Building the Right Platform Engineering Team
- Shannon
- 2 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Platform engineering isn’t just about standing up Kubernetes clusters or pushing Terraform templates. It’s about creating a team that accelerates developers instead of slowing them down. In today’s cloud-first, microservices-heavy, DevOps-driven world, the way you structure your platform team will either unlock value or create friction.
Here’s how I think about team composition and dynamics (and yes, this came as a direct result from a customer conversation this week).
Key Roles to Get Right
Platform Engineers – They’re the builders of the backbone. They design, run, and improve the infrastructure and tooling developers rely on. Their job is to make the platform scalable, reliable, and secure without making it a nightmare to use.
Developers – The ones building actual products. They need a frictionless, opinionated platform so they can ship fast without babysitting infrastructure.
Product Managers – The translators. They connect business needs with technical capabilities and make sure the platform actually serves a purpose instead of becoming a science project.
QA Engineers – The guardians of quality. They test, validate, and automate checks so “move fast” doesn’t turn into “break everything.”
The Ratio That Works
The “right” mix depends on your org size and complexity, but a baseline might look like this:
5–7 Developers per Platform Engineer – Enough coverage to keep the platform team focused on enabling, not firefighting.
1–2 Platform Engineers – A small but mighty group can support a larger pool of developers if they focus on automation and standardization.
1–2 Product Managers – Keeps business alignment tight and prevents the team from building features no one needs.
1–2 QA Engineers – Bakes quality into the pipeline instead of treating it as an afterthought.
Example: In a mid-sized company, a 12-person team could look like 6 developers, 2 platform engineers, 2 PMs, and 2 QA engineers.
The Team Dynamics That Actually Matter
Psychological Safety – People need to feel safe raising ideas and concerns. No one innovates if they’re worried about being shut down.
Clear Roles – Ambiguity kills productivity. Everyone should know what they own.
Cross-Functional Work – Pair devs with platform engineers. Have QA collaborate on pipeline automation. Break down silos before they form.
Feedback Loops – Regular retro and feedback sessions between PM, QA, dev, and platform keep the team aligned and evolving.
Celebrate Wins, Learn From Misses – Shout out success, but don’t sweep failures under the rug. Post-mortems should be the norm, not the exception.
Things to Keep in Mind
Communication > Org Chart – Daily stand-ups, good tooling, and visibility beat perfect hierarchies.
Flexibility is Non-Negotiable – As projects scale, the team structure will change. Don’t get locked into ratios like gospel.
Automate Early – If your platform engineers are repeating tasks, you’re doing it wrong. Automation unlocks scale.
Continuous Improvement – Always refine. Always align with business. Standing still is falling behind.
Wrap Up
The perfect platform engineering team doesn’t exist, but a smart structure, solid collaboration, and strong culture will get you pretty close. Build for today, adapt for tomorrow, and keep developers moving fast without losing quality or control. Lots to think about as you go through your own company's natural evolution inside this big cliche of "digital transformation"!
Happy platform engineering!