Company: Tombola
Location: Sunderland
Posted: April 5th, 2026
As Head of Engineering – Operator Platform, you’ll shape and deliver the technology that powers how we operate, scale and continuously improve the tombola experience. This is a key leadership role at the heart of Platform Engineering, where you’ll define and drive a player-first technology strategy while enabling the teams behind the scenes to move faster, smarter and more effectively.
Leading multiple engineering teams across back-end and front-end, you’ll own the architecture, design and development of our operator platform and the systems that support our player-facing products. Working closely with teams across the business, you’ll ensure our technology is scalable, reliable and built to deliver seamless, high-quality experiences for our players.
Provide expert leadership across software design and development
Champion modern technologies, best practices and coding standards
Build and evolve a platform that supports long-term strategic goals
Define and deliver a technical roadmap aligned to player experience
Identify opportunities for innovation in how players interact with our products
Share knowledge and insight to help stakeholders understand what’s possible
Lead, coach and support a cross-functional team of engineers
Create an inclusive, collaborative environment where people can thrive
Support career growth and identify future leaders within the team
Build and empower a high-performing Platform Engineering leadership group
Work closely with Product, Design, Game Studio, Marketing and Customer Support
Turn player insights, feedback and data into meaningful technical solutions
Contribute to the wider technology vision and roadmap
Translate business goals into clear, actionable engineering plans
Ensure alignment with company strategy and long-term objectives
Oversee the full development lifecycle, from idea through to deployment
Ensure delivery is timely, scalable and meets high quality standards
Work with senior leaders to create transparent, scalable ways of working
Set and maintain high engineering and quality standards
Encourage experimentation and continuous improvement
Enable data-driven decision-making through strong platform capabilities
Oversee delivery of engineering projects within timelines and budgets
Balance new feature development with maintenance and technical debt
Collaborate with product and technology leaders on prioritisation
Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies
Use knowledge to guide technical direction and decision-making
Communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences
Build strong relationships across teams and with external partners
Own and manage departmental budgets, including people, hosting and tooling
Work with senior leadership to plan and forecast effectively
Experience leading large, multi-layered engineering teams
Proven experience managing budgets
Experience setting and tracking objectives using OKRs
Background in customer-facing technology environments
Strong knowledge of front-end technologies such as Vue and React
Experience working in experimentation-led or UX-focused organisations
Experience leading multi-disciplinary delivery teams or functions
Understanding of platform engineering and development operations
Familiarity with technologies such as C#, Node, Docker, SQL Server and AWS
Desirable:
Experience within the iGaming sector or similar regulated industries