Head of Engineering - Operator Platform

🔒 Confidential Employer
Posted 21 April 2026
LOCATION
Sunderland, UK
TYPE
Full-time
LEVEL
Mid-Senior level
CATEGORY
Technology
This employer holds a UK Home Office sponsor license — sponsorship for this specific role is at the employer’s discretion

SKILLS

Vue React C# Node Docker SQL Server AWS Platform Engineering

FULL DESCRIPTION

As Head of Engineering – Operator Platform, you’ll shape and deliver the technology that powers how we operate, scale and continuously improve the [Employer hidden — view at passion-project.co.uk] experience. This is a key leadership role at the heart of Platform Engineering, where you’ll define and drive a player-first technology strategy while enabling the teams behind the scenes to move faster, smarter and more effectively.

What you'll lead and deliver

#### Technical strategy

  • Provide expert leadership across software design and development
  • Champion modern technologies, best practices and coding standards
  • Build and evolve a platform that supports long-term strategic goals
  • Define and deliver a technical roadmap aligned to player experience
  • Identify opportunities for innovation in how players interact with our products
  • Share knowledge and insight to help stakeholders understand what’s possible

#### Leadership

  • Lead, coach and support a cross-functional team of engineers
  • Create an inclusive, collaborative environment where people can thrive
  • Support career growth and identify future leaders within the team
  • Build and empower a high-performing Platform Engineering leadership group

#### Cross-functional collaboration

  • Work closely with Product, Design, Game Studio, Marketing and Customer Support
  • Turn player insights, feedback and data into meaningful technical solutions

#### Strategic planning

  • Contribute to the wider technology vision and roadmap
  • Translate business goals into clear, actionable engineering plans
  • Ensure alignment with company strategy and long-term objectives

#### Development and delivery

  • Oversee the full development lifecycle, from idea through to deployment
  • Ensure delivery is timely, scalable and meets high quality standards
  • Work with senior leaders to create transparent, scalable ways of working

#### Quality and innovation

  • Set and maintain high engineering and quality standards
  • Encourage experimentation and continuous improvement
  • Enable data-driven decision-making through strong platform capabilities

#### Project management

  • Oversee delivery of engineering projects within timelines and budgets
  • Balance new feature development with maintenance and technical debt
  • Collaborate with product and technology leaders on prioritisation

#### Technical expertise

  • Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies
  • Use knowledge to guide technical direction and decision-making

#### Stakeholder communication

  • Communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences
  • Build strong relationships across teams and with external partners

#### Budget management

  • Own and manage departmental budgets, including people, hosting and tooling
  • Work with senior leadership to plan and forecast effectively

What we're looking for

  • Experience leading large, multi-layered engineering teams
  • Proven experience managing budgets
  • Experience setting and tracking objectives using OKRs
  • Background in customer-facing technology environments
  • Strong knowledge of front-end technologies such as Vue and React
  • Experience working in experimentation-led or UX-focused organisations
  • Experience leading multi-disciplinary delivery teams or functions
  • Understanding of platform engineering and development operations
  • Familiarity with technologies such as C#, Node, Docker, SQL Server and AWS

Desirable:

  • Experience within the iGaming sector or similar regulated industries
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