The Opportunity Black & Veatch, an employee-owned company, runs ServiceNow as an enterprise platform that supports employees and business functions across the company. As we move toward an AI-native platform strategy, we need a Platform Engineering Lead who sets the technical direction and leads the team that builds and runs it.
You own how the platform is designed, built, and sustained. Capability Owners decide what gets built and why. You decide how it gets built, set the engineering standards, and lead the developers and platform administrator who deliver the work. You chair the Technical Governance Board (TGB), guide design decisions across ITSM, ITOM, SecOps, IRM, ITAM (SAM/HAM), and SPM, and keep the platform stable, secure, and ready for upgrades.
You lead a small team of developers, working across onshore and offshore locations. You stay close to the build and step in on complex work when the team needs senior support. Architecture and team leadership come first.
Platform Architecture and Design Authority - Act as the design authority for the ServiceNow platform across Information Technology Service Management (ITSM), IT Operations Management (ITOM), Security Operations (SecOps), Integrated Risk Management (IRM), IT Asset Management (ITAM), and Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM).
- Design solutions that favor out-of-the-box capabilities, reduce customization, and protect upgrade readiness.
- Own the integrity of the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and its alignment to the Common Service Data Model (CSDM), including Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) rules and data relationships.
- Define integration architecture using Integration Hub, Representational State Transfer (REST) and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) interfaces, and Management, Instrumentation, and Discovery (MID) Servers.
- Set instance strategy, including environment structure, cloning, and data refresh practices.
Technical Governance Leadership - Chair the TGB and decide standard and moderate-risk design changes, including integrations, plugin activations, reconciliation rules, and data model changes.
- Escalate high-risk decisions, exceptions to standards, and rollback requests to the Director as Platform Owner.
- Write and maintain platform standards for configuration, naming, application scoping, security and access controls, and release practices.
- Review solution designs from internal teams and external partners against those standards before build begins.
Key ResponsibilitiesTeam Leadership and People Management - Lead, hire, and develop the ServiceNow developers and platform administrator.
- Set goals, give regular feedback, coach team members, and manage performance.
- Build a team culture of quality, ownership, and continuous learning.
- Coordinate onshore and offshore work, including handoff routines, overlapping coverage, and shared documentation.
Delivery Planning and Capacity Management - Allocate sprint capacity across capabilities, consulting Capability Owners and following priorities set through the Platform Capability Board.
- Size work, flag technical risks and dependencies early, and advise Capability Owners on feasibility and sequencing.
- Hold the team to a clear definition of ready and definition of done.
- Run code reviews, peer reviews, and testing practices, including the Automated Test Framework (ATF).
Platform Operations and Reliability - Own platform health, including upgrades, patches, performance tuning, and instance hygiene.
- Resolve complex production incidents and manage cases with ServiceNow Technical Support.
- Take on-call responsibility when needed for production incidents and off-hours releases.
- Maintain runbooks, operating procedures, and platform documentation.
Release and Change Management - Own release planning and deployment across development, test, and production environments.
- Prepare platform changes for Change Advisory Board (CAB) review and confirm deployment readiness.
- Maintain rollback plans and lead recovery when a release fails.
Partner and Stakeholder Collaboration - Serve as the technical point of contact for external partners delivering work on the platform.
- Explain technical tradeoffs in plain language to Capability Owners, business leaders, and executives.
- Work with security, infrastructure, enterprise architecture, and data teams on shared standards and dependencies.
Marginal Functions - Hands-On Platform Engineering
- Configure, script, and build complex or high-risk components when the team needs senior coverageArtificial Intelligence Capability Evaluation
- Prototype and evaluate artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities such as Now Assist, Predictive Intelligence, Virtual Agent, and AI Search, with attention to responsible AI, data privacy, and governance.
- Knowledge Sharing and Community Contribution
- Contribute to knowledge articles, internal training, and the wider ServiceNow community.
Hands-On Platform Engineering - Configure, script, and build complex or high-risk components when the team needs senior coverage.
Artificial Intelligence Capability Evaluation- Prototype and evaluate artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities such as Now Assist, Predictive Intelligence, Virtual Agent, and AI Search, with attention to responsible AI, data privacy, and governance.
Knowledge Sharing and Community Contribution- Contribute to knowledge articles, internal training, and the wider ServiceNow community.
Minimum Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- 8 or more years of hands-on ServiceNow experience (development, administration, or architecture) on an enterprise instance.
- 5 or more years in an architect, technical lead, or lead developer role with design authority on an enterprise ServiceNow instance.
- 2 or more years directly managing developers or administrators, including goal setting and performance feedback.
- Ability to work on site five days per week for the first 90 days, then hybrid at three days per week, in Kansas City (primary) or Cary, NC.
- All applicants must be able to complete pre-employment onboarding requirements (if selected) which may include any/all of the following: criminal/civil background check, drug screen, and motor vehicle records search, in compliance with any applicable laws and regulations.
Preferred QualificationsTechnical Skills- Deep knowledge of the ServiceNow data model, CMDB, CSDM, and IRE; working knowledge of Discovery and Service Mapping.
- Strong JavaScript skills and fluency with the Glide application programming interface (API), including GlideRecord, GlideSystem, and GlideAggregate.
- Hands-on experience with Flow Designer, IntegrationHub, scoped applications, ATF, and Scripted REST APIs.
- Experience planning and leading instance upgrades, clones, and patch cycles.
- Working knowledge of platform security, access controls, single sign-on, and separation of duties.
Leadership and Delivery Experience- Experience running technical governance, including design reviews, standards, and change control.
- Experience leading a blended onshore and offshore team.
- Experience directing or reviewing work delivered by implementation partners.
- Experience working in Agile delivery, including Scrum ceremonies and sprint planning.
Communication and Business Skills- Clear communicator who explains technical tradeoffs to business owners and executives in plain language.
- Strong written skills for standards, design documents, and runbooks.
- Experience steering business requests toward out-of-the-box solutions while maintaining stakeholder trust.
Emerging Technology- Exposure to Now Assist and generative AI capabilities on ServiceNow, and to responsible AI governance.
Certifications- ServiceNow Certified System Administrator (CSA).
- ServiceNow Certified Application Developer (CAD).
- One or more ServiceNow Certified Implementation Specialist credentials, such as Data Foundations (CMDB), ITSM, Discovery, Service Mapping, or ITAM.
- ServiceNow Certified Technical Architect (CTA), or CTA program in progress.
- Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) 4 Foundation.
Work Environment/Physical Demands- Hybrid or flexible work options may be offered after the first 90 days of employment based upon manager discretion, job performance and work assignments.
- Take on-call responsibility when needed for production incidents and off-hours releases.
- Travel up to 10% of the time.
- Work in a standard office environment with prolonged periods of computer use and virtual meetings.
- Occasionally lift and carry up to 25 pounds.
Salary PlanITS: Information Technology Service
Job Grade018
