Lead Software Engineer | Back-End Focused | $150 – $180k NZ

Job Category: Software Engineer
Job Type: Full Time

Build the platform behind a global entertainment experience.

Misty New Zealand mountain valley at sunset, otherworldly light

Some engineers build software. Others build worlds that people keep coming back to.

We’re partnering with an ambitious New Zealand entertainment company that’s investing heavily in its digital future. While they’re not a technology company by definition, they’re building an engineering-first culture where great software is viewed as a competitive advantage, not just a support function.

If you’re passionate about building scalable platforms, influencing architecture and solving interesting engineering problems, this is an opportunity to have genuine impact.

Why this role is different

You’ll join a business where engineering has a real voice. You’ll work alongside Product, Design and Engineering to shape the future of a growing digital platform that supports a passionate global audience. This isn’t about maintaining legacy systems. It’s about building the platform that enables the business to scale over the next decade. You’ll have the opportunity to influence architecture, raise engineering standards and remain deeply hands-on while helping other engineers grow.

Your quest

You’ll design and build modern backend services that are reliable, scalable and built to last. You’ll tackle interesting challenges around:

Platform architecture
Distributed systems
Cloud infrastructure
API design
Reliability and performance
Developer experience
Engineering standards
Production operations

You’ll own systems from early design through to production, continually improving how the platform evolves.

We’re looking for someone who…

Thinks in systems, not just features.
Loves solving complex engineering problems.
Enjoys balancing speed with long-term maintainability.
Likes mentoring engineers without moving away from the code.
Collaborates well with Product and Design.
Takes ownership rather than waiting for direction.
Wants to help shape engineering culture.

You’ll probably bring

10+ years building modern backend platforms.
Strong Python experience, ideally Django.
REST and GraphQL API expertise.
PostgreSQL or MySQL.
AWS cloud experience.
Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, AWS CDK or similar).
Docker and containerised applications.
CI/CD and modern DevOps practices.
Experience designing distributed systems.
Strong understanding of reliability, scalability and observability.
Experience working in product-led engineering teams.

Bonus experience

You’ll stand out if you’ve worked in:

Product companies.
High-growth environments.
Entertainment, gaming or digital media.
Platforms supporting large global user bases.
Event-driven architectures.
Developer tooling or platform engineering.

An interest in gaming or interactive entertainment would certainly be welcomed, but isn’t essential.

Why join?

Because you’ll have genuine ownership. Because your technical decisions will matter. Because you’ll work with people who care about building software well. Because you’ll help shape an engineering-first culture inside a creative business that’s investing heavily in technology.

If you’re looking for a role where you can influence architecture, mentor engineers and continue building great software yourself, we’d love to hear from you.

Location: Auckland, New Zealand (Hybrid)
Employment Type: Full-time
Seniority Level: Mid-Senior level

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