Head of Platform Engineering

Job Description

Help us build the infrastructure to power the green energy revolution.

At Octopus Energy, we’re changing the way people use energy - from customer experience to smart grid innovation. We’ve got big plans, and to support that we’re building a dedicated Platform Engineering team to support our growing technical estate.

We’re now hiring a Head of Platform Engineering to lead this initiative. You’ll own all Octopus Energy infrastructure and establish a central infrastructure function for the Octopus Energy Group. This is a unique opportunity to build and shape a team from the ground up and play a pivotal role in delivering the tools and platforms that empower Octopus Energy’s mission.

What you'll do

• Establish and lead a brand new Platform Engineering team dedicated to managing Octopus Energy’s internal infrastructure and application hosting environments
• Build and manage a high-performing, inclusive team of 2-3 engineers with potential to scale.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders including the Data Platform team and Engineering teams.
• Design and maintain reliable, scalable cloud infrastructure (primarily AWS).
• Drive key initiatives involving container orchestration (Kubernetes), observability, security, and CI/CD.
• Establish best practices in platform engineering and foster a servant-leadership culture focused on empathy, empowerment, and collaboration.
• Work with your peers and colleagues at Octopus Energy’s Sister-company, Kraken, to migrate ownership of projects from Kraken to Octopus

What you'll have

• Proven experience leading or managing a platform, DevOps, or infrastructure team.
• Deep familiarity with AWS, Kubernetes (EKS), and Python.
• Experience managing large-scale, distributed, customer-facing systems.
• Comfortable working in high-ambiguity, fast-paced environments where you drive clarity and decisions.
• Strong collaborator and communicator across technical and non-technical teams.
• Empathetic leadership style, capable of building trusted relationships across the business.

What will help

• Previous experience in leading technical delivery for small, highly-autonomous teams
• Track-record of effective collaboration with other teams and departments to drive holistic outcomes
• A proactive, innovative mindset with the ability to drive continuous improvement

Familiarity with some of our tech stack:

• PostgreSQL, or a similar RDBMS, particularly in Amazon RDS at scale
• Docker and Kubernetes, we use Amazon EKS in production
• Python
• Datadog, or a similar logging/monitoring tool
• Messaging queues, event-driven async processing or similar technologies - we use RabbitMQ
• Terraform, or a similar infrastructure-as-code tool
• Experience with a Linux distribution

Why else you'll love it here

• Wondering what the salary for this role is? Just ask us! On a call with one of our recruiters it's something we always cover as we genuinely want to match your experience with the correct salary. The reason why we don't advertise is because we honestly have a degree of flexibility and would never want salary to be a reason why someone doesn't apply to Octopus - what's more important to us is finding the right octofit!
• Octopus Energy Group is a unique culture. An organisation where people learn, decide, and build quicker. Where people work with autonomy, alongside a wide range of amazing co-owners, on projects that break new ground. We want your hard work to be rewarded with perks you actually care about! We were recently named the UK's top company to work for, and we ranked in the top ten in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024. Our Group CEO, Greg has recorded a podcast about our culture and how we empower our people. We’ve also been placed in the top 10 companies for senior leadership

Our process usually takes up to 4 weeks, but we’ll always do our best to flex around what works for you. Along the way, you’ll chat with our recruitment team and your Recruiter will help you throughout different stages. Got any burning questions before then? Drop us a message at [email protected] and we’d love to help!

If this sounds like you then we'd love to hear from you. 🚀

Are you ready for a career with us? We want to ensure you have all the tools and environment you need to unleash your potential. Need any specific accommodations? Whether you require specific accommodations or have a unique preference, let us know, and we'll do what we can to customise your interview process for comfort and maximum magic!

Studies have shown that some groups of people, like women, are less likely to apply to a role unless they meet 100% of the job requirements. Whoever you are, if you like one of our jobs, we encourage you to apply as you might just be the candidate we hire. Across Octopus, we're looking for genuinely decent people who are honest and empathetic. Our people are our strongest asset and the unique skills and perspectives people bring to the team are the driving force of our success. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute. Our commitment is to provide equal opportunities, an inclusive work environment, and fairness for everyone.