Platform Owner - AI Tech CoE

The AI Tech CoE Platform Owner is a senior technology leadership role responsible for defining the strategy, vision, and direction of the AI technology platforms within the Centre of Excellence.

This individual will oversee all aspects of AI platform engineering, from architecture and development to operations and governance, ensuring that the platforms deliver maximum value to the enterprise while enabling AI innovation at scale.

Reports to: Executive Data Technology and Data Management.

Direct Reports: Platform Engineers, AI/MLOps Engineers, DevSecOps Engineers, Architects, Analysts, Scrum Masters.

Location: Hybrid. Occasional travel may be required for vendor meetings, between the main offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and conferences. On-call rotation for critical platform incidents.

• Define and drive the overall strategy for AI technology platforms, including AI Foundry, Databricks AI platform, and AWS enterprise models integration, ensuring alignment with organizational business goals.
• Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of AI platforms, shaping the roadmap and supporting enterprise AI platform consumption.
• Oversee platform governance, ensuring environments are secure, scalable, and compliant with internal and external standards.
• Lead technology review and introduce new enterprise AI platforms in accordance with business and technical standards.
• Establish and maintain AI technical governance frameworks, compliance protocols, and responsible AI practices, ensuring alignment with group compliance requirements and ethical guidelines.
• Drive platform integration and adapter management for seamless connectivity across the enterprise ecosystem.
• Support risk management, disaster recovery, and continuous improvement initiatives for AI platforms.

• Oversee AI/MLOps pipeline standards, practices, and tool implementation for the area to ensure efficient and secure model deployment.
• Manage DevSecOps practices for AI platforms, prioritizing security-first development and operations.
• Define and implement development standards, practices, and tools for AI platform engineering teams.
• Manage the development of enterprise AI applications and models which should be shared in the organisation.
• Manage the process for federated AI app and development on the enterprise AI platforms.
• Monitor platform availability and usage through comprehensive observability, analytics, and performance tracking.
• Advise on appropriate licensing, monitor license usage, and manage technology budgets and vendor relationships.
• Lead the integration and management of enterprise models into unified AI catalogues and services, ensuring effective application lifecycle management and model performance monitoring.
• Oversee demand management, enhancing and assessing requests for AI platform resources.
• Implement robust security, governance, and compliance practices across AI platforms.

• Implement FinOps practices and manage billing for AI platforms.
• Manage technology budgets, resources and vendor relationships effectively.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.
• Implement robust security and governance practices.

• Goal setting and performance management for platform engineering teams.
• Talent management and development of team members.
• Recruitment and role management for platform engineering positions.
• Performance calibration and review processes.
• Compliance and policy enforcement across the team.
• Leadership and mentorship - provide guidance, foster open communication, motivate continuous improvement, celebrate achievements.

• Education
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering or related field.
  • Master's degree preferred.
• Experience
  • 15+ years of experience in platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, or software development, with significant leadership experience.
  • 8+ years managing technology development, implementation and ongoing improvement.
  • Experience with Agile methodologies (SAFe, Scrum, LeSS).
  • Deep expertise in cloud architecture (AWS/Azure), cloud-native technologies, and infrastructure as code.
  • Strong background in development.
  • Proven experience with AI/ML platforms and technologies.
  • Expert-level knowledge in Application Development, Web Development, Test Case Management, Technical Support.
  • Advanced knowledge of IT Support and Data Management.
  • Strong understanding of Business Process Design and User Requirements Documentation.
  • Expert knowledge in MLOps, DevSecOps practices and tools.
  • Experience with AI platforms including Databricks AI, Microsoft AI Foundry, and/or AWS AI services.
  • Experience in Microsoft Power Platform and Copilot low-code environments.
• Skills
  • Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
  • Effective communication skills (written and verbal).
  • Strong organizational and problem-solving abilities.
  • Technical expertise with an innovation mindset.
  • Strong business acumen with strategic thinking.
  • Ability to manage complexity and drive results.
• Attributes
  • Business Insight, Collaborates, Courage, Cultivates Innovation, Decision Quality, Drives Results, Ensures Accountability, Manages Complexity, Nimble Learning, Optimizes Work Processes, Plans and Aligns, Strategic Mindset, Tech Savvy.

Closing Date: 04 June 2026, 23:59.