We're looking for a Head of Platform to lead how UNiDAYS engineers build, ship and run software and data. You'll treat the platform as a product whose customers are our engineers. That means building self-service tools, pipelines and guardrails so teams can move quickly and safely without having to raise a ticket.
This is a hands-on leadership role. You'll set the platform strategy and grow the team, but you'll also write code, review designs and prototype tooling. A key part of the role is growing our data operations capability, so that data pipelines are as reliable, observable and self-serve as the rest of the platform.
- Led and managed multiple engineering teams, ideally including platform, infrastructure, DevOps or data engineering teams.
- A proven track record of building internal developer platforms or self-service tooling that engineers actually adopted.
- Hands-on experience with infrastructure-as-code (e.g. Terraform), containers and Kubernetes, CI/CD, and cloud-native environments (AWS).
- Experience building and running production data pipelines and the tooling around them (e.g. Airflow, dbt, a cloud data warehouse).
- Strong coding skills (e.g. Python, Go or TypeScript) and a desire to stay hands-on.
- Shown the ability to set technical direction and turn business goals into a platform roadmap.
- Excellent communication, collaboration and stakeholder management skills, and able to win adoption through influence rather than mandate.
Bonus Points:
- Experience with multi-cloud environments (AWS and GCP).
- Experience with DataOps practices such as data contracts, data quality frameworks and lineage.
- Experience with observability tooling (metrics, logs, tracing) at scale
- Experience with FinOps and cloud cost optimisation.
- Experience using AI/LLM tooling to speed up engineering workflows.
CAREER FRAMEWORK: Expected mastery levels
This role sits at Head of Engineering level on the UNiDAYS Software Engineering Career Framework (people manager track).
- Engineering Core: Influence
- Engineering Craft: Influence
- Quality: Evangelise
- Systems Engineering: Evangelise
- Engineering Strategy: Evangelise
- People Management: Evangelise
Head of Platform in London employer: UNiDAYS
At UNiDAYS, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a dynamic and inclusive work culture. Our team members enjoy comprehensive benefits, opportunities for professional growth, and the chance to make a meaningful impact in the lives of students worldwide. Located in a vibrant environment, we encourage collaboration and innovation, making it an ideal place for those looking to thrive in their careers while supporting the next generation.
