Head of Application Engineering

Pantheon has been at the forefront of private markets investing for more than 40 years, earning a reputation for providing innovative solutions covering the full lifecycle of investments, from primary fund commitments to co-investments and secondary purchases, across private equity, real assets and private credit.

We have partnered with more than 650 clients, including institutional investors of all sizes as well as a growing number of private wealth advisers and investors, with approximately $65bn in discretionary assets under management (as of December 31, 2023).

Leveraging our specialized experience and global team of professionals across Europe, the Americas and Asia, we invest with purpose and lead with expertise to build secure financial futures.

For further details please visit www.pantheon.com

Pantheon is seeking a senior technology leader for the role of Head of Application Engineering, responsible for shaping and delivering PRISM, the digital product that underpins client engagement and serves as the firm’s internal research and analytics platform. This individual will lead engineering, integration, and QA teams while providing architectural guidance and supporting cross-functional project execution.

Close collaboration with colleagues across the Technology department, Change Office, and business teams is critical to ensuring the solutions provided make full use of the wider Microsoft ecosystem

The role has responsibility for Application Development across the firm, with VPs of Software Engineering and VP of QA as direct reports.  Together, these roles ensure Software Engineering and QA staff, tooling, automation, and test strategies meet the needs of agile delivery.

Based in London, and reporting to the Head of Technology, this role is central to the firm’s digital transformation and will lead on cloud architecture, product development, API strategy, and legacy platform transition.

Key Responsibilities

The role is accountable for the following activities, and others which may arise through the development of the role:

Application Development

• Lead a team developing and maintaining a small number of custom Angular-based web applications, deployed via Azure.
• Ensure strong front-end UX, responsive design, and secure connectivity with back-end APIs.
• Direct the analysis, planning, and managed retirement of outdated systems—ensuring functionality is transitioned without disruption.

GenAI

• Drive the end-to-end engineering of generative-AI solutions—designing, building and operationalising pipelines that harness Claude (via Databricks), Azure OpenAI Service and ChatGPT—while enforcing robust security, governance and monitoring to deliver scalable, business-value-driven outcomes.

Integration

• Deliver integration of internal systems and external vendor technology including BlackRock eFront, Intapp Dealcloud, CEPRES and a range of other market leading private markets SaaS firms, adopting a range of technologies and techniques including microservices, RESTful APIs, and asynchronous pub/sub interfaces
• Champion scalable, reusable service designs using event-driven and decoupled principles.

B2B API platform

• Architect and lead the development of Pantheon’s secure, scalable B2B API platform to provide data to external consumers including clients and other stakeholders (legal firms, fund administrators, etc.).
• Forge close working relationship with Data Engineering team to ensure data can be delivered to clients and stakeholders in a secure way.

Client Engagement Platform

• Design and deliver client-facing digital services including self-service portals, communications workflows, and embedded analytics.
• Lead the development of intuitive, high-impact tools for institutional investors, intermediaries, wealth management firms and internal teams.

Enterprise Architecture & Technical Direction

• Provide senior input into the firm’s overall architecture across applications, integration, and cloud environments.
• Align engineering efforts with architectural principles and long-term business strategy.
• Establish development standards, access policies, performance metrics, and documentation practices.
• Own the Azure DevOps toolchain configuration, CI/CD pipelines, release automation, and repository management.

Knowledge & Experience Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Technology or a related field; an advanced degree is preferred
• Demonstrated success in leading cross-functional development teams using Agile frameworks (Scrum/Kanban), including hands-on ownership of sprint planning, backlog refinement, velocity tracking, and continuous-improvement ceremonies to deliver high-quality applications at pace.
• Significant expertise in leading data engineering teams
• Track record of working with stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that translate working processes into applications that add real value.
• Expert in influencing and motivating individuals and teams and used to operating up and down a multi-tiered management structure
• Beneficial to have experience building agentic solutions using Azure Open AI services and or Anthropic Claude.
• Strong experience managing work requests using the Scrum framework and utilising Azure DevOps to facilitate that work.
• Proficient in programming languages and tooling as follows:
  • NET Core/.NET Framework, C#
  • HTML / CSS / Javascript
  • TypeScript, AngularJS, KnockoutJS
  • QA tooling such as - Selenium, Playwright, Spectflow, Reqcnroll
  • Azure DevOps, Git, Deployment Pipelines, Terraform
  • Massaging Queues, API’s: SOAP & REST
• Demonstrated expertise in building REST APIs for external clients
• Experience using industry standard product management tools and technologies, e.g. Aha, Miro & Visio
• Strong experience in managing and developing high-performing teams, with the ability to inspire and drive cross-functional collaboration.
• Strong analytical, strategic and commercial thinking skills, with a focus on translating working processes into applications that add real value.
• Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and an ability to navigate complex processes and organizations
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization
• Experience with change management and leading digital transformation initiatives within an organization
• Experience in leading cross-functional initiatives, with strong communication skills, project management abilities, and organizational skills
• Confident engaging with investment teams, external asset managers and their underlying portfolio companies, to evaluate attractive investment opportunities on behalf of our funds & accounts

This job description is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements. You may be required to perform other job-related duties as reasonably requested by your manager.

Pantheon is an Equal Opportunities employer, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't perfectly align we'd still encourage you to apply.