About the role

Lead Back End Engineer – Build for a Deeply Engaged Creative Community

Why you would like it
* Permanent role, open across New Zealand
* Lead architecture for a global digital platform 
* Work in a creative industry people genuinely care about 
* Hands-on technical leadership with real ownership 
* Help shape the future of the engineering function 

The opportunity

This is a Lead Back End Engineer role for someone who wants to be properly immersed in what they are building.

You’ll join a digital product team working in a global creative industry, supporting a community that is highly engaged and genuinely invested. The platform needs thoughtful architecture, reliable delivery, and pragmatic technical leadership as it continues to grow.

This is not a role for someone who only wants to pick up tickets. You’ll help shape how the engineering function matures, challenge ideas constructively, and make sensible calls on what should be rebuilt, refined, or left alone.

Company profile

You’ll be part of a product-led technology team building digital experiences for a passionate international audience. The culture is collaborative, practical, and serious about quality without getting lost in theory.

The team values people who care deeply about the product, understand the needs of users, and bring strong engineering judgement to complex problems.

The role
* Lead back end architecture and platform evolution 
* Design and deliver scalable APIs across REST and GraphQL 
* Work closely with Product, Design, and technical leaders 
* Guide major platform initiatives from concept through delivery 
* Improve CI/CD, DevOps practices, monitoring, and observability 
* Set engineering patterns, standards, and best practices 
* Mentor engineers through code reviews and technical guidance 
* Own performance, reliability, security, and production quality 
* Support integrations with third-party platforms and services 

Your fit

You’ll likely bring:
* 10+ years’ experience building modern back end systems 
* Strong senior, lead, or principal engineering experience 
* Deep Python/Django experience, or strong equivalent back end depth 
* Strong API design skills across REST and GraphQL 
* Relational database experience, ideally PostgreSQL or MySQL 
* AWS experience, with Terraform or AWS CDK 
* Docker, CI/CD, and modern DevOps practices 
* Experience designing scalable or distributed systems 
* The ability to take ownership and enjoy solving complex problems 
* Strategic thinking, with the confidence to challenge ideas constructively 
* A balance of technical excellence and genuine collaboration 
* Pragmatism when deciding what should be rebuilt versus refined 
* A desire to help shape engineering, not simply deliver tasks 

If this sounds like your kind of next step, apply now or get in touch.