DevOps Engineer (Backend Development)

Australian Research Data Commons; Canberra; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) is recruiting a DevOps Engineer (Backend Development) to build, test and maintain the back-end services and APIs powering national research data products. You will work in an Agile team with developers, analysts, testers and admins across Canberra, Brisbane or Melbourne.

Responsibilities include API development in Java/Spring Boot on Linux, CI/CD, containerized deployments, and integration with partner systems.

Qualifications

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience working with geographically distributed teams in a matrix environment.
• Experience in the Australian higher education or research sector with understanding of research infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, deploy and maintain back-end services and APIs powering ARDC’s data products.
• Integrate with partner systems and catalogues.
• Use CI/CD pipelines and automated testing; containerize components.
• Participate in Agile ceremonies, peer programming and code reviews.
• Integrate LLMs (RAG search) and contribute to front-end work when needed.

Skills

Communication

Distributed teams

Higher ed

Research infra

Tools

Java

Spring Boot

CI/CD

Containers

Linux

Job description

Australian Research Data Commons–Canberra ACT

The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) is Australia’s leading research data infrastructure, funded by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). We partner with the research community and industry to build leading-edge digital research infrastructure, providing Australian researchers with competitive advantage through data.

At the ARDC, we’re accelerating Australian research and innovation by driving excellence in the creation, analysis and retention of high-quality data assets. We’re committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, fostering an organisational culture that values individual differences and treats all people with respect, dignity and equity.

Our organisational values guide everything we do: Ambition, Focus, Collaboration, Flexibility, Transparency.

The ARDC is looking to recruit a DevOps Engineer (Backend Development). This position can be based in Canberra, Brisbane or Melbourne.

About the ARDC

The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) is Australia’s leading research data infrastructure, funded by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). We partner with the research community and industry to build leading-edge digital research infrastructure, providing Australian researchers with competitive advantage through data.

At the ARDC, we’re accelerating Australian research and innovation by driving excellence in the creation, analysis and retention of high-quality data assets. We’re committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, fostering an organisational culture that values individual differences and treats all people with respect, dignity and equity.

Our organisational values guide everything we do: Ambition, Focus, Collaboration, Flexibility, Transparency.

The ARDC is looking to recruit a DevOps Engineer (Backend Development). This position can be based in Canberra, Brisbane or Melbourne.

About the Role

As our DevOps Engineer (Backend Development), you will develop, test, deploy and maintain the back-end services, APIs and integrations that power ARDC’s national research data products, using DevOps practices to release them reliably. You will work in an Agile team alongside developers, business analysts, testers and systems administrators.

In this role, you will:

• Develop and maintain back-end web applications and services, with a focus on APIs, using Java and Spring Boot in a Linux-based environment.

• Build and maintain integrations with partner systems, catalogues and other dependencies.

• Use CI/CD pipelines, automated testing and containers to build, test and release products and services.

• Take part in Agile ceremonies, peer programming and code review.

• Integrate large language models (LLMs) into services, including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) search, and contribute to front-end development when required.

To find out more about this role, please visit our website to see the position description: https://ardc.online/5fkcb5b7

What We Are Looking For

We want to speak with individuals who have:

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.

• Experience working with geographically distributed teams in a matrix environment.

• Experience working with or in the Australian higher education or research sector, with demonstrated understanding of research infrastructure and the role it plays in enabling research activity.

• Suitable experience and qualifications to meet the requirements outlined in the position description.

Terms of Appointment

This position will be offered on a fixed term appointment through to 30 June 2028.

In return, we offer:

• A competitive remuneration package.

• Flexible working arrangements across our distributed team model.

• Professional development opportunities.

• The chance to work with talented individuals on exciting Australian research infrastructure projects.

Applications close on Friday 13th November 2026

All appointments are subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks, which will include reference checks, verification of qualifications, and confirmation of the right to work in Australia. This role will require a National Police Check and/or Working with Children Check.