VP, Platform

Job Description:

DataRobot delivers AI that maximizes impact and minimizes business risk. Our platform and applications integrate into core business processes so teams can develop, deliver, and govern AI at scale. DataRobot empowers practitioners to deliver predictive and generative AI, and enables leaders to secure their AI assets. Organizations worldwide rely on DataRobot for AI that makes sense for their business — today and in the future. 

The VP of Engineering Platform will lead the technical vision and execution of our platform’s evolution, ensuring it remains innovative, scalable, and meets the complex, ever-changing needs of our customers. This role will focus on engineering-driven strategies that shape the architecture, deployment, and security of our platform, including our Multi-cloud and Multi-tenant SaaS offerings. The Platform team is responsible for delivering a seamless and world-class developer experience, with all feature teams at DataRobot building on this platform to deliver high-impact solutions. By driving technical excellence, fostering strong engineering collaboration, and continuously improving our platform through customer feedback and technical insights, this role will be instrumental in advancing our platform’s capabilities and supporting both product and business goals. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the engineering development of the platform, including strategic planning and staffing of a skilled technical team.

• Drive the technical roadmap for platform development with a focus on cloud-native architectures, security, and compliance.

• Oversee multiple engineering cycles for the platform, ensuring continuous technical improvements and rapid adaptation to market and customer needs.

• Collaborate closely with engineering, product, and cross-functional teams to ensure seamless development and launch of platform features.

• Lead the integration of key initiatives like GenAI, Trial/PLG GTM, and Cost Optimization into the platform’s architecture and engineering execution.

• Prioritize engineering efforts based on customer needs, technical feasibility, and strategic objectives.

• Work with engineering leadership to drive alignment between the platform roadmap and the company’s overall technical and business objectives.

• Lead discussions with customers and technical stakeholders to understand evolving challenges and opportunities, feeding this back into the engineering process.

• Maintain deep knowledge of industry trends, competitive landscapes, and emerging technologies related to Cloud-Native, SaaS, and Security/Compliance, ensuring our platform stays ahead of the curve.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related technical fields (or equivalent practical experience).

• 15+ years’ proven experience in a senior leadership role within software development, with a strong track record of successfully managing large-scale software projects and teams.

• 10+ years of experience in engineering a Cloud-native platform (e.g., hyperscaler or startup) with a strong focus on security, compliance, and platform architecture, including designing control plane/data plane separation.

• Significant experience in engineering SaaS or hybrid products, with a proven track record in building scalable platforms and optimizing developer experience.

• Extensive experience in collaborating with product and engineering teams to define and execute platform roadmaps.

• Strong expertise in cloud-native technologies (e.g., Kubernetes, containerization, microservices) and multi-cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP).

• Expertise in designing platform architectures that include billing, compute, storage, identity management, and tenancy abstractions.

• Proven leadership experience managing high-performing engineering teams, driving technical execution, and promoting a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

• Deep understanding of security and compliance requirements for platform-based solutions, particularly in regulated industries.

• Ability to navigate complex engineering challenges with a solution-oriented mindset, leading teams toward practical and scalable technical solutions.

Nice to Have:

• Experience transitioning products from on-prem to cloud-bas