Platform Engineer – Tech & Ops Director/Manager Role (Start-up experience essential!)
My client is building the future of responsible AI adoption in the UK's film, TV, and creative industries. Backed by Innovate UK funding and industry partnerships, they're creating a platform ecosystem that empowers creative professionals to use AI safely, ethically, and effectively.
They need a technical leader who's been in the start-up trenches to take ownership of their entire platform—from architecture to delivery.
What You'll Build
You'll be the technical owner of three interconnected platform "Hubs":
The Learning Hub – AI education and professional certification for creative industries (already live and gaining traction)
The Action Hub – Day-to-day guidance on AI tools, feasibility testing, and compliance validation (ready for major enhancement)
The Governance Hub – Transparency, audit trails, and responsible AI governance (early-stage concept, yours to shape)
Your Role
This isn't a "manage the team" role—it's a build-it-yourself, hands-on technical leadership position. You'll:
Lead full-stack development across all three platforms
Define product architecture, tech stack, and roadmap from MVP to scale
Build data systems for metadata logging, audit capabilities, and transparency records
Integrate third-party AI tools and compliance validation frameworks
Ensure security, data integrity, and governance standards (including ISO compliance)
Work directly with leadership on priorities, milestones, and resource allocation
Collaborate with creative, academic, and industry partners to align tech with real-world workflows
Act as technical translator between engineers and creative professionals
Prototype emerging tech at the intersection of AI and creative production
What My Client Is Looking For
Must-Haves:
Start-up battle scars – You've worked in early-stage companies (successful or not) and know how to move fast with limited resources
Product building track record – You've taken products from concept to scale with hands-on operational management
AI & modern tech fluency – Understanding of AI tools, Agentic AI, governance frameworks, cloud infrastructure (AWS/Azure/GCP), APIs, and data pipelines
Data systems experience – You've designed metadata frameworks, audit systems, or logging platforms
Technical communication skills – You can explain complex concepts to non-technical stakeholders
Entrepreneurial mindset – Comfortable wearing multiple hats, working lean, and figuring things out independently
Pragmatic innovation – You balance creative problem-solving with a practical approach to shipping
Nice-to-Haves:
Hands-on coding and operational IT skills
Experience in creative tech, media, film/TV, or post-production
Understanding of production workflows (or fast learner)
Passion for user experience design for creative professionals
What's On Offer
Base Salary: £55-60k pa
Performance Bonus: Up to 80% of salary tied to milestones and revenue KPIs.
Equity: Share options package designed to realize £700k-£1m within five years
Flexibility: Fully remote working
Impact: Shape the future of AI in one of the UK's most important creative sectors
Why Join?
Technical ownership – This is your platform to build
Meaningful mission – Help the creative industries adopt AI responsibly and ethically
High autonomy – Direct collaboration with leadership, minimal bureaucracy
National recognition – Innovate UK-funded, industry partnerships already in place
Fast pace – Ship real products that matter to real users
Who Thrives Here?
You're someone who:
- Has survived the start-up rollercoaster and learned from it
- Can architect elegant systems but isn't afraid to write code at midnight
- Believes "responsible AI" means building real technical safeguards, not just talking about them
- Gets energised by the intersection of technology and creativity
- Doesn't need hand-holding—you see a problem, you solve it
- Wants to build something that matters
Interested or know someone perfect for this? Let's talk.