Principal Engineer, Application Platforms – Head of Engineering

The CTO Platform Engineering & Architecture (CTOp) organisation is responsible for building next-generation application and AI platforms that remove toil and reduce operational overhead through integrated controls and open-source solutions. It sets architecture and engineering standards, builds core application, developer and AI platforms, and automates controls so teams can move code or containers to production quickly and consistently.

Description

The Principal Engineer, Application Platforms – Head of Engineering is a hands-on role accountable for engineering leadership, delivery execution, and control outcomes for Application Platform Engineering, working closely with the Head of Application Platforms. The role provides end-to-end ownership, ensuring strategy is translated into an actionable roadmap, priorities are governed transparently, and delivery is executed predictably with clear measures of success.

Candidates are expected to be comb-shaped: able to manage big-picture architecture while leading by example with hands-on code and implementation where needed. A core focus is accelerating adoption of the standard application platform, targeting approximately 80% application migration, and consolidating six hosting platforms into a simplified, resilient, and well-controlled estate. This includes establishing consistent engineering patterns, strengthening observability and operational readiness, and embedding automated run controls to reduce operational risk, improve resilience, and increase time-to-market.

Responsibilities

• Lead the engineering function for Application Platform Engineering, covering strategic direction and day-to-day execution.
• Support the Head of Application Platforms with end-to-end ownership of delivery, controls, and outcomes across the team.
• Establish and operate effective governance, including prioritisation, delivery cadence, and decision-making forums.
• Define, implement, and track measurable engineering standards to improve quality, reliability, and consistency.
• Drive migration strategy and execution to achieve approximately 80% application migration onto the standard platform.
• Lead the consolidation of six hosting platforms into a standard platform to reduce complexity and operational risk.
• Improve platform resilience and time-to-market through standard patterns, reusable capabilities, and streamlined delivery.
• Ensure consistent observability practices, including monitoring, logging, and alerting, across the platform and migrated applications.
• Implement automated run controls to strengthen operational management and reduce manual intervention.
• Manage delivery and control outcomes, ensuring transparency through metrics, reporting, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with stakeholders across technology and delivery to align priorities, manage dependencies, and remove blockers.

Qualifications

• Significant senior engineering leadership experience in platform engineering and/or large-scale application hosting environments.
• Proven track record delivering complex technology change across multiple teams, including platform consolidation and migration programmes.
• Strong experience establishing governance, prioritisation, and delivery management practices in an engineering-led environment.
• Demonstrable ability to define and embed engineering standards with measurable outcomes, such as reliability, quality, and delivery performance.
• Strong understanding of resilience engineering, operational risk management, and controls within enterprise technology environments.
• Strong knowledge of observability practices and operating models, including monitoring, logging, alerting, SLOs/SLAs, and incident management.
• Experience implementing automation for operational controls, including automated runbooks, policy-as-code, and standardised controls.
• Ability to drive standardisation through consistent engineering patterns and reusable platform capabilities.
• Strong stakeholder management, influencing, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated leadership behaviours that build inclusive, high-performing teams with clear accountability and a focus on delivery outcomes.
• This is a hands-on Principal Engineer role with an expectation to deliver code through to production.

What we offer

• Pay range: 32,967.00–49,450.00 PLN.
• Additional monthly gross car allowance: 7,397.00 PLN.
• Discretionary variable pay influenced by Group, business/function, and individual performance.
• Comprehensive benefits package covering healthcare, family-friendly leave, pension, life assurance, and wellbeing support.
• Additional bonuses for recognition awards.
• Multisport card.
• Private medical care.
• Life insurance.
• One-time reimbursement for home-office setup, up to 800 PLN.
• Cafeteria platform.
• Employee assistance program.
• Additional contributions to the PPK scheme.
• Corporate parties and events.
• CSR initiatives.
• Nursery and kindergarten discounts.
• Financial support for training and education.
• Social fund.
• Flexible working hours.
• Free parking.