Manager, Platform Engineering

Vanguard • Malvern, PA

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

This role involves leading and growing a platform engineering team. The manager will be responsible for managing direct reports and coordinating loaned resources to meet platform commitments. Key aspects include developing the team's technical and collaborative capabilities through coaching and feedback, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and driving platform maturity from single-subdivision usage to enterprise-scale. The role requires establishing and maintaining contact with IT subdivisions, balancing feature requests with platform reliability, and leading complex, multi-team initiatives. The manager will also translate strategic goals into actionable deliverables, delegate effectively, and operate with a Product Owner mindset. Collaboration with senior leadership on roadmaps and strategy, advocating for platform investments, and building trust across the organization are also crucial. This includes acting as a subject matter expert, communicating risks transparently, and fostering productive cross-functional work.

Requirements

• Minimum 8 years of relevant work experience in platform engineering or a related field.
• Bachelor’s degree (B.E./B.Tech) in Computer Science or IT, or Bachelor’s in Computer Applications (BCA), or Master’s in Computer Applications (MCA).
• Strong knowledge of platform architecture, infrastructure management, and software development.
• Expertise in developing, testing, debugging, and implementing scalable software platforms.
• Experience with technical documentation, database technologies, and software programming languages.
• Ability to lead technical teams, drive continuous improvement, and implement strategic platform initiatives.
• Strong problem-solving skills and experience working with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and Grow the Team: Manage direct reports and coordinate dotted-line loaned resources to deliver on platform commitments.
• Develop the team's technical and collaborative capabilities through coaching, feedback, and intentional growth planning.
• Establish individualized development plans for each direct report and hold them accountable for progressing through those plans while contributing at level-appropriate activities.
• Foster psychological safety and a culture of continuous improvement where the team learns from production, adapts quickly, and shares expertise across the department & division.
• Build team norms around resilience, accountability, and "you build it, you run it" ownership.
• Drive Platform Maturity: Lead the evolution of the platform from single-subdivision usage to enterprise-scale product serving multiple business lines.
• Establish and maintain regular contact with each IT subdivision to understand needs, communicate trade-offs, and align on priorities.
• Balance incoming feature requests against platform reliability, resiliency, observability, and technical debt.
• Lead complex, multi-team initiatives that require coordination across federated subgraph providers and platform consumers.
• Deliver Results Through Delegation: Translate strategic goals into actionable team deliverables, delegating work effectively to leverage the team's strengths.
• Lead team's work to successful completion, navigating ambiguity and shifting priorities with a Product Owner mindset.
• Remove obstacles and build cross-functional relationships that unblock the team and keep commitments on track.
• Ensure the team has end-to-end knowledge of the platform and can operate independently when needed.
• Partner on Strategy and Roadmap: Collaborate with the Senior Manager and Senior Architect to shape quarterly roadmaps and long-term platform strategy.
• Provide ground-truth feedback from team operations and client interactions to inform prioritization decisions.
• Advocate for platform investments (observability, resiliency, automation) that enable sustainable growth.
• Contribute to subdivision and divisional goal-setting with a clear understanding of how the platform enables business outcomes.
• Build Trust Across the Organization: Establish credibility as a subject matter expert on the platform's capabilities, limitations, and roadmap.
• Communicate risks, trade-offs, and timelines transparently to clients and stakeholders.
• Foster collaboration across IT subdivisions, helping clients understand how to succeed within a federated architecture.
• Model the interpersonal skills and inclusive mindset that make cross-functional work productive.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager