Platform Lead Middleware, MSA and API Gateways

As Platform Lead for Middleware, MSA and API Gateways, you will shape and drive the strategy, performance and evolution of a critical integration platform estate at the heart of Virgin Media O2’s technology landscape. This role blends strategic leadership with operational accountability, ensuring platforms are resilient, scalable and aligned to business priorities while enabling modern, API-led and cloud-native engineering practices.
You will own the platform vision and roadmap across middleware, microservices and API ecosystems, working closely with technical leads and strategic partners to deliver consistent, governed and high-performing services. From steering AI-enabled innovation and improving engineering productivity to managing performance, cost and risk, you will play a key role in modernising integration capabilities and delivering measurable value to the business.

At Virgin Media O₂, we connect people to the moments that matter most. Virgin Media leads the UK for broadband reliability, speed and overall performance, while O₂ keeps people connected on the move with award-winning coverage.We’re also proud to be named one of the Financial Times Top 500 Best Employers for 2026, based on one of the UK’s largest employee satisfaction surveys.
Join us and you’ll be part of a team that stays curious, positive and focused on making life easier for our customers and each other. We’re investing in the future of connectivity, from expanding next-generation 5G to exploring satellite-supported solutions that help reach rural communities and hard-to-connect places.You’ll work with people who back good ideas and give you plenty of room to grow. So if you’re looking for a place where you can feel supported, trusted and genuinely valued, you’ll feel right at home here.
Our ways of working
We’re a flexible-first organisation, because we know people do their best work when they have choice and clarity. To support meaningful collaboration, we ask everyone to spend at least eight days a month connecting with each other in person.
That doesn’t just mean time in the office – it could be team meetings, offsites, volunteering days, cross-functional projects, or away days. What matters is making those moments count – so when we come together, it benefits everyone.
Accessible, inclusive and equitable for allWe believe a better tomorrow starts with the choices we make today. That means moving the dial on diversity, building equity into everything we do and putting inclusion at the heart of our business.Virgin Media O₂ is an equal opportunities employer and we work hard to remove bias and barriers. We want every person who joins us – and everyone thinking about joining us – to feel seen, heard and supported.When you work with us, you’ll have access to our award-winning employee network groups. These communities bring people together, champion allyship and create uplifting spaces where you can learn, share and feel part of something bigger. They play a big role in helping people feel connected from day one.

• Significant experience leading large-scale enterprise platforms
• Strong expertise in middleware and integration platforms such as GCP and Oracle Fusion
• Deep understanding of API management and gateway technologies such as Apigee
• Experience with microservices architecture and MACH principles
• Proven experience operating within a strategic partner or managed service model

• Strong financial and commercial acumen
• Experience governing both change and run services at scale
• Experience applying AI-enabled engineering or platform governance approaches
• Ability to balance technical integrity with commercial and delivery priorities
• Strong senior stakeholder engagement and leadership capability

We know life isn’t just about work, so our benefits are built to support you in the moments that matter. You’ll get Bupa healthcare, wellbeing support, life cover, a pension and generous holiday –plus your birthday off.
And there’s more. Enjoy some extra perks on us, with optional electric vehicle lease and Cycle2Work schemes, dental insurance, neurodiversity assessments, and brilliant discounts on broadband, TV and mobile. You’ll even get access to the Virgin Family platform and the O₂ Priority app, with exclusive rewards, experiences and chances to attend events at The O₂ and beyond.

If this feels like a place where you can belong, we’d love to see what you can do. Once you apply, the next steps might include a call with a recruiter, a video interview, an interview with the hiring manager and a task or assessment.
We’ll also ask about any adjustments you might need, and we’ll do our best to make them happen.
We review applications and interview throughout the advert window, so it’s worth applying sooner rather than later. If you’re offered the role, the offer will be subject to background checks, including a criminal record check and, for some roles, a financial background check.