Senior Software Engineer

Role overview

Propellerhead is seeking a seasoned Senior Software Engineer to join its core engineering group and report directly to the CTO. In this position, you will help investigate and shape future technical direction for the company and its clients. The engineering function supplies the foundational tools, methods, and libraries that enable service delivery teams to build and ship software effectively.

You will take ideas from proof of concept through to production, support colleagues as they adopt new technologies and practices, and help teams and customers design secure, effective enterprise software and deployment architectures in an AI-driven era. The team is made up of experienced software craftspeople and works with a level of autonomy that is uncommon in many organisations.

This role is based in Auckland and follows a hybrid working pattern, with time split between the office and home. Applicants must be Auckland-based, though candidates from elsewhere in New Zealand or overseas who are planning to relocate to Auckland are welcome to apply. Regular in-person attendance at the office is required.

If you want to work on meaningful problems with tangible impact and help shape what comes next, this could be a strong fit.

Responsibilities

• Research options and work with the team to define technical approaches that align with the CTO’s direction.
• Contribute to software design and delivery across the full stack, including code organisation, deployment architecture, DevOps, automated testing, and integrations with external systems. This work will mainly rely on LLMs, with very little manual coding expected.
• Work alongside client stakeholders and fellow team members to maintain a shared understanding of solution design and roadmap delivery within agreed budgets.
• Lead the transition of existing mixed-technology solutions toward standardised Rust and TypeScript, with more portable deployment patterns, and help spread the learning across the wider organisation.
• Guide proofs of concept into production and mentor others on new tools, technologies, and working practices.
• Support clients and internal teams in building secure, enterprise-grade software and deployment architectures that are fit for modern AI-enabled development.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of experience as a software developer or engineer, including work on enterprise-level systems with meaningful complexity.
• Strong capability in at least one enterprise-grade programming language and ecosystem, such as C#/.NET or Java/Spring.
• Practical exposure to a lower-level language for application or systems work, ideally Rust, though C++ is also acceptable.
• Experience with TypeScript and React, or comparable front-end frameworks, plus a solid understanding of web application development.
• Hands-on experience deploying on Azure and/or AWS, including CI/CD pipeline creation and infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform.
• Proven experience designing distributed and asynchronous systems, particularly microservices and messaging-based solutions where you played a key role in design and implementation.
• Comfort using LLMs instead of hand-coding, along with the ability to explain how this improves delivery speed and system safety.
• Ability to produce clear, concise design documents with assistance from LLMs.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills, with the ability to translate business requirements into technical work.

About Propellerhead

Propellerhead is a software services company that creates, delivers, and supports large-scale custom digital platforms across a variety of technologies. The company focuses on building technology that is meaningful, valuable, and capable of making a positive difference. It values long-term, trusted relationships with clients and has spent more than 20 years working with commercial, non-profit, and government organisations.

How the team builds software

The company uses a product-focused delivery model centred on continuously shipping measurable outcomes into production. Work begins with real stakeholder needs and the value they create. An AI-assisted pipeline now produces a significant amount of the code, and the resulting platforms combine custom-built components with external services to create rich and effective user experiences.

Benefits

• Join an innovative team that values learning and collaboration.
• Work on varied, commercially focused projects for respected clients.
• Opportunity to grow professionally and develop your career further.
• Fortnightly knowledge-sharing sessions with lunch provided.
• Competitive pay and an employee share purchase scheme.
• Hybrid work arrangement with time in a well-designed Auckland office and time from home.
• Equal opportunity workplace with a commitment to freedom from discrimination.

Application notes

A cover letter is mandatory and will be reviewed as part of the application. Applicants are asked not to use AI to write the cover letter; the employer wants an authentic, personal submission.

The company also notes that AI is used thoughtfully in delivery practices, but not to assess applicants. Every application is reviewed by a real person to keep the hiring process fair and human.

Additional checks

Candidates who move forward may be asked to agree to a police background check, a credit history check, other assessments, and verification of qualifications.