Head of Platform Engineering

Shawbrook provides finance to a wide range of customer segments that value the premium experience, flexibility and certainly we deliver.  We are a purpose-led organisation, with a focus on delivering long-term sustainable value for all our stakeholders.

We have a diversified offering, with our innovative lending propositions tailored to meet specific customer needs in carefully selected markets across SME, Real Estate and Personal. Our products range from complex structured credit facilities for growth-focused businesses to mortgages for professional landlords and property investors, as well as simple loans for consumers delivered digitally.  We fuel our lending through customer deposits, which we attract by delivering a premium experience, choice and consistently great value to smart savers.

The business model we have created is unique and difficult to replicate, with our ‘best of both’ approach combining deep human expertise with advanced digital, tech and data capabilities.  This combination not only allows us to deliver excellent customer experiences, but to do so efficiently and at scale.  We are proud of our innovative and agile culture, which drives consistently high employee engagement scores and makes Shawbrook an attractive destination for the best talent. If you’re willing to roll up your sleeves, contribute new ideas and believe anything is possible, you’re our kind of person.

Work with us because you:

• Want to be part of a bank built for the dynamics of the modern world
• Relish a challenge and enjoy a fast-paced, innovative and hardworking culture
• Enjoy finding new and better ways to solve complexity and make things happen
• Want to belong to a diverse culture that stands shoulder to shoulder with minority and underrepresented groups
• Care about society and the environment and want to be part of a business that cares too
• Want to continue to grow professionally and be the best version of yourself

As the Head of Platform Engineering, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, and operating a common platform that underpins our banking products and services. Your primary mission is to create a secure, compliant, and efficient environment for product engineers across multiple verticals — including shared services, mobile and web platforms, developer experience, security engineering, observability, and reliability. By leveraging both external best practices and in-house innovations, you will drive efficiencies and scalability as our operations grow.

Key Responsibilities

• Define the technical vision and strategy for a shared platform that supports diverse engineering teams.

• Evangelize platform best practices and ensure adoption across the Technology department.

• Architect and build a common platform integrating public cloud infrastructure, third-party services, and proprietary in-house tools.

• Recruit, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of platform and security engineers.

• Engage with senior stakeholders to manage demand, prioritize initiatives, and communicate technical architectures and roadmaps effectively to Executive and Director-level audiences.

• Drive cross-functional collaboration, ensuring that platform engineering efforts are aligned with broader organisational goals.

• Identify opportunities to introduce new shared services by evaluating external solutions and/or building custom in-house services.

• Oversee the implementation and continuous improvement of secure development tools and processes in line with the InfoSec roadmap.

• Ensure that the platform meets all relevant security and compliance standards, integrating industry best practices and automated security tooling (e.g., IAM, RBAC, SIEM, IaC scanning, IDS/IPS).

• Own the maintenance and evolution of existing shared services, ensuring robust observability, reliability, and performance.

• Champion the automation and abstraction of infrastructure dependencies to streamline product delivery.

• Play a technical leadership role in the most complex and demanding projects, balancing strategic oversight with hands-on engineering involvement.

Qualifications

• Strategic & Technical Leadership:

  • Proven track record in designing, implementing, and operating cloud-based platforms at scale.

  • Ability to define and communicate complex technical architectures and processes in a clear, accessible manner.

  • Experience in both hands-on engineering and high-level strategic leadership, especially in environments with a “cloud-first” mindset.

• Cloud & Infrastructure Expertise:

  • Strong practical understanding of cloud-based infrastructure.

  • Expertise in Infrastructure as Code, CI/CD pipelines, test-driven development, and automation tools.

  • Familiarity with modern process automation, including event-driven and RESTful architectures.

• Security & Compliance Acumen:

  • Solid background in cloud security architecture, with practical experience deploying and automating security tools and processes.

  • Ability to lead the implementation of secure development practices that align with organizational compliance requirements.

  • Relevant network or security certifications (e.g., CSSP, AWS CSA, CSOA) are a plus.

• Communication & Stakeholder Management:

  • Demonstrated ability to manage senior stakeholders and build consensus across diverse teams.

  • Skilled in presenting technical roadmaps and strategic initiatives to Executive and Director-level audiences.

  • Strong problem-solving skills and a commitment to developing efficient, repeatable solutions to complex challenges.

• Educational & Professional Background:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.

  • Proven experience in software or platform engineering, with proven experience in a leadership capacity.

Your Wellbeing - We take your health and well-being very seriously by providing a range of benefits to give you and your family peace of mind. These include:

• Market leading family friendly policies such as access to our Maternity, Adoption and Paternity policies from Day 1 of your employment
• Free access to Headspace, a mindfulness & meditation digital health app
• Free access to Peppy digital health app that offers personalised support through fertility treatment becoming a parent or menopause
• EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) - Offering you support on a wide range of subjects including financial concerns, mental wellbeing and more general queries around family, work, housing and health
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounts on gym membership
• Contributory pension scheme & death in service

Your Lifestyle - It’s important you strike the right balance between your work and personal life. We provide benefits to support you when at work and when you’re enjoying your leisure time.

• Minimum of 27 days holiday per year
• Option to buy or sell holiday days through our flexi-holiday scheme
• Discounts on gym membership nationwide
• Access to discounts on a range of high street and online brands
• Community support and charitable giving

Your Contribution - We’re focused on rewarding those that go the extra mile in helping us achieve our goals.

• Participation in our annual discretionary bonus scheme designed to reward your contribution to our success
• Proudly Shawbrook recognition scheme focused on recognising our role models and thanking our colleagues for a job well done