Head of Platforms - Technology, Infrastructure and Operations

Location: London, Home based-New York, Oxford, Alpharetta, GA (Alderman)

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

Location: Global (Hybrid)

Reports to: SVP, Technology Infrastructure & Operations (TIO)

Function: Technology

Purpose of the Role

The Head of Platform leads the delivery and evolution of Elsevier’s internal developer platform as a core driver of engineering transformation.

This role is accountable for shifting Elsevier from fragmented infrastructure services to a unified internal developer platform (IDP) that accelerates modernization, reuse, and AI-enabled engineering.

This leader combines strong technical depth with enterprise influence, driving large-scale cultural and operational change across engineering.

They will shape the platform as a product while embedding new ways of working focused on self-service, automation, and developer experience.

Key Responsibilities

Platform Strategy & Vision

• Define and drive the platform strategy aligned with Elsevier standards and enterprise priorities.

• Translate strategic objectives (DevEx, reuse, AI-enabled SDLC) into clear platform roadmaps.

• Establish and evolve a platform-as-a-product operating model.

Leadership & Organization Design

• Build and lead a global platform organization (95–125 engineers) across key domains.

• Partner with TIO leadership, architecture, and change teams to align operating models.

• Drive an engineering-led, automation-first culture across the organization.

Developer Experience & Enablement

• Deliver internal developer portal capabilities (e.g., Backstage) and golden paths.

• Embed DORA and SPACE metrics to improve developer productivity.

• Champion reuse and inner sourcing across engineering teams.

AI & Automation Integration

• Integrate AI across the SDLC including code generation, testing, and automation.

• Drive adoption of AI-enabled engineering practices.

• Ensure secure and efficient-by-default platform services through automation.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure reliability, observability, and cost efficiency of platform services.

• Define resilience, incident management, and operational models.

• Track and report on platform maturity and performance.

Collaboration & Influence

• Partner with Business Unit CTOs, product leaders, and engineering teams.

• Drive alignment between platform capabilities and business outcomes.

• Communicate effectively across executive and technical audiences.

Experience & Skills

• 15+ years in platform, software, or infrastructure engineering.

• Proven experience leading large-scale cultural and operational transformations.

• Strong background in platform-as-a-product and developer experience.

• Demonstrated stakeholder influence across complex organizations.

• Experience leading distributed engineering teams.

• Familiarity with AI-enabled engineering practices.

• Strong grounding in SRE, observability, and secure-by-design.

• Excellent communication and leadership skills.

Success Measures

• Increased developer productivity and satisfaction.

• Adoption of platform capabilities across engineering teams.

• Reduction in toil and time-to-market.

• Increased reuse through standardized patterns and golden paths.

• Improved operational reliability and cost efficiency.

• Demonstrated shift in engineering culture toward ownership and automation.

If performed in New York, the base pay range is $130,200 - $241,800.If performed in New York City, the base pay range is $142,000 - $263,800.If performed in Rochester, NY, the base pay range is $118,300 - $219,800.U.S. National Base Pay Range: $118,300 - $219,800. Geographic differentials may apply in some locations to better reflect local market rates.

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