The ideal candidate should have:

• Strong technical skills in platform engineering, cloud engineering, and related fields, including a deep understanding of platform architecture, design patterns, and best practices.
• Strong knowledge of cloud platforms and technologies, especially Azure and Databricks.
• Proven experience with modern engineering practices such as Infrastructure as Code (IaC), CI/CD, and containerisation.
• Experience in integrating Data & Analytics or AI capabilities into engineering practices.
• Experience managing and optimising environments to ensure stability and security.
• Expertise in cost optimisation and performance tuning for cloud environments.
• Expertise in agile ways of working, and tools like Jira and Atlassian.
• Proven ability to excel in a dynamic environment and work effectively with ambiguity.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to effectively communicate technical concepts to both technical and non technical audiences and to develop effective relationships with stakeholders at different levels of seniority.
• Strong leadership and management skills, with proven experience in leading and growing high performing teams.

Other desirable skills and experiences include:

• Relevant Azure certifications such as Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect, Administrator Associate, Azure DevOps Engineer.
• Relevant Databricks certifications such as Platform Architect and Data Engineer Professional.
• Familiarity with audit related applications or regulated industries.

Audit is the largest of our UK practices. Some of the world’s biggest companies rely on us to provide independent insight, challenge and expertise, so the work we undertake affects investment decisions, inspires confidence in public sector expenditure and supports our economic growth. Today, more than ever in disruptive times, audit is a function needed by society, and in the future, so we can capitalise, and grow. As part of the Audit team, you’ll be helping to build the confidence and trust that business and society need to thrive.We want to lead the conversation when it comes to shaping the future of the profession. And given the scale and variety of our audit engagements in both the UK and globally, we are well placed to create change.If you share our commitment to achieving excellence and working to the highest audit standards, are a natural collaborator who values different perspectives and relishes the opportunity to develop and progress - then KPMG could be the place where you can thrive.

With offices across the UK, we are part of a global network of firms providing Audit, Tax & Law, Consulting, Deal Advisory and Technology Services to diverse clients.

They provide us with a strong sense of identity, ensuring we can grow stronger. They bind us together, across our different backgrounds and cultures, and are common to each of us. Explore more about why Our Values matter.

From role sharing and flexible start and finish times to home working, we'll try and support the flexible work patterns that best suit you.

We want you to bring your full self to work - to make this a place where people from every background thrive.

We welcome applications from people who have taken a career break.

We're a member of the Business Disability Forum so please get in touch if you'd like to discuss any adjustments that you might need in the application process - and if you are successful beyond this.

We don't accept speculative CVs from agencies - you can see our policy on agencies here:

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