Staff Engineer | Sydney | PermanentSydney-based with a hybrid working modelHands-on technical leadership — no people managementOwn architecture across critical, high-scale systemsSurry Hills office close to public transportThe OpportunityWe are looking for an exceptional Staff Engineer to join a high-performing technology team and play a pivotal role in the architecture and evolution of a rapidly scaling digital platform.This is a role for an engineer who wants to operate at Staff / Principal / Lead level without stepping away from the technology.You will own the architecture of critical systems, make high-impact technical decisions across multiple teams and help shape the technical roadmap for your area.You'll be expected to stay close to the code — designing systems, reviewing critical components, pairing with senior engineers and solving some of the most complex engineering challenges facing the platform.This isn't architecture from the sidelines.
You'll have genuine ownership and influence over how the platform is built, scaled and operated.What You'll DoOwn the ArchitectureOwn and evolve the architecture of one or more critical systemsMake significant architectural and technical decisions that span multiple teamsDefine and drive the technical roadmap for your areaEnsure systems remain scalable, reliable, observable and maintainableLead Distributed Systems & Event-Driven ArchitectureBe a technical authority across message-oriented and event-driven architectureDesign durable, long-running workflows across complex systemsSolve challenges around delivery semantics, ordering, idempotency, backpressure and failure recoveryBuild systems that remain resilient as scale and complexity increaseSet the Engineering StandardEstablish best practices for Kotlin and Java servicesImprove performance, observability, testing and maintainabilityUse tooling, templates and engineering practices to make good standards easy to followLead by example through hands‐on engineering and high-quality code reviewsDrive Cloud & Delivery EngineeringHelp standardise and optimise a GCP environmentWork across GKE/Kubernetes, Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL,



BigQuery and Pub/SubMature CI/CD and engineering automation through GitHub Actions and TerraformChampion a genuine "you build it, you run it" engineering cultureThink End-to-EndGuide integration between JVM backend services and React / TypeScriptShape APIs exposed to partners and external platformsEnsure API contracts are typed, versioned and built to lastBuild resilient integrations with third‐party platforms you don't controlMentor & InfluenceMentor senior engineers through design coaching, pairing and high-impact code reviewsTransfer engineering judgement rather than simply providing answersResolve architectural challenges across team boundariesBuild consensus around decisions that will stand the test of timeCommunicate complex technical trade‐offs clearly to non‐technical stakeholdersWhat You'll BringWe're looking for someone operating at the top end of the engineering profession — an experienced technical leader who has owned significant systems and can influence engineering direction across an organisation.You'll ideally bring:10+ years' software engineering experience, with recent Staff, Principal or Lead-level experienceDeep expertise in Kotlin and/or JavaStrong understanding of JVM concurrency and memory behaviourExpert‐level knowledge of distributed and event‐driven systemsDeep understanding of messaging concepts including idempotency, ordering, backpressure and failure recoveryHands‐on experience with GCP, particularly GKE/Kubernetes, Cloud SQL/PostgreSQL and BigQueryStrong experience with Git and GitHub ActionsHands‐on experience with Terraform and complex delivery automationWorking proficiency in React and TypeScriptProven experience building resilient third‐party integrations, including reconciliation, retry and drift detectionA strong "you build it, you run it" mindsetThe Type of Engineer We're Looking ForTechnical capability is important,



but we're particularly interested in engineers who:Think beyond individual projects and consider the wider systemTake ownership and are comfortable making difficult technical decisionsCan simplify complex problems without compromising scalabilityHave strong technical judgement and know when to challenge the status quoEnjoy mentoring and raising the capability of those around themCan influence without relying on organisational authorityAre equally comfortable discussing architecture and getting hands‐on in the codeCare deeply about reliability, observability and engineering qualityWhy This Opportunity?
This is an chance to have real architectural influence over a platform that is scaling rapidly and sits at the centre of a growing digital business.You'll have the chance to:Own critical architecture rather than simply contributing to itSolve genuinely complex distributed systems challengesWork with a modern cloud-native technology stackInfluence technical direction across multiple engineering teamsStay hands‐on while operating at Staff/Principal levelMentor and elevate highly capable engineersBuild engineering standards that will have a lasting impactWhat You'll ExperienceHybrid working from a modern Sydney office in Surry HillsConvenient location close to public transportTeam discounts across a range of well‐known Australian brandsAccess to Sonder, providing confidential 24/7 support for team members and their familiesAn inclusive, collaborative and innovative technology environmentThe chance to work alongside ambitious and highly capable engineersIf you're a Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer or Lead Engineer who wants to remain hands‐on while having genuine ownership of architecture and technical direction, this could be your next challenge.Paxus values diversity and welcomes applications from Indigenous Australians, people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and people living with a disability.
If you require an adjustment to the recruitment process, including the application form in an alternate format, please contact me on the above contact details.
#J-*****-Ljbffr

📌 Staff Engineer (Sydney)
🏢 Paxus - Technology + Digital Talent
📍 Sydney