Director of Platform Engineering

Burns Sheehan; London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Director of Platform Engineering to spearhead their SaaS transformation in the InsurTech sector. This pivotal role involves leading a talented team through a major architectural overhaul, optimizing platform performance, and implementing cloud-native solutions on AWS. The company combines the agility of a tech scale-up with the stability of a well-known corporation, offering innovative life insurance solutions globally. If you are passionate about technology and leadership, this opportunity is perfect for you to make a significant impact.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in leading platform engineering teams, ideally in a scale-up.
• Deep understanding of modern architecture principles and best practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead the platform engineering team through significant architectural transformation.
• Architect and implement scalable, cloud-native solutions on AWS.

Skills

Leadership in platform engineering

Modern architecture principles

Architectural decision-making

People management

Software engineering

Adaptability in fast-paced environments

Tools

AWS

Job description

Director of Platform Engineering | Driving SaaS Transformation | InsurTech

Role: Director of Platform Engineering

Salary: Up to £150,000 + Bonus

Location: Twice a week in the London office

We are partnered with an InsurTech who are searching for a Director of Platform Engineering to join their team. They operate as an autonomous entity, combining the agility of a technology scale-up with the stability of a well-established corporation. They provide innovative solutions that streamline the application and provision of life insurance and other protection products, serving a global client base of insurers and advisors.

About the role

This is a pivotal leadership opportunity for a Director of Platform Engineering to drive the modernisation of a core platform and accelerate the company's transition to a fully SaaS-based model. The current platform infrastructure presents challenges, and the successful candidate will be instrumental in architecting and implementing a scalable and efficient cloud-based solution on AWS.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Lead the platform engineering team through a significant architectural transformation.
2. Evaluate the current platform engineering team organisation (centralised vs. embedded) for optimal efficiency.
3. Drive the adoption of modern engineering practices and technologies.
4. Architect and implement scalable, cloud-native solutions on AWS.
5. Optimise platform performance and reliability to support the company's growth objectives.
6. Collaborate with product and engineering leaders to align platform strategy with business goals.

Essential Skills:

1. Proven experience in leading platform engineering teams, ideally within a scale-up environment.
2. Deep understanding of modern architecture principles and best practices.
3. Demonstrated ability to drive architectural decisions and implement significant platform changes.
4. Excellent people management and performance management skills.
5. Strong background in software engineering, with the ability to dive into the code when necessary.
6. Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and evolving environment.

This is an exciting opportunity for a Director of Platform Engineering to join a company who are putting tech at the heart of everything they do. If you're a Platform Engineering Leader and are keen to hear more about this opportunity, please get in touch!