Innovation Lead: AI-Driven API Platform Engineering

Janus Henderson Investors; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Health & wellbeing benefits

Volunteer time

Professional development

Lunch allowance

Job summary

Janus Henderson Investors is seeking a senior engineering leader to drive the guild responsible for API platforms and AI-enabled engineering. You will ship strategies for Azure API Management and related shared services, while guiding a specialist team across multiple squads.

You will collaborate with enterprise architecture, cyber security, risk, and procurement, ensuring governance, reliability and cost transparency.

Qualifications

• Extensive hands-on software-engineering experience with leadership across multiple teams.
• Deep expertise in API and integration architecture, cloud platforms, software quality, and delivery automation.
• Experience applying AI-assisted engineering and automation beyond individual experimentation.
• Proven ability to translate ambiguous business problems into validated technical approaches through research and prototyping.
• Experience leading shared technology platforms, including roadmaps, lifecycle, service outcomes, and developer experience.
• Ability to lead specialists and influence peer leaders and senior stakeholders without relying solely on line authority.
• Strong commercial and risk judgement, with the ability to communicate technical opportunity, cost, trade-offs and risk clearly.

Responsibilities

• Define and deliver the guild’s roadmap for AI-enabled engineering, automation and modern software-development practices.
• Lead a prioritised portfolio of time-boxed research, proofs of concept and prototypes.
• Frame ambiguous problems, test assumptions and recommend direction.
• Contribute directly to complex experiments and problem-solving, addressing constraints early.
• Develop practical integration patterns and reusable components across platforms.
• Coach teams and enable shared tooling and patterns for improved developer experience.
• Own the strategy and lifecycle for Azure API Management and the BlackRock Aladdin API platform.
• Ensure platform reliability, security, capacity, onboarding and cost transparency.
• Collaborate with architecture, security, risk and procurement stakeholders.
• Lead a high-calibre engineering team and balance research with live-service obligations.
• Track improvements and knowledge transfer across the guild.

Skills

API architecture

Cloud platforms

Software engineering

Delivery automation

AI-assisted engineering

Leadership

Stakeholder influence

Tools

Azure API Management

BlackRock Aladdin API

Job description

Janus Henderson Investors is seeking a senior engineering leader to drive the guild responsible for API platforms and AI-enabled engineering. You will ship strategies for Azure API Management and related shared services, while guiding a specialist team across multiple squads.

You will collaborate with enterprise architecture, cyber security, risk, and procurement, ensuring governance, reliability and cost transparency.