Head of Digital Engineering / Web Platform Lead

The Head of Digital Engineering / Web Platform Lead is responsible for leading the architecture, development, and continuous evolution of the airline’s direct digital platforms, including the public website, mobile web experience, and digital customer journey. This role owns the technical strategy and engineering execution for the airline’s digital channels, ensuring that digital experiences reflect the elegance, performance, and service excellence expected from a luxury airline brand. The Head of Digital Engineering partners closely with a digital design agency, product leadership, and development teams to deliver world-class digital experiences that drive direct bookings, deepen customer engagement, and support premium guest services. This leader will establish modern engineering practices, scalable platform architecture, and high-performing delivery teams to support the airline’s growth and digital innovation.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and lead the engineering strategy for the airline’s direct digital channels, including:
  • Public website
  • Mobile web platform
  • Customer self-service experiences
  • Digital booking journeys
• Ensure digital platforms deliver best-in-class performance, reliability, and user experience aligned with luxury brand standards.
• Develop and maintain a scalable digital platform architecture to support future innovation.
• Lead and mentor a high-performing digital engineering team responsible for front-end and platform development.

• Establish engineering standards, development frameworks, and coding practices that promote quality, scalability, and maintainability.
• Foster a culture of modern software development, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as the technical counterpart to the airline’s digital design agency, ensuring that design vision translates effectively into scalable engineering solutions.

• Coordinate delivery between UX design teams, product managers, and internal developers.
• Ensure design systems and component libraries are implemented consistently across digital properties.
• Lead technical integration between the digital platforms and key airline systems, including:

• Passenger Service System (PSS)
• Reservation and booking systems
• Loyalty and rewards platforms
• CRM and customer data platforms
• Payment gateways and ancillary service platforms
• Ensure reliable and secure API-driven integration architecture.
• Define the web platform architecture, including front-end frameworks, CMS platforms, APIs, and supporting services.

• Champion API-first and composable architecture approaches that enable flexibility and speed of delivery.
• Guide platform selection and implementation for technologies such as:
  • Headless CMS
  • Personalization engines
  • Marketing integrations
  • Content delivery and performance optimization
  • Ensure the airline’s digital platforms meet enterprise standards for:

• High availability
• Page performance
• Security and compliance
• Scalability during peak booking periods
• Partner with infrastructure and DevOps teams to implement CI/CD pipelines and automated deployments.
• Partner with Digital Product Management, Marketing, and Guest Experience teams to translate business priorities into technical delivery.

• Lead engineering participation in Agile development cycles, including sprint planning, backlog grooming, and release planning.
• Ensure predictable, high-quality software delivery.
• Support the delivery of exceptional customer journeys , from travel inspiration through booking and trip management.

• Collaborate with analytics and marketing teams to improve:
  • Digital engagement
  • Conversion rates
  • Mobile experience
  • Personalization and loyalty engagement.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related discipline or equivalent experience
• 10+ years of experience in software development and digital platform engineering
• 5+ years of experience leading engineering teams
• Proven experience delivering large-scale websites or digital commerce platforms
• Strong understanding of modern web architecture and front-end frameworks
• Experience leading cross-functional digital delivery teams
• Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills