Head of AI Platform (Agentic AI & LLMs)

Head of AI PlatformAbout the OpportunityOur client is building a world-class AI platform that underpins the development, deployment and operation of enterprise AI products at scale.They are seeking an experienced Head of AI Platform to lead the engineering organisation responsible for the infrastructure, developer platform and shared AI services that enable multiple product teams to build and operate AI solutions efficiently and securely.This is a senior engineering leadership role combining platform strategy, organisational leadership and technical direction. The successful candidate will help shape the long-term AI platform vision while building a high-performing engineering organisation.The RoleThe Head of AI Platform will own the strategy, architecture and delivery of a modern AI platform that supports enterprise AI applications, machine learning infrastructure and developer productivity.Leading multidisciplinary Platform Engineering teams, you will define the technical roadmap, establish engineering standards and ensure the platform provides a secure, reliable and scalable foundation for AI product development.This role is ideal for a technology leader who combines strong engineering judgement with experience building platform organisations that accelerate software delivery across multiple teams.Key ResponsibilitiesPlatform Strategy & OwnershipDefine and execute the long-term AI Platform strategy and roadmap.Own the architecture, reliability, scalability and operational excellence of the platform.Treat the platform as a product, continuously improving developer experience and platform adoption.Evaluate build-versus-buy decisions across infrastructure, tooling and platform capabilities.Develop reusable platform services that accelerate engineering teams while maintaining flexibility.Engineering LeadershipBuild, lead and develop a high-performing Platform Engineering organisation.Recruit, mentor and retain exceptional engineering leaders and technical specialists.Establish a culture of engineering excellence, accountability and continuous improvement.Shape organisational design, team structures and technical career development.Lead senior engineering hiring and maintain a consistently high technical bar.Platform Delivery & OperationsEnsure the platform delivers high availability, security, performance and scalability.Own operational excellence, including incident management, reliability engineering and capacity planning.Drive roadmap execution across multiple engineering teams.Remove technical and organisational barriers that impact delivery.Ensure platform investments align with business priorities and long-term engineering strategy.Technical LeadershipDefine engineering standards, architectural principles and platform best practices.Lead complex architecture decisions spanning cloud infrastructure, AI services and shared platform capabilities.Evaluate emerging AI technologies and determine their suitability for enterprise adoption.Balance innovation with operational stability and long-term maintainability.Ensure technical debt is actively managed across the platform.Cross-Functional CollaborationPartner closely with Product, AI Engineering, Infrastructure, Security and Research teams.Collaborate with executive leadership on technology strategy and investment priorities.Manage relationships with strategic technology partners and vendors.Communicate technical direction, risks and trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.Required Experience12+ years' experience in software engineering with at least 6 years leading Platform Engineering or Infrastructure organisations.Proven experience building and scaling internal developer platforms supporting multiple engineering teams.Strong leadership experience managing engineering managers and senior technical leaders.Deep understanding of cloud-native architecture and distributed systems.Experience defining technical strategy across complex engineering organisations.Strong track record hiring and developing high-performing engineering teams.Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.Technical ExpertiseCandidates should demonstrate expertise across several of the following areas:AI Platform EngineeringAI PlatformsModel Serving & InferenceAI OrchestrationAgent FrameworksDeveloper PlatformsPlatform APIsCloud InfrastructureAzure, AWS or Google CloudKubernetesDockerInfrastructure as CodeCI/CD PipelinesMulti-tenant PlatformsPlatform EngineeringInternal Developer PlatformsAPI GatewaysIdentity & Access ManagementPlatform SecurityService ReliabilityPlatform ObservabilityAI InfrastructureGPU InfrastructureLLM DeploymentRetrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)Vector DatabasesAI Evaluation FrameworksScalable Inference ArchitectureReliability EngineeringSite Reliability Engineering (SRE)Incident ManagementCapacity PlanningPerformance OptimisationMonitoring & ObservabilityOperational ExcellencePreferred ExperienceExperience within one or more of the following environments would be highly advantageous:AI-native technology companiesCloud platform organisationsEnterprise SaaS platformsFinancial Services, Healthcare or other regulated industriesLarge-scale digital transformation programmesHigh-growth technology businessesLeadership AttributesThe successful candidate will demonstrate:Exceptional engineering leadershipStrong technical judgementSystems thinkingStrategic mindsetCommercial awarenessExcellent coaching and mentoring capabilityData-driven decision makingBias for action and ownershipWhy Join?This is an opportunity to build and lead the AI platform that enables enterprise-scale AI innovation. You will shape the engineering foundations that power multiple AI products while developing a world-class Platform Engineering organisation and influencing technology strategy at the highest level.