Principal Engineer

News Corporation; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Birthday leave

Parental leave

Community volunteering & donations

Hackdays

Job summary

REA Group in Melbourne's Richmond area is seeking a senior engineer to tackle complex technical challenges and shape the direction of a high-impact portfolio. This permanent full-time role emphasizes quality engineering and scalable platform solutions.

You will bring approximately 15 years of engineering experience, proficiency in Python/Scala/Java/Kotlin, cloud expertise (AWS/GCP/Azure), and a track record in platform modernization and mentoring teams. A hybrid work approach is supported.

Qualifications

• Approximately 15 years of engineering experience.
• Proficiency in Python, Scala, Java, or Kotlin.
• Solid understanding of AWS, GCP, or Azure.
• Strong platform-architecture mindset.
• Experience with modernization or transformation.
• Ability to influence technical direction across squads and stakeholders.
• Balancing long-term strategy with pragmatic delivery.
• Background in mentoring teams or leading cross-functional projects.

Responsibilities

• Tackle complex, meaningful technical challenges at scale with high quality engineering.
• Shape the technical direction of a high-impact portfolio across core product areas.
• Drive scalable, resilient, and maintainable platform solutions aligned with business goals.
• Influence technical direction across squads, engineering leaders, architects, and product stakeholders.
• Mentor teams and lead cross-functional technical projects.

Skills

Python

Scala

Java

Kotlin

Cloud platforms

Platform architecture

Modernization

Mentoring

Cross-functional leadership

Job description

What the role is all about

• Tackle complex, meaningful technical challenges at scale in an environment where quality engineering is highly valued

• Shape the technical direction of a high-impact portfolio and influence how one of REA’s core product areas evolves

• Permanent full time role based in Richmond

Who we’re looking for

• You will have approximately 15 years of experience in engineering or related fields, ideally in a dynamic, agile environment.

• Proficiency in one or more of the following programming languages: Python, Scala, Java, or Kotlin.

• Solid understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure).

• Deep understanding of platform architecture and mindset.

• Strong experience with modernization or transformation.

• Drive scalable, resilient, and maintainable platform solutions aligned with business and engineering goals.

• Proven experience influencing technical direction across squads, engineering leaders, architects, and product stakeholders.

• You can balance long-term strategic thinking with pragmatic delivery outcomes.

• Background in mentoring teams or leading cross-functional technical projects.

• Experience guiding platform evolution, system modernisation, operational excellence, and engineering best practices is desirable.

• Experience in operations and support of critical systems is beneficial.

The REA experience

The physical, mental, emotional and financial health of our people is something we’ll never stop caring about. This is a place to learn and grow.

Some of our Perks & Benefits

include:

• A hybrid and flexible approach to working

• Flexible leave options including, birthday leave and purchase additional leave

• Flexible parental leave offering for primary and secondary carers

• Our Because We Care program offers employees volunteering leave, community grants, matched payroll giving and our Community Café donates 100% of revenue to charity

• Hackdays so you can bring your big ideas to life

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We are committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity, equity and inclusion. We believe teams with diverse ideas and experiences are more creative, more effective and fuel disruptive thinking. If you\'ve got the skills, dedication and enthusiasm to learn but don\'t necessarily meet every single point on the job description, please still get in touch.

Join our Talent Neighbourhood

Keen to be part of REA but didn\'t find a perfect match with this opportunity? Perhaps the timing isn’t right? You should join our Talent Neighbourhood! (https://rea.to/careers-talentneighbourhood)

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