Global Head / VP of Platform Engineering

London | Up to £200,000 Base + Bonus + Benefits Global Payments Technology I'm partnering with a global payments technology business to appoint an exceptional Global Head / VP of Platform Engineering to lead the next evolution of its engineering infrastructure and developer platform. This is a strategic leadership opportunity, reporting directly to the CTO, with responsibility for a globally distributed Platform Engineering organisation of approximately 30 engineers, supporting 100+ Product Engineers. The Mission The business is embarking on a significant technology transformation, with ambitions to enable AI-native software engineering and agentic development workflows at scale. However, achieving this requires more than simply introducing AI tools. It requires a modern, scalable and highly automated Platform Engineering function capable of supporting how engineering teams will build, test, deploy and operate software in the future. We're looking for a technically credible, commercially aware engineering leader who can build the Platform foundations that make this transformation possible. What You'll Be Responsible For 🔹 Platform Strategy & Transformation – Evolve Platform Engineering from a predominantly operational function into a strategic, product-led capability that accelerates engineering delivery. 🔹 AI-Ready Infrastructure – Define and deliver the infrastructure, tooling and Platform capabilities needed to securely enable AI-assisted development and agentic engineering workflows. 🔹 Developer Experience (DevEx) – Build and improve Internal Developer Platforms, self-service infrastructure, automated provisioning and developer tooling. 🔹 CI/CD & Engineering Productivity – Modernise software delivery pipelines, reduce manual processes and improve deployment speed, reliability and engineering autonomy. 🔹 Cloud-Native Architecture – Lead the evolution of AWS, Kubernetes, infrastructure automation, observability and scalable engineering platforms. 🔹 Global Engineering Leadership – Lead, develop and optimise a distributed Platform Engineering organisation, driving technical excellence, accountability and meaningful organisational change. 🔹 Executive Partnership – Work closely with the CTO and wider technology leadership team to align Platform strategy with business priorities and long-term engineering ambitions. Who We're Looking For We're particularly interested in senior engineering leaders who can demonstrate: ✅ Significant leadership experience across Platform Engineering, Developer Infrastructure, Cloud Platforms or Engineering Enablement. ✅ Deep technical expertise in modern cloud-native infrastructure, Kubernetes, AWS, CI/CD and Platform architecture. ✅ A proven track record of transforming Platform Engineering into a scalable, self-service, product-oriented function. ✅ Experience building infrastructure and developer capabilities that support advanced automation, AI-assisted engineering or agentic workflows. ✅ Strong architectural judgement, with the credibility to challenge technical decisions and guide senior engineers. ✅ Experience leading globally distributed engineering teams and delivering complex technical and organisational change. ✅ The ability to operate strategically at executive level while remaining sufficiently close to the technology. Payments, FinTech or regulated-industry experience would be advantageous, but we're equally interested in exceptional Platform leaders from other complex technology environments. Importantly, you don't need to have led an organisation-wide AI transformation. We're looking for someone who understands how to build the underlying Platform and infrastructure capabilities that enable one. The Opportunity 💷 Base salary up to £200,000 + bonus + benefits 📍 London, UK 🌍 Global engineering leadership remit 🤝 Direct engagement with the CTO and senior leadership team 🚀 Opportunity to shape the next generation of Platform Engineering and AI-enabled software delivery If you've built, scaled or transformed modern Platform Engineering organisations and want to play a defining role in enabling the next generation of AI-native software engineering, I'd welcome a confidential conversation. Message me directly or get in touch to discuss. Referrals from your network are equally welcome. #PlatformEngineering #VPofEngineering #EngineeringLeadership #AIInfrastructure #AgenticAI #DeveloperExperience #DevEx #CloudInfrastructure #Kubernetes #AWS #FinTech #TechLeadership #ExecutiveSearch #Hiring