Sr. Manager, Platform Engineering

Johnson Controls, a global leader in thermal management, mission-critical building systems, energy efficiency, and decarbonization, helps customers use energy more productively, reduce carbon emissions, and operate with the precision and resilience required in rapidly expanding industries such as data centers, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing, and higher education.

For more than 140 years, Johnson Controls has delivered performance where it really matters. Backed by advanced technology, lifecycle services and an industry-leading field organization, we elevate customer performance, turn goals into real-world results and help move society forward.

What we offer:

• Competitive salary

• Paid vacation/holidays/sick time

• Comprehensive benefits package including 401K, medical, dental, and vision care

• On the job/cross training opportunities

• Encouraging and collaborative team environment

• Dedication to safety through our Zero Harm policy

Johnson Controls International (JCI) is looking for a Manager of AI & ML Platform Engineering to lead our growing AI and Data Platform team. This role is responsible for defining the vision, strategy, standards, and delivery model for enterprise AI platforms that enable machine learning, generative AI, and agentic AI capabilities at scale across JCI.

The successful candidate will lead a team of ML Platform Engineers and work at the intersection of AI, cloud engineering, platform operations, governance, and enterprise architecture. You will be responsible for building and operating the foundational capabilities that support model training, LLM inference, RAG architectures, AI agents, and enterprise AI adoption.

How you will do it

Enterprise AI Platform Strategy & Leadership

• Define and execute the enterprise AI Platform roadmap aligned to business and technology objectives.
• Establish standards, reference architectures, engineering patterns, and operating procedures for AI and ML workloads.
• Drive adoption of AI platform capabilities across product teams, business units, and data science organizations.
• Own platform KPIs including reliability, security, adoption, developer productivity, and cost efficiency.

AI Platform Engineering & Architecture

• Lead the design and operation of enterprise AI platforms on Azure including Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, Azure ML, AKS, Azure Functions, and App Services.
• Oversee scalable environments for model training, evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and inference.
• Define platform standards for RAG solutions, vector databases, LLM serving, agent orchestration, and AI application integration.
• Ensure security, observability, RBAC, auditability, and compliance controls are consistently implemented across environments.
• Own platform operations including incident management, service reliability, escalation processes, root cause analysis, and post-incident improvement actions.

MLOps, LLMOps & Governance

• Establish enterprise standards for model lifecycle management, feature management, model monitoring, drift detection, and AI governance.
• Drive Infrastructure as Code adoption using Terraform and standardised Azure DevOps delivery pipelines.
• Implement governance processes covering platform architecture, technology standards, change management, and Responsible AI practices.

People Leadership & Engineering Excellence

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of ML Platform Engineers, MLOps Engineers, and cloud specialists.
• Build a high-performing engineering culture focused on automation, delivery excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Support recruitment, career development, succession planning, and technical leadership development.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Partner with Data Science, Product Engineering, Cyber Security, Enterprise Architecture, and Digital Technology leadership teams.
• Provide technical and strategic guidance on AI platform investments, scalability, governance, and operational excellence.
• Communicate platform strategy, risks, and progress to senior leadership and executive stakeholders.

Qualifications & Skills

Required Experience

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related discipline.
• 10+ years experience in software engineering, cloud engineering, platform engineering, or AI/ML technologies.
• 5+ years leading engineering teams in enterprise environments.
• Strong experience delivering Azure-based cloud and AI platform solutions.
• Experience operating large-scale platforms supporting AI, machine learning, or data products.

Technical Proficiency

• Expert knowledge of Azure, Azure ML, Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, Azure DevOps, Terraform, Kubernetes, and AKS.
• Strong understanding of MLOps, LLMOps, platform engineering, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, and cloud security.
• Experience with vector databases, RAG architectures, AI agents, and enterprise GenAI solutions.

Soft Skills & Mindset

• Strategic thinker with a platform-first mindset.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and organisational leadership skills.
• Strong problem-solving capability with a focus on business impact and operational excellence.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building enterprise GenAI and agentic AI platforms.
• Knowledge of Responsible AI, governance frameworks, privacy, and compliance requirements.
• Azure certifications such as Azure Solutions Architect, Azure AI Engineer, or Terraform Associate.

HIRING SALARY RANGE: $100,000-140,000 (Salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.) This position includes a competitive benefits package. The posted salary range reflects the target compensation for this role. However, we recognize that exceptional candidates may bring unique skills and experiences that exceed the typical profile. If you believe your background warrants consideration beyond the stated range, we encourage you to apply. To support an efficient and fair hiring process, we may use technology assisted tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), to help identify and evaluate candidates. All hiring decisions are ultimately made by human reviewers. For details, please visit the About Us tab on the Johnson Controls Careers site at https://jobs.johnsoncontrols.com/about-us

Johnson Controls International plc. is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a qualified individual with a disability or any other characteristic protected by law. To view more information about your equal opportunity and non-discrimination rights as a candidate, visit EEO is the Law. If you are an individual with a disability and you require an accommodation during the application process, please visit here.