Job Description
Principal Data Platforms Engineer
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Who We Are
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Simple Machines is a global, independent technology consultancy operating across Sydney, Current Zealand, London, Poland and San Francisco. We design and build up-to-date data platforms, intelligent systems, and bespoke software at the intersection of Data Engineering, Software Engineering and AI.
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We work with enterprises, scale-ups, and government to turn messy, high-value data into products, platforms, and decisions that actually move the needle.
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We don't do generic. We build things that matter - We engineer data to life.
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Requirements
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The Role
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This is a hands-on principal engineering role, not an architecture-only seat and not a support function. You'll be responsible for technical direction, platform design and architectural decision-making.
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You'll design and build greenfield data platforms, real-time pipelines, and data products for clients who are serious about using data properly. You'll work in small, high-calibre teams and operate close to both the problem and the client.
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If you enjoy solving hard data problems, shaping modern architectures (data mesh, data products, contracts), and delivering real outcomes — this is your lane.
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What You'll Be Doing
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Lead Platform & Architecture Design
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Own the end-to-end architecture of modern, cloud-native data platforms
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Design scalable data ecosystems using data mesh, data products, and data contracts
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Make high-impact architectural decisions across ingestion, storage, processing, and access layers
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Ensure platforms are secure, compliant, and production-grade by design
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Build Modern Data Platforms
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Design and deliver cloud-native data platforms using Databricks, Snowflake, AWS, and GCP
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Apply modern architectural patterns: data mesh, data products, and data contracts
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Integrate deeply with client systems to enable scalable, consumer-oriented data access
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Develop High-Performance Pipelines
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Build and optimise batch and real-time pipelines
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Work with streaming and event-driven tech such as Kafka, Flink, Kinesis, Pub/Sub
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Orchestrate workflows using Airflow, Dataflow, Glue
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Work at Scale
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Process and transform large datasets using Spark and Flink
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Design systems that perform in production - not just on paper
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Own Data Storage & Performance
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Work across relational, NoSQL, and analytical stores (Postgres, BigQuery, Snowflake, Cassandra, MongoDB)
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Optimise storage formats and access patterns (Parquet, Delta, ORC, Avro)
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Cloud, Security & Governance
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Implement secure, compliant data solutions with security by design
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Embed governance without killing developer velocity
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Consult and Influence
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Work directly with clients to understand problems and shape solutions
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Translate business needs into pragmatic engineering decisions
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Act as a trusted technical advisor, not just an order taker
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Technical Leadership & Quality
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Set engineering standards, patterns, and best practices across teams
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Review designs and code,



providing clear technical direction and mentorshipRaise the bar on data quality, testing, observability, and operational excellence
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What We're Looking For
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Core Engineering Strength
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Strong Python and SQL
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Deep experience with Spark and modern data platforms (Databricks / Snowflake)
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Solid grasp of cloud data services (AWS or GCP)
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Architecture & Design Judgement
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Demonstrated ownership of large-scale data platform architectures
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Strong data modelling skills and architectural decision‐making ability
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Comfortable balancing trade-offs between performance, cost, and complexity
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Data Platform Experience
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Built and operated large-scale data pipelines in production
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Robust data modelling capability and architectural judgement
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Comfortable with multiple storage technologies and formats
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Engineering Discipline
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Infrastructure-as-code experience (Terraform, Pulumi)
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CI/CD pipelines using tools like GitHub Actions, ArgoCD
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Data testing and quality frameworks (dbt, Great Expectations, Soda)
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Delivery & Consulting Mindset
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Experience in consulting or professional services environments
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Strong consulting instincts — able to challenge assumptions and guide clients toward better outcomes
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Comfortable mentoring senior engineers and influencing technical culture
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Benefits
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Why Simple Machines
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You'll work on interesting, high-impact problems
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You'll build modern platforms, not maintain legacy mess
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You'll be surrounded by senior engineers who actually know their craft
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You'll have autonomy, influence, and room to grow
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#J-*****-Ljbffr

📌 Principal Data Platforms Engineer (New South Wales)
🏢 Simple Machines
📍 New South Wales