Principal Platform Engineer

Jobtailor; Sunbury-on-Thames; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

BP is seeking a Senior Platform Architect responsible for defining and maintaining a platform convergence strategy that unifies engineering platforms and SaaS solutions. You will guide architecture decisions, establish integration patterns and governance, and act as the principal technical authority across the digital delivery organisation.

The role demands deep cloud-native expertise, strong communication, and collaboration with AI/software teams and external partners to enable business

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in platform engineering (including Kubernetes).
• Enterprise architecture capability across internal platforms and SaaS ecosystems.
• Deep knowledge of cloud-native patterns: containers, service mesh, API gateways, event streaming, IaC.
• Experience integrating enterprise SaaS with in-house systems (API, identity, data).
• Senior technical authority experience in a large organisation without direct reports.
• Strong communication and documentation to technical peers and senior stakeholders.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain a platform convergence strategy across the estate.
• Lead architectural design at the intersection of internal platforms and enterprise SaaS.
• Act as the principal technical authority for platform engineering across the organisation.
• Drive resolution of cross-platform integration challenges (identity, data flow, events).
• Produce architecture strategy documents, reference architectures, and decision records.
• Collaborate with AI and software engineering, vendors to enable delivery.

Skills

Platform engineering

Enterprise architecture

Cloud-native patterns

SaaS integration

Technical authority

Communication & documentation

Computer science degree

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in CS/SE/related

Job description

Overview

• Define and maintain a platform convergence strategy that articulates the current-state landscape, the target architecture, and a credible transition path — enabling bp's engineering platforms and SaaS solutions to operate as an integrated whole.
• Lead architectural design and decision-making at the intersection of internal platforms and enterprise SaaS, establishing integration patterns, data contracts, and governance standards that apply consistently across the platform estate.
• Act as the principal technical authority for platform engineering across the digital delivery organisation, providing expert guidance on platform design, cloud-native patterns, and systems integration to engineering teams and senior stakeholders.
• Drive resolution of complex cross-platform integration challenges, including identity, data flow, event-driven architecture, and API design — ensuring that integration decisions are durable, secure, and aligned with enterprise standards.
• Produce and maintain high-quality architecture strategy documents, reference architectures, and decision records that are accessible to both engineering and executive audiences, building shared understanding of the platform direction.
• Collaborate with AI engineering, software engineering, and external vendor and partner teams to ensure that platform architecture decisions enable and do not constrain the delivery of business and AI-powered capabilities.

Requirements

• Extensive experience in platform engineering (including Kubernetes) and the design, delivery, and operation of large-scale, multi-component platform estates in a cloud-native environment.
• Proven enterprise architecture capability, including experience producing target-state architecture strategies and navigating complex system landscapes spanning internal platforms and third-party SaaS.
• Deep knowledge of cloud-native architecture patterns: containerisation and orchestration, service mesh, API gateway design, event streaming, and infrastructure-as-code.
• Demonstrable experience integrating enterprise SaaS solutions — including ERP or business application platforms — with internally developed systems, covering API, identity, and data integration patterns.
• Track record of operating as a senior technical authority in a large organisation, influencing architecture and engineering decisions at scale without direct management responsibility.
• Strong communication and documentation skills, with the ability to convey complex architectural concepts clearly to technical peers, delivery teams, and senior business stakeholders.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical subject area or equivalent experience.