Platform Manager (Private Cloud & Data Centre) | Technology & Platform

About the role 

We’re looking for a Platform Manager who wants to solve meaningful, real‑world challenges that help make life at home better for the many. Join us on our journey as we strengthen and evolve our technology platforms and digital services to enable safe, reliable, and sustainable experiences across IKEA. 

As Platform Manager for Private Cloud & Data Center, you lead the team responsible for a core part of IKEA’s digital foundation. You don't just manage infrastructure; you lead the evolution of our data centers into a modern, Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) model. You take full end-to-end accountability for the vision, strategy, and roadmap of our private cloud, ensuring it acts as a high-performing and seamless "as-a-service" enabler for the entire organization. 

A big part of the role is leading the full lifecycle of the platforms you own. This includes making technology decisions, managing financial governance, and driving continuous improvement. You will lead modernisation initiatives across our private cloud and data center landscape. Including cloud‑native approaches and integrated solutions that strengthen scalability and resilience. Staying close to market trends keeps your strategy future‑ready and relevant. 

Collaboration is essential. You will work closely across technology and platform networks, enterprise architecture, and business stakeholders to ensure platform capabilities meet real business needs. Bringing people together around shared roadmaps, common tools and aligned ways of working is key. You will also manage supplier relationships, ensuring contracts, governance and delivery follow IKEA’s ways of working, while coordinating dependencies across units to build consistency and understanding of our platform landscape. 

As a leader, you will grow high‑performing teams and nurture an innovative, learning‑oriented mindset. Competence development, succession planning, and strong technical stewardship are central to the role. You will foster good practices in DevOps and automation and support an excellent developer experience so teams can deliver faster and with greater confidence. Through your leadership, our private cloud and data center platforms will remain reliable, modern, and ready for the many people we serve. 

About you 

You bring a strong understanding of how to connect technology, platforms, and architecture with real business needs, and you enjoy making the complex simple for others. With experience in software engineering at scale, cloud computing and service management, you feel at home navigating the full lifecycle of large‑scale platforms in a global environment. 

You have a deep technical foundation that spans cloud platforms, automation, engineering principles and IT service operations. You understand Software‑Defined Data Centers (SDDC), hybrid‑cloud burst architectures and modern data center patterns that help create flexible and scalable solutions. You’re comfortable working with frameworks like TOGAF, ITIL, Lean, Agile and DevOps, and you know what it takes to keep services reliable, resilient and secure. Compliance, privacy and risk are part of your everyday thinking, and you integrate them naturally without slowing down progress. 

You’re a people‑centred leader who builds strong teams, grows competence and leads confidently through change. You motivate and influence others with clear communication and a calm, structured approach — even in complexity. You lead with IKEA values at the heart, believe in the power of togetherness and enjoy using technology to enable the business and “a better everyday life for the many.” 

To be successful in this role, the following knowledge, skills and experiences would be valuable: 

• Knowledge of DevOps, automation, and software engineering at scale 

• Experience with Software‑Defined Data Center (SDDC) and Hybrid‑cloud burst architectures 

• Experience working with agile frameworks, scaled delivery models and IT service operations, with the ability to use metrics and OKRs to track value and drive continuous improvement. 

• Ability to lead and develop high‑performing technical teams, coaching talent and driving organisational change across mixed sourcing models. 

• Experience with budget ownership and cost management within a defined domain or organisational area. 

• Deep knowledge of technology trends, emerging solutions and best practices for platform lifecycle management, modernisation, and portfolio governance. 

• Ability to apply security‑by‑design and privacy‑by‑design principles, taking ownership for risk prevention and remediation. 

• Awareness of regulatory developments, compliance requirements, and digital risk management in platform delivery. 

• Strong problem‑solving and decision‑making skills, combining analytical thinking with hands‑on operational experience to manage and optimise complex technology landscapes. 

Above all, to thrive at IKEA, you should lead with our values and enjoy working in a culture built on togetherness, simplicity, cost-consciousness, and a drive to always find better ways. 

About us 

At IKEA, we think and work differently. We challenge old patterns and create new solutions, whether that’s a music-playing lamp or plant-based food that’s better for the planet. Our vision is simple: to create a better everyday life for the many people.  

In Technology and Platform, we support the whole organisation by providing reliable technology and digital platforms that are easy to use and built for the future. By working closely with others across IKEA, we turn technology into real value and support ongoing transformation.