Senior Software Engineer

NextPlay; Sunshine Coast Regional; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

NextPlay seeks a Senior Software Engineer to drive AI-powered data solutions for talent teams and founders. You’ll architect and ship software in a small team, staying close to users to ensure real value is delivered.

You will design AI services, build multi-agent systems, and own the data product for Australia’s startup and scaleup ecosystem. The role combines architecture, implementation and collaboration with founders.

Qualifications

• Experience designing AI services and multi-agent systems.
• Production software built with TypeScript and Next.js; familiarity with databases and authentication.
• Ability to ship quickly while maintaining code quality and reliability.
• Comfort working directly with founders and non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Architect, build and maintain NextPlay’s software product and AI services.
• Design and orchestrate multi-agent systems to research and connect candidate data.
• Build across production systems including data infrastructure, search, and background processing.
• Collaborate with recruiters, founders and users; ship improvements and iterate fast.
• Own technical decisions, code quality and data accuracy.

Skills

AI systems

TypeScript

Next.js

Data infrastructure

Authentication

Background processing

Multi-agent systems

Forward deployed

Product collaboration

Recruitment tech

Job description

Are you a Senior Software Engineer who wants to build at the cutting edge of AI, in a small team where you can ship something in the morning and have people using it that afternoon?

You will work as a true forward deployed engineer, staying close to the people using the product and the problems they are trying to solve. You will design AI services, build multi agent systems and help create the best data product for Australia’s startup and scaleup ecosystem.

This is a role for someone who wants to architect, orchestrate and ship. Someone who cares deeply about quality, understands business value and enjoys problems where the answer has not already been figured out.

A little about NextPlay

NextPlay is building a data product that lets talent teams and founders ask incredibly specific questions about the people they want to hire and get accurate answers back.

You can ask our agent:

“Find me an AI engineer in Sydney with extensive front end experience, a design background and experience inside VC backed companies as they grew from Series A to Series C.”

Or:

“Find me a Head of Growth for a PLG SaaS product who owned self serve revenue, moved a business from founder led sales to self serve and built a small team.”

And watch it find the match.

Building a product was the plan from day one. We started with a high end recruitment agency so we could work on real problems. The business is now profitable and growing, our recruiters use the product every day and the feedback loop is immediate.

We have deliberately kept the team small while we learned, built and stayed close to the problem. Now we are ready to bring in another senior engineer who can help us take the product and company into their next stage.

What you’ll do

• Architect, build and maintain NextPlay’s software product and the AI services behind it.
• Design and orchestrate multi agent systems that research, validate and connect candidate and company data.
• Build across our production systems, including data infrastructure, search, authentication and background processing.
• Work as a forward deployed engineer alongside our recruiters, founders and users. Ship improvements, see how people use them and iterate quickly.
• Own technical decisions, code quality, reliability and data accuracy.

The type of experience we are looking for:

• You have made difficult architectural decisions and bring strong systems thinking.
• You have built production software with TypeScript and Next.js and understand databases, authentication and background processing.
• You have been using AI development tools since early on and know how to build and orchestrate multi agent systems.
• You use agents to increase your output while maintaining a high bar for code quality. You understand the code and take responsibility for what ships.
• You stay curious about the problem, want to understand how people use what you build and care about the business value it creates.
• You are comfortable working directly with founders, moving quickly and making decisions without perfect information.
• You enjoy working with technical and non technical people. At NextPlay, everyone contributes to the product and everyone ships.
• Recruitment technology experience would give you a bit advantage if you understand the industry and some domain expertise.

How we work

This full time role is based in our office in Peregian Beach. We work closely in person, with flexibility to work from home a few days each week and make the role work sensibly around your life. We care about outcomes. What you deliver, how well it works and the value it creates.