Highlights
This role will lead the evolution of the existing Public Cloud Platform team while building a net-new AI Platform Engineering function focused on enabling secure, scalable, and governed AI adoption across the enterprise. This leader will operate across a highly federated environment, influencing stakeholders, establishing operating models, and driving measurable outcomes in areas where structure and governance are still emerging.
Numbers & Facts
| Location | Houston, TX |
| Industry | Staffing/Employment Agencies |
| Company Size | 50 to 99 employees |
| Year Founded | 2000 |
| Website | http://www.searchsvc.com/ |
Description
ABOUT OUR CLIENT
Our Client is a globally recognized organization operating within a highly complex and technology-driven enterprise environment. With a strong focus on innovation, modernization, and scalable technology solutions, the organization is investing heavily in enterprise AI enablement and cloud platform transformation.
This is an opportunity to build and shape a critical enterprise capability from the ground up while partnering with senior technology and business leaders across the organization.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Our Client is seeking a strategic and technically credible technology leader to serve as Head of AI Platform Engineering & Public Cloud. This role will lead the evolution of the existing Public Cloud Platform team while building a net-new AI Platform Engineering function focused on enabling secure, scalable, and governed AI adoption across the enterprise.
The ideal candidate brings a strong combination of enterprise leadership experience, platform engineering expertise, and AI governance knowledge. This leader will operate across a highly federated environment, influencing stakeholders, establishing operating models, and driving measurable outcomes in areas where structure and governance are still emerging.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Define and execute enterprise strategy for AI platform engineering and multi-cloud environments
Build and scale a new AI Platform Engineering organization
Lead and evolve the existing Public Cloud Platform Engineering team
Establish enterprise AI guardrails, governance frameworks, and architectural standards
Implement governance-by-engineering through policy-as-code and automated controls
Partner closely with Information Security, Infrastructure, Data teams, and business technology stakeholders
Define secure AI usage patterns, identity strategies, and secrets management approaches
Establish model access controls, observability standards, and risk management frameworks
Reduce fragmented and ungoverned AI usage through enterprise-supported tooling and standards
Operate platforms as products with clear roadmaps, adoption metrics, and self-service capabilities
Drive developer experience improvements through automation, APIs, templates, and platform tooling
Enable AI-assisted development workflows and scalable engineering enablement practices
Embed governance and compliance into tooling rather than manual processes
Standardize identity, access management, and audit-ready telemetry practices
Embed FinOps principles into platform capabilities and cloud consumption strategies
Optimize cloud and AI cost-performance tradeoffs across enterprise environments
Build high-performing engineering teams and define scalable operating models across federated organizations
Influence stakeholders and drive outcomes without relying on direct authority
QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelors degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent practical experience
10+ years of experience in cloud, platform engineering, or AI environments
5+ years leading engineering or platform teams within enterprise organizations
Proven experience building and scaling platform engineering capabilities
Demonstrated success operating within complex, federated enterprise environments
Strong technical credibility across cloud platforms and AI/LLM-based systems
Experience implementing policy-as-code and governance automation frameworks
Strong understanding of AI security risks, identity controls, and enterprise governance requirements
Ability to establish direction and execute effectively in ambiguous environments
Demonstrated experience influencing stakeholders and driving outcomes across cross-functional teams
Experience partnering with Security, Infrastructure, Data, and business technology organizations
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Experience building enterprise AI platforms from the ground up
Experience with internal developer platforms and platform-as-a-product operating models
Familiarity with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and agentic AI workflows
Experience with FinOps and cloud cost optimization strategies
Exposure to SRE practices and modern platform engineering tooling
Experience integrating AI and cloud capabilities into enterprise ecosystems
Product-minded leadership approach focused on adoption and measurable impact
Strong systems thinking and enterprise change leadership capabilities
Comfortable navigating emerging technologies and evolving organizational priorities
About Company
With well over 100 combined years of recruiting experience, Search Services remains Houston's premier search firm focusing on Accounting & Finance, IT, and office administrative positions. Whether you're actively engaged in a job search or are passively looking for the next step in your career progression, let us be your eyes and ears in the Houston marketplace. Our services cost you nothing and we like to approach your job search in a consultative and highly discreet manner.