Senior Java Engineer (Developer) - Federal Government

Effective People; Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane; Hybrid; AUD 179,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

Effective People seeks a senior Java Software Engineer for a Federal Government program in Canberra. The role focuses on capacity management, operational automation and extending Java apps, data collectors, APIs and database interfaces to generate reporting and insights.

You will lead design, development, testing, release and production support, collaborating with capacity planners, platform teams and DBAs in a hybrid, government-facing environment.

Qualifications

• You're taken technical responsibility for complex software development at senior level.
• You've delivered substantial Java application or backend development.
• You've integrated monitoring, capacity or observability data into application or data workflows.
• You can design reliable data aggregation, transformation and storage patterns.
• You have strong PostgreSQL or comparable relational database experience.
• You can build automation scripts, data collectors and scheduled jobs.
• You've led software design, systems integration, testing, release and deployment activities.
• You can investigate production defects and perform root cause analysis.
• You can provide specialist technical advice and work across multidisciplinary teams.
• You're an Australian citizen and you must hold a current NV1 clearance or above.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Java application components, collectors, APIs and processing logic.
• Integrate monitoring and capacity data from platform and observability sources.
• Design data aggregation, transformation and storage patterns in PostgreSQL.
• Prepare data structures, queries and extracts for Grafana dashboards and reporting.
• Build automation scripts, scheduled jobs and repeatable operational processes.
• Investigate defects, perform root cause analysis and support remediation.
• Support releases across development, pre-production and production.
• Produce technical designs, implementation notes and knowledge transfer material.
• Work with capacity planners, platform teams, DBAs, Linux engineers and delivery stakeholders.
• Provide senior technical leadership across software design, integration, testing and deployment.

Skills

Java backend

Senior leadership

Observability data

PostgreSQL

Automation scripts

Release management

Data reporting

Cross-functional teamwork

Documentation

Technical leadership

Tools

Grafana

Elastic

Prometheus

VMware Aria

Dynatrace

Job description

02nd November, 2026

EL1 Senior Java Software Engineer (Developer) - Digital & Data

Location: Canberra, ACT (Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane may be considered)

Contract: Up to 12 months, with extension terms up to a maximum of 24 months

Pay: $130 - $160 p/h including super (negotiable)

Work type: Full-time

Work arrangement: Hybrid, with specific arrangements agreed with your supervisor on a case-by-case basis

Clearance: Must hold a current NV1 clearance or above

About the Role

This is a senior Java engineering role with our Federal Government client, focused on capacity management and operational automation across a large technology environment.

You will extend Java applications, data collectors, APIs and database interfaces that collect and process utilisation data. You will help turn that data into reliable reporting, forecasting and operational insights.

The role needs someone who can take technical responsibility across design, development, integration, testing, release and production support.

What You'll Be Doing

• Develop and maintain Java application components, collectors, APIs and processing logic
• Integrate monitoring and capacity data from platform and observability sources
• Design data aggregation, transformation and storage patterns in PostgreSQL
• Prepare data structures, queries and extracts for Grafana dashboards and reporting
• Build automation scripts, scheduled jobs and repeatable operational processes
• Investigate defects, perform root cause analysis and support remediation
• Support releases across development, pre-production and production
• Produce technical designs, implementation notes and knowledge transfer material
• Work with capacity planners, platform teams, DBAs, Linux engineers and delivery stakeholders
• Provide senior technical leadership across software design, integration, testing and deployment

What You Bring (Essential Criteria)

• You've taken technical responsibility for complex software development at senior level
• You've delivered substantial Java application or backend development
• You've integrated monitoring, capacity or observability data into application or data workflows
• You can design reliable data aggregation, transformation and storage patterns
• You have strong PostgreSQL or comparable relational database experience
• You can build automation scripts, data collectors and scheduled jobs
• You've led software design, systems integration, testing, release and deployment activities
• You can investigate production defects and perform root cause analysis
• You can provide specialist technical advice and work across multidisciplinary teams
• You can produce clear technical designs, implementation notes and handover material
• You're an Australian citizen
• You must hold a current NV1 clearance or above

Nice to Have (Desirable Criteria)

• Experience with Grafana, Elastic, Prometheus, VMware Aria or Dynatrace
• Capacity management, observability or performance-engineering experience
• Experience delivering large-scale Commonwealth technology services