Platform Engineering Manager

Job Description

As the UK’s leading integrated health and safety experts, Arco combine multi-channel distribution of 170,000+ products with specialist training, consultancy, and site services. Arco’s history spans over 100 years, and following the recent appointment ofa new CEO, the business is now transitioning to a high-performance culture, driven by the ambition to grow and become even more sustainable into the future.With a workforce of circa 1,650 employees, Arco will continue to have at the core of its culture, a clear and pervasive set of values creating a diverse, inclusive workforce.We are currently recruiting for a Head of Platform Engineering to join our new Data team that shares our core values; respect for people, hard work and enterprise, excellence in reputation and making the world a safer place for everyone.About the Role:As the new Platform Engineering Manager, youll join our existing Technology team and support our newly formed data team based from our Head Office in Hull, and you will report directly in to the Head of IT.The Platform Engineering Manager will be accountable for leading the Platform Engineering team to ensure the, scalability, and security of the our platforms, ensuring they are reliable, scalable, secure, and compliant with industry standards by developingand implementing robust processes for monitoring system performance, disaster recovery plans, security protocols, and collaboration with cross-functional teams, helping Arco stay competitive, while mitigating risks associated with poor system performance orsecurity breaches.Key responsibilities include:

• Developing and executing strategies that ensure the reliability, scalability, and security of our platforms.
• Designing and implementing cloud-based infrastructure (e.g., AWS or Azure) that supports our environmental architecture.
• Building robust processes for monitoring system performance and identifying potential issues before they become problematic.
• Working with cross-functional teams to identify requirements for new systems or tools that support business growth.
• Managing a team of Platform Engineers, providing leadership, training, coaching, and mentoring as required
• Developing security protocols that ensure compliance with industry standards (e.g., GDPR, Cyber Essential +).
• Staying up to date with emerging trends in cloud-based technologies, evaluating new technologies/ software solutions as necessary to improve efficiency or scale our operations.
• Ensuring high levels of availability by designing disaster recovery plans that minimize downtime in case of system failures or disasters.
• Collaborating with our Operational Team, Data Engineering and Data Governance teams to ensure that our platforms adhere to our governance, policies, and standards.
• Developing metrics to measure performance and reliability of the data platform and monitoring these metrics regularly to identify areas for improvement or enhancement.
• Working with stakeholders across the organization to understand their needs and design solutions that meet their requirements.
• Developing training programs for colleagues, on how to use the various platform effectively.

About you : The ideal Platform Engineering Manager will be/have:

• Specialist Platform Engineering experience with significant experience in a lead platform engineering role driving insights for a mid to large business (£200m+)
• Demonstrable and financially impactful experience in delivering financial, growth and margin related insights for customers, products, services and operations.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent is desirable.
• Experience building Cloud Platforms (ideally using Microsoft Azure, Google and AWS ) Skills / experience of Python, Apache Spark, SQL and Data Lake-houses are also desirable.
• Experience working with CI/ CD, Terraform, domain structures, user authentication, and digital signatures.
• Good understanding of platform architecture and related services, project/ change management principles and delivery frameworks and methodologies and the ability to strongly influence and collaborate with these roles
• Advanced Excel Skills and operational knowledge of PIM/MDM systems.
• Ability to influence stakeholders at all levels; contextualise technical concepts as drivers of commercial performance, challenge assumptions and the status quo.

On top of working for the UK’s leading health and safety expert, you’ll also receive:

• Salary of £70k - £90k plus a discretionary company bonus
• 32 days holiday inclusive of bank holidays, plus the option to purchase more.
• Modern office environment with flexible working options
• 2 paid Community Volunteering days every year
• An excellent pension and life assurance scheme
• A huge range of high street retailer discounts to help with cost of living via MyArco Perks

Access to our brilliant Learning Management System, to support your personal development