Associate Director, Platform Engineering

Associate Director, Platform Engineering 
 
It starts with YES!     

At Optus, we are fuelled by optimism, unwavering customer focus, and a team of amazing people. And that’s where we come in…. “the amazing people” part! We don’t sit back and wait for the future to happen, we are out there crafting our own path through new technology, innovation, and investment. We are truly a challenger brand, with challenger spirit. 

As Associate Director, Platform Engineering, you will play a pivotal role in leading the development, execution, and optimisation of platform strategies across our enterprise, ensuring seamless integration, performance, and scalability. This position involves managing a team of engineers and architects, driving the establishment of platform as a product, and fostering a culture of innovation and data-driven decision-making. You will collaborate closely with senior stakeholders and lead efforts that align with strategic objectives to enhance operations, optimise asset utilisation, and deliver cutting-edge solutions that enable growth and efficiency across our business. 

Your day in the life as an Associate Director, Platform Engineering 

• Lead and mentor a team of engineers and architects, ensuring technical excellence and career development while fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment. 

• Drive platform strategy development by defining key objectives, implementing best engineering practices, and overseeing platform-as-a-product initiatives to enhance system performance and scalability. 

• Collaborate with senior leadership across multiple departments to align platform engineering efforts with business goals, ensuring seamless integration and optimal solution delivery. 

• Oversee the end-to-end technical architecture, ensuring adherence to regional strategies, compliance standards, and best practices across various squads and tribes. 

• Provide hands-on technical guidance by addressing complex engineering challenges, reviewing designs, and offering actionable insights to optimize platform performance and reduce downtime. 

• Lead recruitment and talent management efforts, including hiring, performance assessments, and career development planning to ensure a highly skilled and motivated team. 

• Shape and execute the Quarterly Business Review (QBR) strategy, tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and reporting outcomes to senior leadership while driving continuous improvement across platform initiatives 

• It starts with you!  

Experience Required: 

• Extensive industry experience, including at least 3 years in a leadership role within platform engineering or related fields. 

• Strong expertise in developing and implementing platform strategies, with a focus on optimizing operations, data utilization, and system performance. 

• Proven experience managing and mentoring engineering teams, driving technical excellence and fostering professional growth. 

• Hands-on experience with cloud technologies (AWS, GCP, or Azure), microservices architecture, and Kubernetes, with a strong understanding of platform-as-a-service (PaaS) models. 

• Deep knowledge of Agile methodologies and experience leading engineering teams in an Agile environment, with the ability to manage cross-functional and geographically distributed teams. 

• Proficiency in stakeholder management at a senior level, with the ability to influence decision-making and align technical strategies with business goals. 

• Experience in budget management, resource allocation, and strategic planning, ensuring alignment of platform initiatives with broader business objectives. 

The good stuff … 

• 3 days in the office, 2 days remote – with flexible hours to suit!   

• Inclusive paid parental leave, up to 14 weeks for the primary care giver   

• All Optus employees have access to resources, webinars and support via the ‘Parents at Work portal’   

• Own your own growth by accessing an extensive online and facilitator led learning catalogue – even earn a MBA micro-credential via OptusU (University)   

• Connect at work through one of our employee-led volunteer groups: Culture Connect, Elevate Women, Disability Network, Express Yourself (LGBTQIA+), United Veterans and Yarn Network   

• Vibrant campus life, variety of facilities including restaurants, cafes, gymnasium, GP, and post office   

• Easy travel options to Sydney Campus: Optus bus from Macquarie University Metro Station (every 6-8 minutes); morning and afternoon!   

At Optus, we have an ambitious goal to be Australia’s most loved everyday brand. Curious about our culture? Go behind the scenes with our people by searching #OptusLife on LinkedIn.   

Intrigued but don't tick every box? We are building our AI capabilities and value diverse perspectives. If you're driven to join us on this journey, apply now - your passion matters more than a perfect match.   

At Optus, we are strengthened by others and that means valuing diversity and saying ‘yes’ to embracing individual differences. We are committed to ensuring that our application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all job seekers, including individuals from diverse gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, individuals with a disability, individuals identifying as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, individuals who may have served in the armed forces or who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. If you require any adjustments or accessibility support to participate fairly and equitably in the recruitment process, please email AccessibleRecruitment@optus.com.au along with your preferred method of contact and we will be in touch.   

For more information on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Optus, please visit https://www.optus.com.au/about/inclusion-diversity.