Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineer

• Full-Time (35hpw) Temporary Opportunity until September 2027

• Salary Range $167,165 -$201,105 per annum + 12% super

• Haymarket and Parramatta location with hybrid working (typically 1-2 office days per week)

About the team

Digital Services sits at the heart of the customer experience at Service NSW. We design, build and operate the digital products, platforms and shared capabilities that help millions of people and businesses access government services quickly, easily and securely.

Our multidisciplinary teams bring together product, design, engineering, delivery, cyber security, data and business professionals. We are collaborative, inclusive and outcome focused, balancing customer needs, technical excellence and sustainable delivery. We value people who are curious, challenge the status quo, take ownership and bring fresh thinking to complex problems.

About the role

The Principal Software Engineer is a strategic technical leadership role that shapes engineering direction across complex digital products, platforms and enterprise systems. You will lead technical design and delivery, guide architecture and engineering decisions, manage and grow a squad of engineers and influence standards and practices across Digital Services.

This is an opportunity to solve high impact technical challenges at scale while improving security, reliability, platform performance and developer experience. You will work closely with product, design, architecture, cyber security and delivery leaders to build secure, reusable and customer centred capabilities for Service NSW and NSW Government.

About you

You are a strategic technical leader with deep software engineering experience and a strong product mindset. You enjoy leading and growing engineers, solving complex problems and influencing technical direction beyond your immediate team. You combine sound judgement, systems thinking and technical depth with empathy, curiosity and clear communication.

You are comfortable navigating ambiguity, balancing immediate delivery needs with long term sustainability and explaining complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. You lead through influence, set high engineering standards and create an environment where people can learn, contribute and do their best work.

Key responsibilities

• Set technical direction and guide complex engineering and architecture decisions across teams.
• Lead and contribute to software design, development, testing, deployment and operation of digital products and platform capabilities.
• Manage, mentor and coach a squad of engineers, building capability and a culture of technical excellence and knowledge sharing.
• Define and improve engineering standards, practices and roadmaps across quality, security, reliability, resilience, performance and maintainability.
• Lead the resolution of complex technical challenges and balance short term delivery priorities with long term sustainability.
• Influence senior stakeholders and align product, engineering, architecture, cyber security and delivery teams around a shared technical direction.
• Drive continuous improvement in operational excellence, platform performance and developer experience.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and AI enabled opportunities where they can deliver measurable customer, business or operational value.
• Support critical incidents, releases or urgent operational issues, including occasional out-of-hours work where required.

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Proven experience leading technical direction and architecture for complex products, platforms or enterprise systems.
• Deep expertise in modern software engineering practices, cloud native architectures and secure, scalable solution design.
• A strong full-stack engineering background and proficiency in one or more modern languages and frameworks, such as Kotlin, Java with Spring Boot, JavaScript or TypeScript, React, Angular, Node.js, React Native or Go.
• Experience deploying and operating containerised workloads in cloud environments such as AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform.
• Experience driving engineering quality, reliability, security and operational excellence across multiple teams.
• Proven ability to lead and grow engineers through people leadership, mentoring, coaching and technical leadership.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to build alignment across diverse teams and business areas.
• Excellent systems thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills in ambiguous or complex environments.
• A strong customer focus and demonstrated ability to deliver valuable, reliable software outcomes at scale.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.

Desirable

• Experience leading engineering organisations, platform teams or communities of practice.
• Experience with identity, authentication, credentials or other highly integrated platforms.
• Experience operating large scale, customer facing services with high availability, security and reliability requirements.
• Experience defining technology roadmaps, platform strategies or long-term architecture direction.
• Experience applying Extreme Programming practices, including test driven development and pair programming.
• Cloud architecture certifications in AWS, Azure or an equivalent platform.
• Experience in government, regulated industries or large enterprise environments.

Essential Requirements

To be considered for roles in the NSW public sector, applicants must:

• Be NSW residents or in the process of relocating to NSW
• Hold appropriate working rights for the type of employment offered

Why join Service NSW?

You'll be part of an organisation that:

• Delivers services that genuinely impact millions of people
• Invests in modern technology, ways of working and professional growth
• Supports flexible, hybrid working and inclusive practices
• Values collaboration, purpose and continuous improvement

If you're motivated by scale, complexity and the opportunity to shape meaningful digital outcomes, we'd love to hear from you!

How to apply

Click 'Apply Online' and submit your application including:

Please submit your resume and a one-page cover letter as a single document. Your application should highlight your skills, experience and suitability for the role.

In your cover letter, please provide concise responses to the following questions and clearly number your answers:

• How many years of professional experience do you have developing applications using Java (Spring Boot)?
• How many years of professional experience do you have developing applications using ReactJS or similar frontend frameworks?
• How many years of professional experience do you have providing enterprise architecture leadership, guidance and strategic direction within a large and complex organisation?
• Describe your experience designing and developing APIs, including the types of APIs and integrations you have worked on.
• One stage of the assessment process involves a live coding exercise without the use of AI tools (internet access permitted). Are you comfortable participating in this assessment?

Our Recruitment Process

Assessment Process

The process may include up to three stages, depending on the requirements of the role. Progression to each subsequent stage is subject to a successful outcome at the preceding stage.

Stage 1: Coding Challenge - approximately 1 to 2 hours

You will participate in a hands-on coding capability which is a key requirement of the role.

The challenge may assess:

• Coding proficiency
• Problem-solving skills
• Code quality and maintainability
• Testing and debugging practices
• Ability to develop practical solutions

Stage 2: Behavioural Interview - approximately 45 minutes

If you progress, you will participate in a structured panel interview exploring your professional experience and approach to your work.

You will be asked to provide relevant examples from your career, including challenges you have addressed, outcomes you have delivered and experiences that have prepared you for the role.

We encourage you to draw upon real examples and discuss both your individual contributions and any collaborative achievements.

Stage 3: Technical Q&A or Systems Design- approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour

If you progress, you may be invited to a technical assessment, which will be one of the following assessments:

• Technical Q&A, consisting of predefined technical questions.
• System Design challenge, consisting of a whiteboard design exercise.

This stage is designed to assess your technical knowledge, experience and engineering approach relevant to the role.

Progression Through the Process

Following each stage, candidates who meet the requirements will be invited to the next assessment activity. Candidates who do not progress will not be required to complete the remaining stages.

Assessment outcomes are reviewed at each stage. You will be advised of your outcome and any next steps as soon as possible.

Support office roles will be headquartered across Haymarket and Parramatta. We will consider role headquarters outside of the above locations where the role can reasonably be performed from that location taking into consideration the operational, financial and customer requirements of the role and an ability to attend a NSW Government workplace as required. At the point an employee is notified of our intention to assign them to a role, the relevant leader will discuss headquarter options.

Salary Grade 11/12, with the base salary for this role starting at $167,165 base plus superannuation

Click Here to access the Role Description . For enquiries relating to recruitment please contact Alyssa Shearman via Alyssa.Shearman@customerservice.nsw.gov.au.

Visit the Capability Application Tool to prepare for the recruitment process by accessing practice application and interview questions based on the focus capabilities listed in the role description.

A talent pool may be created as part of this recruitment process and will be valid for up to 18 months. The talent pool may be used to fill future ongoing or temporary vacancies of the same or similar role.

Closing Date: Wednesday 11th November 2026 [at 9.59am]

Careers at Department of Customer Service
A career at the Department of Customer Service (DCS) gives you the opportunity to help improve government services and be part of reform that benefits people across NSW. We are focused on delivering excellent customer service, digital transformation, and regulatory reform. Come join us and influence the future of our great state.

Belong in our diverse and inclusive workplace
The strength of our workforce lies in its diversity and embracing difference, while the key to our success is leveraging the contributions of employees with different backgrounds and perspectives.

You can view our full diversity and inclusion statement here.

We provide adjustments to the recruitment process for candidates, including individuals with disability. If you require an adjustment during the recruitment process, including alternate formats or have questions about the support available, please contact Talent Operations on 02 8276 8130 or csrecruitment@customerservice.nsw.gov.au.

For more information, please visit

Information on some of the different types of disabilities

Information on adjustments available for the recruitment process