Digital Platforms Lead

As a fast-growing European CDMO under LBO, the group is running a major ERP transformation across 5 plants while simultaneously deploying an in-house AI automation portfolio (ARIANE) and a cloud data platform — all with a clear mandate: build and own, don’t outsource. This position exists because we need a senior technical leader to own the entire digital backbone — integration, data, AI, CRM — and defend an API-first, in-house architecture for the long run. If you’re looking for a role where you have real ownership, direct CIO access, and a modern stack to shape from day one, this is it.

1. Platform Engineering and Integration Ownership

• Own the n8n EAI platform as Naturacare’s strategic integration backbone (architecture, conventions, observability, SDLC)
• Define and enforce integration patterns connecting ERP, PLM, MDM, CRM and external partners via APIs; protect the architecture against post-go-live drift
• Supervise the Data Engineer on API plumbing, n8n flow delivery and EAI hardening
• Activate and orchestrate the EDI track if the customer-channel green light lands: EDI vendor leads the build, Digital Platforms owns orchestration, mappings supervision and run

2. Data Platform and Reporting

• Own the KID / Snowflake data platform as the group data backbone serving operations, supply chain, commercial and finance
• Supervise the Data Engineer on Snowflake pipelines, data quality and Power BI reporting layer
• Coordinate with the Domain Leads (Commercial & Supply Chain, Production & Planning) to align data products with the ERP core model
• Set data governance baselines (lineage, retention, access control) in coordination with the Infrastructure & Security Lead

3. ARIANE AI Automation Portfolio

• Sponsor the ARIANE backlog at cluster level; arbitrate priorities with the Senior PO AI between business value, technical complexity and AI governance risk
• Enforce the non-negotiable read-and-propose guardrail across every ARIANE deliverable (no silent writes by AI, human-in-the-loop on every business action)
• Steer the AI Full Stack Developer on custom ARIANE applications beyond declarative n8n workflows (front-end + back-end + LLM integration)
• Mentor the Junior PO AI (Théo, 0.6 FTE 2026 ramping to full-time Sep 2028) jointly with the CIO
• Run the AI tooling governance: model selection, prompt and context engineering standards, evaluation harness, cost monitoring

4. Cluster Leadership and Team Management

• Lead 4 L2 seats at steady state: Data Engineer, Senior PO AI, Junior PO AI, AI Full Stack Developer
• Drive the cluster’s hiring under the first-found basis pattern coordinated with the CIO (4 hires opened in parallel; sequencing driven by candidate availability, capped by the annual recruitment envelope)
• Run cluster cadence: weekly platform sync, ARIANE refinement, quarterly platform health review
• Own the cluster portion of the IT roadmap, capacity plan and budget envelope (mainly CAPEXisable across ARIANE and ERP integration tracks)

5. Application and Vendor Governance

• Own the Efficy CRM maintenance and product roadmap on the IT side; primary IT counterpart of the Commercial function
• Own MDM integration on the IT side (vendor-managed applications, integration runs in-house via n8n)
• Design and develop strategic applications
• Manage the vendor relationships for n8n, Snowflake, Efficy, PLM and PIM; evaluate, contract and renew
• Participate in the quarterly cross-cluster Architecture Council and the monthly CFO + CIO ERP steering ritual when topics intersect the Digital Platforms stack

Education

• Desired: Engineering degree in computer science, data engineering, software engineering or related
• Required: track record of platform ownership and AI delivery weighs more than the diploma

Experience

• 8–15 years in IT, with at least 4 years on platform engineering (integration, data, or AI) and 2 years leading a small technical team (3–6 people)
• Proven hands-on ownership of a modern integration stack (an iPaaS, an EAI platform, or equivalent; n8n exposure is a strong plus)
• Proven hands-on ownership of a cloud data platform (Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks or equivalent) and a BI layer (Power BI or equivalent)
• Demonstrable AI product judgment: shipped at least one production AI use case with a human-in-the-loop guardrail; understands LLM cost, evaluation and prompt engineering as engineering disciplines
• Multi-site or multi-country exposure preferred; CDMO, manufacturing or regulated-industry background a plus but not required
• Comfortable in a Best-Of-Breed, API-first, composable architecture; allergic to monoliths and integrator lock-in

Technical skills

• n8n or equivalent EAI / iPaaS; API design (REST, JSON, OAuth, webhooks); event-driven patterns
• Snowflake (or equivalent); SQL fluency; dbt or equivalent transformation tooling; Power BI semantic models
• LLM application engineering: prompt and context engineering, RAG patterns, evaluation harness, tool-use, agent patterns; Claude or equivalent frontier-model APIs
• Cloud (Azure preferred); CI/CD basics; Git workflows
• Application landscape literacy: ERP, PLM, PIM, CRM; understands how they interconnect in a composable stack
• Security baseline literacy: identity, RBAC, secrets management, NIS2-class hardening; partners with the Infrastructure & Security Lead

Soft skills

• Strategic clarity: can hold the architectural line across 4 platforms and 5 sites without getting absorbed in day-to-day delivery
• Player-coach posture: leads by example on the hardest technical calls, ships occasional flagship work, delegates the rest
• Direct communicator: comfortable with the Naturacare “concise and direct, no filler” style; comfortable challenging the CIO on calls
• Vendor pressure resistance: protects in-house ownership against integrator and SaaS encroachment
• Mentor instinct: builds the Junior PO AI ramp without rescuing every call

Languages

• English: fluent (working language across IT and with vendors)
• French: working level required (HQ language and majority of business stakeholders)
• Italian: nice to have (NIT Modena and NIT Milano context)

NATURACARE (€100 million, 400 employees), headquartered in France (Pays de la Loire region), specializes in the design and manufacture (contract manufacturing and packaging) of dietary supplements and cosmetics at five sites across four European countries.