Principal Data and Platform Engineer

Who We Are

Simple Machines is a global, independent technology consultancy operating across Sydney, New Zealand, London, Poland and San Francisco. We design and build modern data platforms, intelligent systems, and bespoke software at the intersection of

Data Engineering, Software Engineering

and

AI. We work with enterprises, scale-ups, and government to turn messy, high-value data into products, platforms, and decisions that actually move the needle. We don’t do generic. We build things that matter -

We engineer data to life™. The Role

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. 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. If you enjoy solving hard data problems, shaping modern architectures (data mesh, data products, contracts), and delivering real outcomes this is your lane. What You’ll Be Doing

Lead Platform & Architecture Design Own the end-to-end architecture of modern, cloud-native data platforms Design scalable data ecosystems using

data mesh, data products, and data contracts Make high-impact architectural decisions across ingestion, storage, processing, and access layers Ensure platforms are secure, compliant,



and production-grade by design Build Modern Data Platforms Design and deliver cloud-native data platforms using

Databricks, Snowflake, AWS, and GCP Apply contemporary architectural patterns:

data mesh, data products, and data contracts Integrate deeply with client systems to enable scalable, consumer-oriented data access Develop High-Performance Pipelines Build and optimise

batch and real-time pipelines Work with streaming and event-driven tech such as

Kafka, Flink, Kinesis, Pub/Sub Orchestrate workflows using

Airflow, Dataflow, Glue Work at Scale Process and transform large datasets using

Spark and Flink Design systems that perform in production - not just on paper Consult and Influence Work directly with clients to understand problems and shape solutions Translate business needs into pragmatic engineering decisions Act as a trusted technical advisor, not just an order taker Technical Leadership & Quality Set engineering standards, patterns, and best practices across teams Review designs and code, providing clear technical direction and mentorship Raise the bar on data quality, testing, observability, and operational excellence What We’re Looking For

Core Engineering Strength Strong

Python and SQL Deep experience with

Spark





and modern data platforms (Databricks / Snowflake) Solid grasp of cloud data services (AWS or GCP) Architecture & Design Judgement Demonstrated ownership of large-scale data platform architectures Strong data modelling skills and architectural decision-making ability Comfortable balancing trade-offs between performance, cost, and complexity Data Platform Experience Built and operated

large-scale data pipelines

in production Strong data modelling capability and architectural judgement Comfortable with multiple storage technologies and formats Engineering Discipline Infrastructure-as-code experience ( Terraform, Pulumi ) CI/CD pipelines using tools like

GitHub Actions, ArgoCD Data testing and quality frameworks ( dbt, Great Expectations, Soda ) Delivery & Consulting Mindset Experience in consulting or professional services environments Strong consulting instincts able to challenge assumptions and guide clients toward better outcomes Comfortable mentoring senior engineers and influencing technical culture Why Simple Machines

You’ll work on

interesting, high-impact problems You’ll build

modern platforms , not maintain legacy mess You’ll be surrounded by senior engineers who actually know their craft You’ll have autonomy, influence, and room to grow Amazing Darlinghurst office space Team lunches on Monday & Wednesdays Training & Conference fund If you’re a passionate data engineer who wants to build properly, think clearly, and deliver real outcomes - we should talk.

📌 Lead Data Platform Engineer: Cloud-Native Pipelines (Sydney)
🏢 SIMPLE MACHINES
📍 Sydney