Principal Data Engineer

Department of Customer Service; Gosford; Hybrid; AUD 154,000 - 178,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Customer Service is seeking a Principal Data Engineer to lead a data engineering and analytics team within SIRA. The role focuses on enterprise-scale data platforms, ETL/ELT pipelines, and cloud-based architectures across Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, and more.

Hybrid working arrangements are available in Sydney CBD or Gosford, with a 2-year fixed-term opportunity and competitive salary. This is a high-impact position requiring strong leadership and collaboration with stakeholders

Qualifications

• Experience as a principal engineer or senior technical leader in large enterprises.
• Proven leadership of high-performing engineering teams.
• Extensive design/build of enterprise data eng and analytics solutions (ETL/ELT, data warehouses).
• Proficient with cloud data platforms (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Azure, AWS, GCP).
• Strong Python/Java/SQL skills for data pipelines.
• Ability to design secure, scalable data solutions and translate technical concepts for stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing team of Data Quality Analysts and Technical Support specialists.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership for analytics platforms, data processing products, and data ingestion frameworks.
• Design and deliver data engineering and analytics solutions aligned with technical specs and standards.
• Design, build, and maintain ETL/ELT solutions for analytics and reporting.
• Lead development activities across Data Engineering initiatives with technical direction and peer reviews.
• Apply expertise in ingestion, transformation, storage, modelling, and reporting for scalable data solutions.
• Mentor Senior Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and Analysts to achieve outcomes.
• Collaborate with business and tech stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.

Skills

Leadership

Data pipelines

Cloud platforms

SQL/Python/Java

Data governance

Tools

Snowflake

BigQuery

Redshift

Azure

AWS

GCP

Talend

Airflow

Dagster

Job description

Principal Data Engineer

• Employment Type: 2-year fixed-term opportunity, with the possibility of ongoing employment
• Salary: Clerk Grade 11/12, $154,231 - $178,369 per annum, plus employer superannuation contribution and leave loading (commensurate with experience)
• Location: Sydney CBD or Gosford, with flexible and hybrid working arrangements available.

The State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) within the Department of Customer Service (DCS) is looking for a Principal Data Engineer to join our team.

About Us

The Department of Customer Service (DCS) is transforming the way NSW Government agencies interact with customers. We are passionate about putting the customer at the centre of everything we do and adopting new technologies to make government work better. DCS is a service provider and regulator, focusing on delivering first-class customer service, digital transformation and regulatory reform to create better outcomes for the people of NSW.

This is an exciting opportunity to work in our State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) who regulates three statutory insurance schemes in NSW. This role sits more specifically in our data engineering team, within the Enterprise Data and Analytics directorate who are responsible for the management of SIRA’s data environment and data products. We also manage the SIRA analytics environment from ingestion, data quality/modelling engineering, ETL/ELT orchestration to data visualisation, metrics, reporting and advanced analytics, in adherence to strict data governance requirements.

Understand more about the Department of Customer Service – https://www.nsw.gov.au/customer-service and about SIRA at https://www.sira.nsw.gov.au/

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing team of Data Quality Analysts and Technical Support specialists, fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and technical excellence.
• Provide hands‑on technical leadership for analytics platforms, data processing products, and data ingestion frameworks, ensuring compliance with data and architectural standards and delivery of business requirements.
• Design and deliver data engineering and analytics solutions in line with technical specifications, engineering best practices, and coding standards.
• Design, build, and maintain ETL/ELT solutions to enable the efficient extraction, transformation, and loading of data for analytics and reporting.
• Lead development activities across Data Engineering initiatives, providing technical direction, design guidance, workload planning, and peer review of deliverables.
• Apply deep technical expertise across data ingestion, transformation, storage, modelling, and reporting to deliver scalable and reliable data solutions.
• Mentor and support Senior Data Engineers, Data Engineers, Data Scientists, Data Analysts, and other team members to achieve project and business outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with business and technology stakeholders in a dynamic, fast-paced environment to deliver high-quality data products and services.

Skills and Experience

• Experience operating as a principal engineer, lead engineer or senior technical leader within complex enterprise environments.
• Proven leadership experience managing high-performing technical teams
• Extensive experience designing, building, and supporting enterprise-scale data engineering and analytics solutions, including ETL/ELT pipelines, data integration frameworks, data warehouses, dimensional models, and cloud-based data platforms using technologies such as Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Azure, AWS, and GCP.
• Strong practical experience with contemporary data engineering tools and frameworks, including Talend, Airflow and Dagster, and proficiency in Python, Java and SQL for building and maintaining data pipelines
• Proven ability to design secure, scalable, and resilient data solutions that support operational, regulatory, and analytical business requirements.
• Strong analytical, stakeholder engagement, and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into practical business outcomes.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively in fast-paced environments while driving continuous improvement across data engineering platforms, processes, and practices.

If you are a passionate data engineering leader with experience designing and delivering scalable data platforms, driving technical excellence, and transforming data into actionable insights, we would love to hear from you.

Benefits

• Enjoy genuine flexible working arrangements that support work-life balance.
• Collaborate in state‑of‑the‑art offices designed for innovation and connection.
• Access a wide range of wellbeing programs and resources to support your mental, physical, and emotional health.
• Take advantage of excellent professional development and learning opportunities to help you thrive.

Essential Requirements

• Be NSW residents or in the process of relocating to NSW
• Hold appropriate working rights for the type of employment offered – Fixed Term roles require valid work rights for the full duration of the role

Salary Grade 11/12, with the base salary for this role starting at $154,231 base plus superannuation

For enquiries relating to recruitment please contact Esther Dah via [e-mail].

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: Monday, 21 September 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 [e-mail].

For more information, please visit

Information on some of the different types of disabilities

Information on adjustments available for the recruitment process