Vice President, Platform Engineering

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Vice President, Platform Engineering

Role Overview

This is a senior site and technology leadership role. This role will provide visible leadership for Mastercard (Vocalink) colleagues in Pune and drive culture, growth, prioritisation and effectiveness of Vocalink Pune capability through influence and is accountable for the connection between Pune execution and UK leadership, architecture, engineering, programme and business priorities.
The successful candidate will bring enterprise-level technology leadership, executive presence and the ability to align a broad technical community via matrix management authority. This is not a software engineering leadership role. It requires experience influencing multidisciplinary infrastructure, platform, operations, architecture and enterprise technology stakeholders.

Key Accountabilities

• Act as the visible technology leadership and escalation point for Mastercard (Vocalink) colleagues in Pune, creating clarity and momentum without direct line-management authority.
• Drive Vocalink culture in Pune by leading town halls, leadership forums and large colleague events, engaging and influencing audiences of 100 or more people.
• Maintain an effective UK–Pune operating link, influencing People Leaders and technical stakeholders to align local execution with UK strategy, architecture, governance and business accountability.
• Translate technology strategy, roadmaps and programme direction into a clear, sequenced and achievable portfolio of work.
• Facilitate and influence prioritisation across strategic change, regulatory commitments, operational resilience, technical debt and service improvement, securing agreement from accountable leaders.
• Provide matrix leadership across multidisciplinary teams, using technical fluency to challenge assumptions, expose dependencies and shape sound decisions.
• Establish governance for demand, capacity, delivery health, risks, dependencies and escalation.
• Identify and remove systemic blockers, including unclear ownership, decision delays, skills gaps, environmental constraints and cross-team dependencies.
• Influence UK and Pune leaders to grow the volume and complexity of work delivered from Pune by aligning demand, capacity, capability and realistic delivery plans.
• Drive measurable efficiency through automation, standardisation, simplification, reuse and improved ways of working.
• Coach, connect and influence local leaders to drive talent retention, strengthen leadership depth, succession and technical capability while reinforcing an inclusive and accountable culture.
• Build effective relationships with senior leaders, architects, engineers, programme teams, support functions, partners and vendors.
Expected Outcomes
• A unified UK–Pune operating model achieved through strong relationships, shared priorities, clear ownership and effective escalation routes.
• A transparent and prioritised portfolio aligned to business outcomes and technology strategy.
• Pune Tech Hub strategy to create a high-performing, increasingly productive workforce, underpinned by robust quality, resilience and controls.
• Faster removal of blockers and more effective management of cross-functional dependencies.
• Measurable improvements in productivity, automation, deployment lead time and operational efficiency.
• A confident and increasingly self-sufficient Pune organisation, enabled through influence, coaching and stronger local leadership depth.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will demonstrate:
• Significant senior leadership experience in a complex, multinational technology, payments or critical-infrastructure environment.
• Executive presence and gravitas, with evidence of commanding large audiences and remaining credible under challenge.
• Experience providing matrix leadership across multidisciplinary infrastructure, platform, operations, architecture or enterprise technology teams. A career focused primarily on software engineering will not provide the breadth required.
• A track record of connecting offshore or remote technology capability with onshore leadership, strategy and accountability without relying on direct reporting lines.
• Strong programme and portfolio leadership covering direction-setting, prioritisation, sequencing, dependencies, risk and benefits delivery.
• Technical fluency across infrastructure, platforms, architecture, operations, resilience and security, with the ability to challenge technical positions without being the deepest subject-matter expert.
• Proven success in diagnosing delivery blockers, resolving ambiguity and establishing clear ownership and governance.
• Evidence of scaling workload and capability through effective demand, capacity and skills planning.
• Measurable delivery of efficiency through automation, standardisation, simplification or operating-model change.
• Exceptional influencing, facilitation and stakeholder-management skills, with evidence of securing commitment and resolving conflict without formal authority.
• Commercial and financial discipline in managing resources, budgets and investment priorities.
• A people-centred leadership style that builds trust, accountability, inclusion and capability across cultures and locations through coaching, credibility and relationships.
• High personal integrity and a leadership approach aligned with Vocalink and Mastercard values.
What Success Looks Like
The successful leader will establish Pune as an integrated and trusted part of Mastercard (Vocalink) technology organisation through influence rather than hierarchy. They will convene stakeholders, create a sustainable pipeline of valuable work, resolve barriers and secure commitment to clear priorities, effective governance and measurable outcomes.
Essential Screening Summary
• Broad enterprise technology leadership, not solely software engineering.
• Proven executive presence and large-audience communication.
• Cross-location matrix leadership connecting Pune or offshore delivery with UK or onshore accountability.
• Programme direction, portfolio prioritisation and technical fluency.
• Evidence of influencing accountable leaders to remove blockers, scale workload and deliver measurable efficiencies.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;

• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;

• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and

• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.