Head of Internal Tools Engineering

ABOUT THE ROLE

You will architect, build, and scale the internal technology ecosystem that accelerates workforce productivity, eliminates operational friction, and gives the company a compounding infrastructure advantage. You will treat internal tools with the same product rigour and user-centricity as any external product — because the quality of internal systems directly determines organisational velocity.

You will lead a cross-functional engineering team, make high-stakes build-vs-buy decisions, and drive AI adoption into internal workflows. This role requires someone who can see the company’s operational architecture as a system design problem and solve it with software.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Internal Platform Strategy & Roadmap

- Own the end-to-end strategy and roadmap for all internal tools, platforms, and automation — treating internal technology as a product, not a cost centre.

- Make strategic build-vs-buy decisions, knowing when a custom-built solution creates a lasting advantage and when a SaaS tool is the right answer.

- Map current and next-state process flows across the entire internal toolchain and lead systems transformation for internal teams.

Systems Architecture & Engineering

- Architect and maintain the full engineering lifecycle for internal platforms — from ideation and design through deployment, iteration, and deprecation.

- Build seamless, API-first ecosystems that integrate internal tools across HR systems, finance platforms, knowledge management, CRM, and developer infrastructure.

- Own system reliability and operational resilience: establish success metrics for uptime, performance, and employee productivity.

- Design scalable, secure architectures using cloud-native principles, microservices, and modern integration patterns.

AI & Automation

- Lead the strategy for integrating AI and LLMs into internal workflows — reimagining how knowledge is shared, decisions are supported, and work is executed across the organisation.

- Deploy intelligent automation tools — including AI where appropriate — to streamline internal processes and improve decision-making.

- Evaluate and integrate AI-assisted troubleshooting, proactive recommendations, and intelligent automation into the internal platform layer.

- Stay ahead of technology trends and drive continuous experimentation — you build prototypes, not slide decks.

Developer Experience & Productivity

- Reduce cognitive load for internal users by providing golden paths, standardised workflows, and self-service capabilities.

- Ensure frictionless onboarding and seamless integration across the tool ecosystem.

- Measure platform success through adoption rates, user satisfaction, DORA metrics, and productivity impact — not feature count.

Team Leadership

- Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing team of engineers and engineering managers.

- Cultivate a collaborative engineering culture rooted in ownership, speed, and craftsmanship.

- Provide technical mentorship and create growth paths for individual contributors and managers alike.

- Foster psychological safety and a feedback-driven environment that empowers people to do their best work.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

- Partner with People, Finance, Engineering, Legal, and Operations leadership to translate complex business needs into a unified technical vision.

- Serve as the bridge between business stakeholders and the engineering team — you speak both languages fluently.

- Align internal platform investments with broader company strategy and demonstrate measurable ROI.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Must-Have

- 12+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 5 years in engineering leadership (managing teams or managing managers).

- Strong hands-on technical background: you’ve built production systems and can still credibly review architecture, code, and system design.

- Deep understanding of cloud-based systems (AWS, GCP, or Azure), APIs, microservices, data pipelines, and modern infrastructure.

- Proven track record of building and scaling internal tools or platforms that serve cross-functional business teams — not just engineering.

- Experience making build-vs-buy decisions and managing a portfolio of custom-built and third-party tools.

- Strong experience designing and building internal platforms and automation systems

- Strong product thinking: you define success in terms of user outcomes and business impact, not technical output.

- Experience navigating the full SDLC from ideation through deprecation — you know when to build, iterate, and retire.

- Excellent communication skills: you can articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical executives and translate business problems into engineering roadmaps.

Nice-to-Have

- Experience at a high-growth technology or AI-native company that scaled rapidly.

- Background in platform engineering, developer experience, or internal developer platforms (IDPs).

- Fam