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- Tasks: Lead the creation of a groundbreaking observability platform from scratch.
- Company: Holland & Barrett, a historic brand with a fresh startup vibe.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, health cash plan, flexible working, and extensive learning opportunities.
- Why this job: Shape the future of platform engineering in a dynamic, innovative environment.
- Qualifications: Senior leadership experience in SRE, DevOps, or similar roles required.
- Other info: Join a diverse team committed to inclusivity and wellness.
The predicted salary is between 43200 - 72000 ÂŁ per year.
About H&B
At Holland & Barrett, we are over a century old and yet a startup. Our radical digital transformation has made us fully cloud-native, leveraging containers, Kubernetes, serverless, and eventâdriven services to redefine our industry. We are now looking for a visionary Head of Platform to lead the next chapter in our engineering story. This isnât just another leadership roleâitâs your chance to build a greenfield observability platform from scratch and shape the future of our operations, security, and developer experience.
About the Role
We are creating an operational platform that will become the backbone of incident management, security, and service owner operations. From IoT devices and network assets to cloud infrastructure, this platform will give us a unified view across our ecosystem. Our goal: enable teams to move faster, more reliably, and more securelyâwhile giving our developers a worldâclass platform experience. We embrace a âplatform as a productâ philosophy: our platform is built for developers, designed with their feedback, and crafted to accelerate innovation across the organisation.
What Youâll Do
- Define and execute the roadmap for our greenfield observability platform.
- Lead and mentor a highâperforming team of SRE, DevOps, and DevSecOps engineers.
- Drive architecture and technology decisions to ensure the platform is secure, scalable, and reliable.
- Partner with security and engineering teams to embed security into every layer of the platform.
- Champion a âplatform as a productâ mindset, delivering a seamless developer experience.
- Promote SRE and DevSecOps best practices across the organisation.
Key Requirements
- Proven senior leadership experience (Head of Platform, Head of DevOps, or similar).
- Deep expertise in SRE, DevOps, and DevSecOps practices.
- Handsâon experience building and operating largeâscale, cloudânative systems (AWS).
- Skilled in containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes), serverless, and eventâdriven architectures.
- Track record of building and leading highâperforming engineering teams.
- Strong communicator with the ability to articulate technical vision and influence stakeholders.
- Passion for developer experience and treating internal platforms as products.
- Familiarity with observability tools and technologies (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack, distributed tracing).
Why Holland & Barrett?
This is a rare opportunity to build a platform from the ground up in a historic, global company with a startup mindset. Youâll have autonomy, access to cuttingâedge technology, and the support of a forwardâthinking leadership team. We offer a competitive salary, a comprehensive benefits package, and a flexible working environment. If youâre a passionate, innovative, and resultsâoriented leader excited by the challenge of shaping the future of observability and secure platform engineering, weâd love to hear from you.
What we offer
- Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits
- Health Cash Plan
- Life Assurance
- Bonus Scheme â Based on company & personal performance
- Virtual GP
- Private Medical care
- FREE atâhome blood test kit
- Holiday Purchase option
- Pension Contribution scheme
- Access to âWellhubâ with gyms, studios and wellbeing apps
- Discounts & Savings
- 25% Colleague Discount with FREE Standard Delivery
- Exclusive Discounts from a wide range of partners
- ÂŁ/âŹ50 Annual Product Allowance to spend in store
- Learning & Development
- Access to a variety of learning opportunities, including Level 2â5 Apprenticeships, Workshops and our Digital Learning Library AND MORE!
Equal Opportunity
Holland and Barrett is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome diverse perspectives and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all colleagues. We understand that when our colleagues are listened to, respected and valued for who they are, we build an organisation with belonging at its heart â making health and wellness a way of life for everyone.
Head of Platform in London employer: Holland and Barrett
Contact Detail:
Holland and Barrett Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice đ€«
We think this is how you could land Head of Platform in London
âšTip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend meetups, and engage with online communities. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
âšTip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing your projects and contributions. This is your chance to demonstrate your expertise in SRE, DevOps, and cloud-native systemsâmake it shine!
âšTip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by diving deep into the companyâs tech stack and culture. Familiarise yourself with their platform philosophy and be ready to discuss how you can contribute to building a world-class developer experience.
âšTip Number 4
Donât forget to apply through our website! Itâs the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are genuinely interested in joining our mission at Holland & Barrett.
We think you need these skills to ace Head of Platform in London
Some tips for your application đ«Ą
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV speaks directly to the role of Head of Platform. Highlight your experience with cloud-native systems, SRE, and DevOps practices. We want to see how your skills align with our vision!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Share your passion for developer experience and how you envision building our observability platform. Let us know why you're the perfect fit for this exciting opportunity.
Showcase Your Leadership Style: Weâre looking for someone who can lead and mentor a high-performing team. In your application, give us a glimpse of your leadership style and how you've successfully built teams in the past.
Apply Through Our Website: Donât forget to apply through our website! Itâs the best way for us to receive your application and ensures youâre considered for this fantastic opportunity at Holland & Barrett.
How to prepare for a job interview at Holland and Barrett
âšKnow Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure youâre well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, like Kubernetes, Docker, and AWS. Brush up on your knowledge of observability tools like Prometheus and Grafana, as you might be asked to discuss how you would implement these in a greenfield project.
âšShowcase Your Leadership Style
Prepare to talk about your leadership experience and how you've built high-performing teams in the past. Think of specific examples where youâve mentored engineers or driven architectural decisions that led to successful outcomes.
âšEmphasise Developer Experience
Since the role focuses on treating the platform as a product, be ready to discuss how you would enhance the developer experience. Share ideas on gathering feedback from developers and how you would incorporate that into the platformâs development.
âšPrepare for Scenario Questions
Expect scenario-based questions that test your problem-solving skills. For instance, how would you handle a security incident or ensure scalability during peak loads? Practising these scenarios can help you articulate your thought process clearly.
