Enterprise Platforms Principal Engineer

The Role

The Enterprise Platforms Principal Engineer will drive the evolution of the Enterprise Platform, ensuring the platform continues to evolve in line with changing business requirements for corporate application hosting. This senior role has responsibility for the development of the Enterprise Platforms product set, within Central Technology, whilst also guiding and mentoring more junior engineers.

The technology stack includes but is not limited to the following corporate hosting environments and platforms:

• AWS Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for Enterprise
• Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for Enterprise
• GCP Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Windows Server workloads
• Windows VDI
• SQL workloads
• Linux workloads
• Azure VMWare Solution (AVS) in Azure
• Citrix
• Jira
• LogicMonitor
• Puppet
• PowerShell

The role-holder is responsible for the provision of an efficient, stable and secure platform for corporate application hosting, on premise and in the public cloud. The role-holder will also provide line management of the consultative engineering squad. In addition, the role holder will act as an escalation point for the Core Engineering Squad.

Main responsibilities

• Provide line management to the Consultative Engineering Squad within Enterprise platforms; ensure a kind, collaborative culture, with no blame. A team where every individual can be themselves and their unique skills are recognised and valued.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to members of the Consultative Engineering Squad, helping to upskill all members of the team.
• Provide a technical escalation path for the senior engineer, within the Core Engineering Squad.
• Document, maintain and work to protect the Enterprise Platforms low-level architectural standards.
• Work with the Enterprise Platforms Product Manager and Core Engineering Manager to develop and implement new ways of working between the Core and Consultative Squads which promote collaboration, autonomy and continuing high standards.
• Develop the Enterprise Platforms product set, including automation with IaC and configuration management tooling to drive efficiency and to solve problems related to infrastructure operations; especially for our strategic platform within AWS, but also across other major cloud platforms, such as Azure and GCP.
• Work with the Enterprise Platforms Manager, Enterprise Platforms Core Engineering Manager and Enterprise Platforms Delivery Manager, to build a high performing, operational service for Enterprise Platforms.
• Work with Enterprise Platforms Product Manager and Group Technology Architects to develop the vision, strategy and roadmap for Enterprise Platforms, in line with ITV's Public Cloud and Application Modernisation strategy; support the successful delivery of the roadmap, to time, quality and budget.
• Continue to develop an IaC approach for a brown-field GCP estate, including appropriate automation, release pipeline, etc.
• Facilitate the identification, selection and implementation of appropriate orchestration, configuration management and automation tools, operating systems, database components, core software components and systems management tools that meet the needs of the ITV business.
• Develop and execute an approach for engaging with a representative cross-section of ITV customers to fully understand actual and desired ways of working, to gather requirements and to determine current and future use cases for Enterprise Platform products.
• Enable and facilitate the introduction of modern engineering best practices, approaches and technologies to improve the efficiency, stability and security of the Enterprise Platform, in line with the ITV business requirement and overall strategy.
• Work with Group Technology Architecture and Cyber Security to design enterprise hosting solutions in line with ITV business and technology demand for enterprise application hosting.
• Have a firm eye on cost. Work with the Enterprise Platforms Product Manager, Enterprise Platforms Core Engineering Manager and Head of FinOps to identify and execute on cost saving opportunities.

Skills you'll need (minimum criteria)

• Expert hands-on engineering experience of delivering a variety of infrastructure and platform products and services to meet wide-ranging business needs and within a variety of business settings.
• Experience of delivery and operation of multiple products end-to-end, defining and delivering roadmaps, and implementing an ongoing programme of continuous improvement that responds to customer feedback and business needs.
• Experience of engaging with a range of stakeholders including senior management.
• Experience of liaising between technical experts and non-technical or business stakeholders.
• Experience of Scrum or Kanban-based agile delivery approaches, tools and measurement is essential.
• Experience of deploying and managing Windows server operating systems is essential.
• Experience of deploying and managing Linux based server operating systems is essential.
• Experience of platform engineering good practice, including orchestration, automation and software configuration management tools is essential.
• Experience of AWS cloud infrastructure toolsets is essential.
• Expert knowledge of PowerShell is essential.
• Experience with configuration management tooling (ideally Puppet) is essential.
• Experience of Cloudformation, ARM and Terraform is essential.
• Experience of Azure cloud infrastructure toolsets is highly desirable.
• Experience of GCP cloud infrastructure toolsets is highly desirable.
• Experience of implementing operating systems management toolsets for Windows and/or Linux platforms is desirable.
• Experience of deploying and managing MS SQL databases is highly desirable.

Other things we're looking for (key criteria)

• Natural leader: A talented leader, who provides creative, clear, empathic leadership and line management to senior engineers.
• Product focused: understands the importance of customer feedback and regular measurement to inform solution improvement and further development.
• People focused: understands that the product is only as good as the team that develops and operates it. A great team player who is able to offer technical guidance to engineering and operations teams and empower them to deliver a high quality service that exceeds customer expectations.
• Delivery capability: proven through execution of projects and/or product releases, working with a range of technical and business team members. A working understanding of both agile and waterfall project delivery methodologies.
• Excellent attention to detail is an essential skill.
• Enjoys fast paced environments, where every day brings new and exciting challenges.
• Confident communicator who can present a compelling and well-reasoned case for investment or change; ability to engage with stakeholders and customers confidently and communicate clearly and concisely.
• Questioning and curious, demonstrates an appetite for change and a desire to improve and enhance the customer experience of platform technology.
• Commercially aware: applies business context and able to represent company interests in conversations with suppliers and other third parties.
• Passionate about technology with a keen interest in developments in Cloud and Automation technology and a strong knowledge of the trends in the industry and market place.
• Willing to demonstrate flexibility in working hours to ensure critical projects go-live within required timelines.
• An open, collaborative approach to knowledge sharing and issue investigation.