About the role

The Opportunity
This is an expansion-based technical leadership role within a growing Auckland technology agency.

You will help design and build digital platforms, mobile applications, integrations, websites and custom software for New Zealand customers. As the team has grown, the work has become more complex and the need for stronger technical ownership has increased. That’s where you come in.
The Technical Lead will sit between the CTO, development team, Project Managers and clients. You will shape complete software solutions, make architecture and technology decisions, guide developers and contribute directly to the codebase.

This is a full-stack role with a clear frontend and mobile bent. You will need strong, current experience across React Web and React Native, alongside the broader technical depth to design solutions spanning frontend, mobile, backend, databases, integrations and cloud services.

You will also take the lead in technical client conversations. This means understanding unfamiliar requirements, working through technical questions and clearly explaining or whiteboarding a practical solution without relying on the CTO or company leadership to step in.

The role has been created to give the development team faster access to senior technical guidance and reduce the number of day-to-day decisions currently reaching the CTO. You will work closely with him, build a strong understanding of the business and take increasing ownership of the technical side of client projects.

The Company
This is a fast-growing New Zealand technology agency with a strong track record across digital product and platform delivery, balancing strong technology with a penchant for design. Run by two partners who want to progress this space, growth has been strong but not overextended. Customers are very happy, and so is the team.

Its work spans custom software, web platforms, mobile applications, system integrations and digital experiences at scale.

The culture is high trust, open and autonomous. People are expected to take ownership, solve problems and work without unnecessary process, supported by a senior team and a strong learning environment.
The next stage is about creating clearer technical accountability across projects while retaining the pace and autonomy that already exist within the team.

The Role
The Technical Lead will oversee the technical direction of client projects from early discovery through to delivery.
You will meet with clients and their technical teams to understand new projects, features and changes, then translate those requirements into practical end-to-end solutions. This will include preparing Scopes of Work, defining assumptions, estimating effort and setting realistic milestones.

You will own the technical side of client conversations and give clients confidence in the proposed solution. You must be comfortable responding to questions in the moment, explaining technical decisions and using a whiteboard to show how the application, database, APIs, integrations, cloud services and other components fit together.

You will work with the CTO and senior developers to make decisions across application architecture, technology selection and implementation approach. You will need to understand the whole solution rather than operating within one part of the stack.

The role will be approximately 40–50% hands-on. You will contribute production code, build or support key components, review technical quality and help resolve complex problems when developers need support.
You will guide developers through implementation decisions, review code for maintainability, security and performance, and challenge estimates or technical approaches where needed.

You will also work closely with the delivery team, giving Project Managers clear technical input for planning and client communication. You will help establish consistent technical standards across projects and support the practical use of AI across products and software delivery.

The technical environment includes:

• React
• Next.js
• Vercel
• React Native
• iOS and Android
• .NET Core
• AWS

Experience with PHP or Azure would be useful but is not essential.
The development team will look to you for technical guidance and decision-making. The Project Managers and QA will continue to report to senior leadership but will work closely with you across planning and delivery.

The Fit
The ideal person is a senior full-stack engineer or technical leader who still enjoys writing code and wants to take broader ownership of solution design.
Your full-stack capability must extend across frontend, mobile, backend, databases, APIs, integrations and cloud architecture. Your strongest and most current experience should lean towards frontend and mobile, particularly React and React Native.

You may currently be a Technical Lead, Lead Software Engineer, Principal Engineer, Senior Full Stack Engineer or hands-on Solution Architect.

You will bring:

• Strong, recent full-stack development experience
• Current commercial experience with React and React Native
• Experience delivering mobile applications across iOS and Android
• A track record of designing complete software solutions
• The ability to make architecture and technology decisions across the stack
• Enough .NET Core and backend understanding to guide complete solutions
• Experience with AWS and cloud architecture
• Recent hands-on production coding experience
• Experience estimating work and breaking it into practical milestones
• Experience reviewing code and mentoring developers
• Confidence working directly with clients and their technical teams
• The ability to explain and whiteboard technical solutions clearly
• Experience working across multiple projects or competing priorities

Experience within a custom software business, digital consultancy, technology agency or another client-led environment would be highly relevant.

You will be practical, approachable and comfortable making decisions. You will be able to challenge experienced developers without becoming controlling or overly theoretical.
You do not need to know every answer immediately. You do need to ask the right questions, structure your thinking and confidently work through unfamiliar problems.

This role is for someone who wants to combine full-stack architecture, technical leadership, client problem-solving and hands-on software development.

Please note that only candidates currently based in New Zealand with valid working rights will be considered.