Platform Engineering Lead – Application Virtualization Platform

at  Takeda Pharmaceutical

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ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Direct platform engineering team by establishing priorities aligned to committed objectives, then executing and monitoring progress towards platform engineering outcomes.
• Provide specialized knowledge and expertise in Application Virtualization platform engineering activities related to Foundational Technology platform family, primarily leading design, deployment, management, and maintenance of the Citrix Virtual Apps / XenApp global environments which are supporting critical Business Functions (i.e. Manufacturing, Plasma, R&D, etc.).
• Ensure focus on platform engineering quality by adopting consistent development, testing, debugging and documenting practices for effective communication of capabilities.
• Accountable for overall platform capabilities engineering outcomes (i.e. implementation, development, testing, validation, maintenance), as well as management of development practices.
• Continuously drive improvements across platform performance while remaining accountable against identified KPIs and OKRs (i.e. Quality, Speed, Adoption, Costs).
• Execute activities based on Scaled Agile Framework PI Planning framework.
• Responsible for platform budgeting activities.
• Responsible for planning, managing, and measuring work.
• Responsible for managing and motivating team members.
• Responsible for management of vendor contracts, and capacity commitments.
• Responsible for Level 3 platform support and maintenance activities.
• Provide leadership to the platform engineering team(s).
• Establish and maintain engineering governance structures and best practices for platforms.
• Responsible for financial planning, budgeting, procurement, and staffing for platform engineering team.
• Drive partnership with platform and Enterprise architecture teams to drive consistent design of platform capabilities.
• Contribute to platform architecture roadmap, in collaboration with platform owner, product manager, and platform architecture leads.
• Drive platform capabilities engineering development based on platform architecture roadmap.
• Lead and oversee platform engineering execution lifecycle (planning / scheduling / building / testing / deploying / documenting), and monitor progress to ensure that engineering activities are completed on time, on budget, and with proper engineering practices and quality processes.
• Own platform development and communicate how the platform is meeting the business priorities and goals of the organizations (business, technology, and marketing).
• Collaborate with other platforms managers or owners, GDD&T and business stakeholders to successfully ensure consistent development, integration, and maintenance of Foundational platforms.
• Continuously identify new technology platform capabilities for best fit purpose, and outline options for cost effective, incremental, and resilient implementation approach.
• Plan, coach, and support platform system demos in collaboration with product management leads, to communicate progress and value of Foundational Technology platform capabilities being built.
• Manage level 3 engineering support for platforms.
• Provision, manage and maintain the software infrastructure that supports platforms

EDUCATION, BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Statistics, and/or Management Information Systems from an accredited university or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of more experience with Agile methods / methodologies, and leading SCRUM / Lean / Kanban teams.
• 7+ years or more of relevant professional experience as a technology engineer, with 7+ years in a role managing platform teams.
• 7+ years of experience deploying Application Virtualization infrastructure using private hosting and public cloud solutions. Demonstrated knowledge and experience with the following technologies and activities are required:
• Citrix Virtual Apps / XenApp deployment on premises using VMware virtualization, and on AWS.
• Automation using PowerShell scripting required.
• Troubleshooting related to Citrix XenApp infrastructure.
• 3+ years of experience using public cloud infrastructure (AWS required, Azure desired).
• Proven track record of getting things done in complex organizations.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Referenceable leadership, management, or key influencer experiences required.
• Ability to work in an agile and rapid changing environment with high quality deliverables.
• Previous experience managing global engineering teams and budgets required.
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated presentation, communication, and influencing skills.
• Ability to think outside the box for innovative engineering capabilities.
• Knowledge of information management practices, regulatory requirements and global data privacy laws related to the pharmaceutical industry
• Demonstrated knowledge of Cloud technology environments (AWS preferred)
• Experience working with virtual / Agile teams in different locations, aligning and adapting different work, culture, and communication styles
• Knowledge of IT Service Management, Service Operations, and Service Release (ITIL v4 and ITSM desired

MORE ABOUT US:

At Takeda, we are transforming patient care through the development of novel specialty pharmaceuticals and best in class patient support programs. Takeda is a patient-focused company that will inspire and empower you to grow through life-changing work.
Certified as a Global Top Employer, Takeda offers stimulating careers, encourages innovation, and strives for excellence in everything we do. We are committed to creating an inclusive and collaborative workplace, where individuals are recognized for their backgrounds and abilities they bring to our company. We are continuously improving our collaborators journey in Takeda, and we welcome applications from all qualified candidates. Here, you will feel welcomed, respected, and valued as an important contributor to our diverse team.

The Platform Engineering Lead for Application Virtualization Platform is an experienced leader who can lead an engineering practice and team(s) across the end-to-end enablement lifecycle of Foundational Technology (Infrastructure, Monitoring Telemetry, Networking) platform capabilities (i.e. development, testing, release, validation, and support).