Overview
Building a platform team means hiring engineers who build internal platforms, tools, and infrastructure that enable other engineers to be productive. Unlike application teams, platform teams focus on developer experience and internal systems.
A well-built platform team typically includes:
- Platform Engineers — Build internal platforms, tools, and infrastructure
- Developer Experience Engineers — Focus on developer productivity and tooling
- Internal Tools Engineers — Build tools for internal operations
- Platform Architects — Design platform architecture and strategy
The composition depends on your needs: early-stage companies often start with one platform engineer. As you scale and developer productivity becomes critical, you add specialists for developer experience, internal tools, or platform architecture.
Team Composition Strategy
The Foundation: Your First Platform Hire
Platform Engineer (First Hire)
- Builds internal platforms and tools
- Improves developer productivity
- Sets up developer infrastructure
- Establishes platform practices
- Creates foundation for platform team
Why Platform Engineer First:
- Platform work requires specialized skills
- Early platform decisions affect all engineers
- One strong platform engineer can build foundational tools
- Developer productivity depends on platform quality
Scaling to 3-5 Person Team
Option A: Developer Experience-Focused
- Platform Engineer (foundational platform)
- Developer Experience Engineer (developer tooling)
- Platform Engineer (additional platforms)
- Developer Experience Engineer (productivity tools)
Option B: Infrastructure-Focused
- Platform Engineer (foundational platform)
- Platform Architect (architecture and systems)
- Platform Engineer (infrastructure platforms)
- Internal Tools Engineer (operational tools)
Option C: Balanced
- Platform Engineer (foundational platform)
- Developer Experience Engineer (developer productivity)
- Platform Engineer (internal platforms)
- Platform Engineer (tooling and automation)
When to Add Specialists
Add Developer Experience Engineer when:
- Developer productivity is bottlenecked
- You need dedicated developer tooling
- Developer onboarding needs focus
Add Platform Architect when:
- Platform architecture becomes complex
- Multiple platforms need coordination
- Technical strategy needs dedicated focus
Add Internal Tools Engineer when:
- Internal operations need tools
- You need dedicated operational tooling
- Operations teams need engineering support
Hiring Order Matters
Phase 1: Platform Engineer (Weeks 1-12)
Why First:
- Sets up platform foundation
- Establishes platform practices
- Builds core developer tools
- Creates foundation for team
What to Look For:
- 3-5+ years platform/infrastructure experience
- Strong in platform technologies
- Can build developer-facing tools
- Can work independently
- Developer experience focus
Phase 2: Additional Platform Engineers (Weeks 8-16)
Why Second:
- Increases platform development velocity
- Enables parallel platform work
- Provides coverage and redundancy
What to Look For:
- 2-4 years experience
- Strong in platform technologies
- Can work with first engineer
- Good collaboration skills
Phase 3: Specialists (Months 3-6)
Add based on needs:
- Developer Experience Engineer for productivity
- Platform Architect for architecture
- Internal Tools Engineer for operations
Skills to Look For
Platform Engineer Skills
Must-Have:
- Software engineering (can write production code)
- Internal platform development
- Developer experience focus
- API design
- Infrastructure knowledge
Nice-to-Have:
- Kubernetes operators
- Service mesh
- Developer portals
- Internal platforms experience
- DevOps tools
Developer Experience Engineer Skills
Must-Have:
- Developer tooling
- CI/CD systems
- Developer workflows
- Developer onboarding
- Developer productivity metrics
Nice-to-Have:
- Internal developer platforms
- Developer portals
- Self-service infrastructure
- Developer experience research
Platform Architect Skills
Must-Have:
- Platform architecture design
- Scalable platform systems
- Technical leadership
- Cross-team coordination
- Platform strategy
Nice-to-Have:
- Microservices platforms
- Service mesh architecture
- Platform reliability
- Developer experience architecture
Budget Planning
Salary Costs (US, 2026)
| Role | Salary Range | Total with Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Platform Engineer | $160-220K | $195-270K |
| Platform Engineer | $130-180K | $160-220K |
| Developer Experience Engineer | $140-190K | $170-235K |
| Platform Architect | $170-240K | $210-295K |
| Internal Tools Engineer | $130-180K | $160-220K |
3-Person Team: $480K-725K annually
5-Person Team: $720K-1.1M annually
Other Costs
- Platform Infrastructure: $5-15K/month (platform services, tools)
- Developer Tools: $2-5K/month (CI/CD, developer portals, tooling)
- Recruiting: 20-25% of salary if using agencies
- Equipment: $3-5K per person
- Training: $2-5K per person annually
Common Mistakes
1. Building Platforms Engineers Don't Use
Problem: Platform team builds tools that engineers don't adopt, wasting effort.
Better approach: Work closely with engineering teams. Build what they need, not what you think they need.
2. Not Measuring Developer Productivity
Problem: Platform improvements don't improve developer productivity because you're not measuring it.
Better approach: Measure developer productivity metrics. Track impact of platform improvements.
3. Over-Engineering Platforms
Problem: Building complex platforms when simple solutions would work.
Better approach: Start simple, add complexity as needs grow. Focus on developer experience, not features.
4. Not Planning for Adoption
Problem: Platforms are built but engineers don't adopt them.
Better approach: Plan for adoption: documentation, training, support. Make platforms easy to use.
5. Ignoring Developer Feedback
Problem: Platform team doesn't listen to developers, building wrong things.
Better approach: Regular feedback loops with engineering teams. Build what developers ask for.
Platform Team Culture
What Great Platform Teams Have
1. Developer-Centric Focus
- Understand developer needs
- Build tools developers want to use
- Measure developer productivity
- Iterate based on feedback
2. Self-Service Mindset
- Enable developers to help themselves
- Reduce toil and manual work
- Automate repetitive tasks
- Provide clear documentation
3. Platform Reliability
- Platforms are reliable and available
- Good error handling and monitoring
- Fast incident response
- Post-incident improvements
4. Continuous Improvement
- Regular platform reviews
- Measure platform impact
- Iterate on developer experience
- Learn from usage patterns
How to Establish Culture
Start with Developer Focus: First platform engineer should understand developer needs.
Measure Impact: Track developer productivity metrics and platform adoption.
Iterate Based on Feedback: Regular feedback loops with engineering teams.
Document Everything: Clear documentation is critical for platform adoption.
Interview Strategy
What to Assess
Technical Skills:
- Platform development
- Developer tooling
- API design
- Infrastructure knowledge
- Developer experience understanding
Problem-Solving:
- Can they identify developer pain points?
- Do they think about developer experience?
- Can they design platforms developers want to use?
- Do they consider adoption and usability?
Communication:
- Can they work with engineering teams?
- Do they explain platform decisions?
- Can they gather developer feedback?
Red Flags
- Can't explain platform architecture
- Doesn't understand developer needs
- No experience building developer tools
- Poor collaboration skills
- Doesn't consider adoption
Timeline Expectations
Realistic Hiring Timeline
| Phase | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Find First Platform Engineer | 8-12 weeks | Platform talent is scarce |
| Additional Platform Engineers | 6-10 weeks each | Can hire in parallel |
| Specialists | 8-12 weeks | Developer Experience, Architect, etc. |
Total: 4-6 months to build a 3-person team
Factors Affecting Timeline
- Platform talent is scarce — Plan for longer timelines
- Developer experience focus helps — Engineers who understand developer needs are rare
- Remote expands pool — Consider remote-first
- Internal platform experience helps — Experience building internal tools attracts faster
Recruiter's Cheat Sheet
Key Insights
- Platform engineer is critical first hire — Don't compromise
- Developer experience focus matters — Platform teams serve developers
- Adoption is key — Platforms must be adopted to have impact
- Measure impact — Track developer productivity and platform adoption
- Start simple — Don't over-engineer platforms
Common Questions from Founders
"When do I need a platform team?"
When developer productivity becomes a bottleneck or you have enough engineers (20+) to justify dedicated platform work. Start with one platform engineer, scale as needs grow.
"What's the difference between platform engineer and DevOps engineer?"
Platform engineers build internal platforms and tools for developers. DevOps engineers manage infrastructure and CI/CD. Overlap exists, but platform focuses on developer experience.
"How much does platform development cost?"
$600K-1M annually for a 3-5 person platform team. Add $5-15K/month for platform infrastructure and tools.
"Can one person handle all platform needs?"
One strong platform engineer can build foundational platforms for early-stage companies. As you scale and developer productivity becomes critical, add specialists for developer experience, architecture, or internal tools.