Senior Platform Engineering Lead (Compute & Infrastructure Strategy)

BMO•Toronto, ON

2d•CA$75,900 - CA$141,900

About The Position

We are seeking a highly experienced and technically driven Senior Platform Engineering Lead to help shape the future of enterprise compute and infrastructure platforms. As a key member of the Platform Engineering organization, this role will provide technical leadership for platform strategy, architecture, modernization and engineering standards across the enterprise. Reporting directly to the Sr. Manager, Storage Engineering / Innovation & Design, the successful candidate will partner closely with infrastructure, cloud, security, architecture and application teams to define and execute the roadmap for enterprise compute platforms. This includes evaluating emerging technologies, driving platform modernization initiatives, establishing engineering standards and ensuring the long-term scalability, resiliency and operational effectiveness of the organization's x86 and virtualization environments. The role will work closely with a technical peer responsible for broader compute and platform engineering functions, as well as engineering leads accountable for storage and data protection platforms.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in infrastructure engineering, platform engineering, systems architecture, or enterprise technology leadership roles.
Deep expertise in enterprise virtualization technologies, including: VMware vSphere (required)
Strong understanding of enterprise compute platforms, including: Dell PowerEdge and/or HPE ProLiant infrastructure
Blade, rack and converged infrastructure architectures
Proven experience leading large-scale infrastructure modernization and transformation programs.
Strong knowledge of x86 platform architecture, virtualization, clustering, high availability and disaster recovery technologies.
Experience designing and supporting hybrid cloud architectures and cloud-enabled operating models.
Demonstrated experience evaluating, documenting and executing complex proof-of-concepts involving multiple stakeholders and technology vendors.
Experience developing technology strategies, roadmaps, standards and reference architectures.
Strong understanding of automation frameworks and Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform, Ansible, PowerShell, Python, GitOps methodologies).
Knowledge of platform engineering concepts, including self-service infrastructure, developer platforms, automation and operational excellence.
Experience working within large enterprise environments with formal architecture governance processes.
Excellent executive communication skills with the ability to translate technical complexity into business-focused recommendations.
Proven ability to influence strategic decisions and drive outcomes across teams without direct authority.

Nice To Haves

Nutanix AHV and ecosystem technologies (preferred)
Additional hypervisor platforms such as Hyper-V or KVM considered an asset
Experience supporting financial services, regulated industries, or large-scale enterprise environments.
Familiarity with container platforms and modern application infrastructure technologies such as Kubernetes and OpenShift.
Experience integrating platform engineering practices with cloud-native and hybrid infrastructure solutions.
Industry certifications such as VMware VCP/VCAP, Nutanix NCP, Azure, AWS, TOGAF, or equivalent.

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership for enterprise compute and virtualization platforms, including strategic planning, architecture, engineering standards and lifecycle management.
Lead platform modernization initiatives, including infrastructure transformation, hypervisor strategy, hardware refresh programs, automation and cloud integration efforts.
Develop target-state platform architectures that enable scalability, resiliency, security and operational efficiency.
Evaluate emerging technologies, industry trends and vendor roadmaps to guide platform investment decisions and long-term technology direction.
Define and maintain engineering standards, reference architectures, technical patterns and operational best practices across platform technologies.
Lead technical assessments, proof-of-concepts (POCs), platform evaluations and technology validation activities.
Collaborate with cloud, infrastructure, application and security teams to ensure platform capabilities align with enterprise requirements and business objectives.
Drive adoption of Infrastructure as Code (IaC), automation, self-service capabilities and modern platform engineering practices.
Provide technical oversight and governance for major platform initiatives, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture principles and technology standards.
Prepare and deliver executive-level presentations, articulating technology strategies, risks, trade-offs, investment recommendations and modernization roadmaps.
Present solution architectures and technology recommendations to Architecture Review Boards, Design Review Committees and senior leadership forums.
Serve as a senior technical advisor on compute, virtualization and infrastructure technologies across the organization.
Mentor engineering teams and contribute to the advancement of platform engineering capabilities, operational maturity and engineering excellence.