DevOps & Platform Engineering
Platform Engineering Lead Jobs & Careers
Looking for your next Platform Engineering Lead opportunity?
HOK Consulting connects Platform Engineering Leads with organisations building scalable, secure and reliable internal technology platforms across permanent, contract and interim opportunities.
Whether your experience covers AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, Terraform, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, developer platforms or Site Reliability Engineering, explore current opportunities or upload your CV to join HOK’s technology talent network.
Current Platform Engineering Lead Jobs
Explore current Platform Engineering Lead opportunities available through HOK Consulting.
Can’t see the right Platform Engineering Lead role?
If there are currently no suitable Platform Engineering Lead vacancies listed, upload your CV and tell us what you’re looking for. Our team can contact you when a relevant permanent, contract or interim opportunity becomes available.
What Does a Platform Engineering Lead Do?
A Platform Engineering Lead provides technical and team leadership across the platforms, tooling and services that enable software engineers to build and deploy applications efficiently.
The role typically combines cloud engineering, DevOps, automation and Site Reliability Engineering practices, with responsibility for improving developer experience while ensuring platforms remain secure, scalable and reliable.
Platform Engineering Leads often guide Platform Engineers while working alongside DevOps Engineers, SRE teams, architects, security specialists and software engineering teams to establish platform strategy, technical standards and reusable engineering capabilities.
Platform Engineering Lead Skills & Experience
The exact technical requirements vary between organisations and platforms, but Platform Engineering Lead roles commonly involve experience across areas such as:
- Platform Engineering
- Technical Leadership
- Internal Developer Platforms
- Developer Experience
- DevOps
- Site Reliability Engineering
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud Platform
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- Terraform
- Infrastructure as Code
- CI/CD
- GitHub Actions
- GitLab CI/CD
- Azure DevOps
- Helm
- Argo CD
- Prometheus
- Grafana
- Datadog
- Monitoring and Observability
- DevSecOps
Platform Engineering Leads may specialise in a particular cloud platform or lead teams supporting hybrid, multi-cloud and enterprise-scale engineering environments.
Strong technical leadership and architectural judgement are particularly important when balancing developer experience, automation, security, platform reliability and the needs of multiple engineering teams.
Typical Platform Engineering Lead Responsibilities
- Leading Platform Engineering teams and technical delivery
- Defining platform strategy, architecture and engineering standards
- Designing and improving internal developer platforms
- Building reusable cloud infrastructure and platform services
- Establishing Infrastructure as Code and automation standards
- Improving CI/CD and software delivery capabilities
- Leading Kubernetes and container platform engineering
- Embedding security and DevSecOps practices into platform services
- Improving monitoring, observability, resilience and operational readiness
- Reducing developer friction through self-service tooling and automation
- Mentoring Platform Engineers and supporting technical development
- Working with software, DevOps, SRE, architecture and security teams
Responsibilities vary depending on the organisation and whether the role focuses on developer platforms, cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes, enterprise Platform Engineering or wider technology transformation.
Platform Engineering Lead Salary Expectations
Platform Engineering Lead salaries vary according to experience, location, cloud platform, leadership responsibility and the scale and complexity of the engineering environment.
Permanent Platform Engineering Lead
Around £85,000 per year
Current UK lead-level platform engineering benchmark
Contract Platform Engineering Lead
Around £650 per day
Current UK advertised contract benchmark
Platform Engineering Leads working within financial services, highly regulated organisations, large-scale cloud environments or business-critical digital platforms may command higher salaries or contract rates.
Salary information is provided as a general UK market guide. Exact-title salary data is limited, so the permanent figure uses current lead-level Platform Engineering salary data while the contractor figure reflects recent advertised Platform Engineering Lead assignments.
Platform Engineering Lead Career Progression
Platform Engineering Leadership can lead into broader engineering management, architecture and senior technology leadership positions.
Typical Platform Engineering Lead Career Path
Alternative Career Paths
Platform Engineering Leads may also progress into roles such as:
- Platform Architect
- DevOps Architect
- SRE Lead
- DevOps Lead
- Engineering Manager
- Head of DevOps
The right progression depends on whether you want to deepen your platform architecture expertise, lead broader engineering capability or take responsibility for organisation-wide technology strategy and delivery.
Your Next Move
Looking for Your Next Platform Engineering Lead Opportunity?
If you’re considering your next permanent position, contract assignment or interim opportunity, send HOK Consulting your CV.
Tell us about the platforms and engineering teams you’ve led, the cloud and automation technologies you specialise in and the type of opportunity you’re looking for.
Specialist Recruitment
DevOps & Platform Engineering Recruitment
Platform Engineering Leadership forms part of HOK Consulting’s wider DevOps & Platform Engineering recruitment expertise, connecting organisations with professionals across automation, cloud infrastructure, Platform Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering, continuous delivery and technical leadership.
Hiring?
Recruiting Platform Engineering Leads?
HOK Consulting supports organisations looking for experienced Platform Engineering Leads across permanent, contract and interim requirements.
Whether you’re building an internal developer platform, modernising cloud infrastructure, scaling Kubernetes or establishing a dedicated Platform Engineering function, speak to HOK about your requirements.