Head of Platform Engineering (Platform focus)

Harnham; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

L&D budget

Cloud tech access

Strategic influence

Career progression

Job summary

Harnham in Amsterdam, Netherlands is seeking a Head of Engineering (Platform Focus) to define technical strategy, develop leaders, and shape platform capabilities for a high-traffic, technology-driven business.

You will lead a broad Platform Engineering function responsible for core services, infrastructure, and developer experience, partnering with Product, Data, Security, and Commercial teams to align technology with business goals.

Qualifications

• Strong leadership of large-scale engineering organisations.
• Proven track record leading engineering managers and senior leaders.
• Deep knowledge of platform engineering, cloud infrastructure and distributed systems.
• Experience defining technical strategy and influencing architecture across teams.
• Strong CI/CD, observability, and cloud-native practices.
• Data-driven approach to engineering performance, platform health, and cost optimisation.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the engineering strategy for platform services, infrastructure, and developer tooling.
• Lead and develop engineering managers and senior technical leaders.
• Drive architectural decisions across distributed systems and shared platform capabilities.
• Establish engineering standards and best practices across backend, frontend, and mobile development.
• Oversee cloud infrastructure, platform reliability, observability, and operational excellence.
• Champion developer experience initiatives that improve productivity and delivery velocity.
• Own platform-related budgets, cloud spend, and technology investment decisions.
• Partner with Product, Data, Security, and Commercial stakeholders to align priorities with business objectives.
• Monitor engineering metrics around reliability, performance, productivity, and cost efficiency.

Job description

Amsterdam, Netherlands | €120,000 - €160,000 + Bonus + Benefits

This is a rare opportunity to lead a critical engineering organisation responsible for the foundations that enable product innovation at scale. As Head of Engineering (Platform Focus), you will define technical strategy, develop engineering leaders, and shape the platform capabilities, infrastructure, and engineering standards that support a high-traffic, technology-driven business.

The Company

They are a digitally focused organisation with a strong engineering culture and a significant investment in technology. Their platform supports millions of customer interactions, requiring scalable, reliable, and secure systems. Engineering teams are empowered to make technical decisions, experiment with new technologies, and continuously improve how software is built and operated. This role offers the chance to influence both business outcomes and the future direction of engineering across the organisation.

The Role

You will lead a broad Platform Engineering function responsible for core platform services, engineering enablement, infrastructure, and developer experience.

Responsibilities include:

• Define and execute the engineering strategy for platform services, infrastructure, and developer tooling
• Lead and develop engineering managers and senior technical leaders
• Drive architectural decisions across distributed systems and shared platform capabilities
• Establish engineering standards and best practices across backend, frontend, and mobile development
• Oversee cloud infrastructure, platform reliability, observability, and operational excellence
• Champion developer experience initiatives that improve engineering productivity and delivery velocity
• Own platform-related budgets, cloud spend, and technology investment decisions
• Partner closely with Product, Data, Security, and Commercial stakeholders to align technology priorities with business objectives
• Define and monitor key engineering metrics around reliability, performance, productivity, and cost efficiencyDrive the responsible adoption of AI-enabled engineering tools and platform capabilities
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence

Your Skills & Experience

• Strong commercial experience leading large-scale engineering organisations
• Proven success managing engineering managers and senior technical leaders
• Deep understanding of platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, and distributed systems
• Experience defining technical strategy and influencing architecture across multiple teams
• Strong knowledge of modern software engineering practices, CI/CD, observability, and cloud-native technologies
• Experience balancing technology investment, operational efficiency, and business outcomes
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence executive and technical audiences
• Data-driven approach to engineering performance, platform health, and operational excellence
• Experience driving organisational change, engineering transformation, or platform modernisation initiatives

What They Offer

• Salary of €120,000 - €160,000 depending on experience
• Hybrid working environment
• Learning and development budget
• Access to modern cloud and engineering technologies
• Significant influence over technical strategy and engineering direction
• Clear progression opportunities into senior technology leadership positions