Tech Lead Manager

x-RD; City of Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid/flexible work arrangements

Monthly IT remote allowance

Annual funded professional development

Job summary

x-RD is seeking a Tech Lead Manager to join in Canberra or Melbourne. The role combines hands-on principal engineering (60%) with leadership of a cross-functional team up to 5 engineers, supporting secure military, sensor processing, cyber, and AI platforms for Australian Government and Defence customers.

You will own technical delivery, build secure cloud platforms, lead architecture decisions and manage performance, recruitment, and delivery timelines in collaboration with CTO and specialised

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software development or DevOps engineering.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional teams (Software, Cyber, AI).
• Tertiary qualification mandatory in relevant discipline.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Architecture: own design and roadmaps per CTO standards.
• Technical Engineering (60%): build secure AWS and sovereign cloud platforms, IaC, containers, CI/CD, observability.
• People Management (40%): manage performance, career progression and recruitment for 5 direct reports.
• Project Delivery: drive schedules, run iterations, unblock blockers and manage incidents.
• Client & Commercial Engagement: support bids, proposals and estimation with technical input.
• Security & Assurance: embed secure-by-design practices aligned with ISM and accreditation standards.

Skills

CI/CD

Infrastructure as Code

Containers

AWS

Security architecture

Leadership

DevOps

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/IT/Engineering/Cyber Security

Tools

Terraform

Kubernetes

GitHub Actions

CI/CD tooling

Job description

x-RD is looking for a Tech Lead Manager to join our growing team in Canberra or Melbourne .

In this dual-focus role, you will combine hands-on principal engineering (60%) with leadership of a cross-functional team of up to 5 engineers (40%). Working alongside our CTO and specialised engineers, you will own the technical delivery of critical projects across secure military applications, sensor processing, cyber, and AI platforms for Australian Government and Defence customers.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Architecture: Own the technical design and delivery roadmaps for key projects, making high-level architecture decisions aligned with CTO standards while providing expert technical advice across other engagements.
• Technical Engineering (60%): Build secure AWS and sovereign cloud platforms, implement Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), containerized workloads, CI/CD pipelines, and observability tools.
• People Management (40%): Manage performance, career progression, wellbeing, and recruitment for 5 direct reports.
• Project Delivery: Drive delivery schedules, run iteration ceremonies, clear technical blockers, and manage incidents.
• Client and Commercial Engagement: Work with Project and Commercial Managers to deliver planning, scope and budget as well as providing technical input into bids, proposals and estimation when required.
• Security & Assurance: Embed secure-by-design practices, aligning architectures with the Information Security Manual (ISM) and accreditation standards.

Key Requirements & Qualifications

• Education: Tertiary qualification in Computer Science, IT, Cyber Security, Engineering, Maths, Physics, or related discipline ( Mandatory ).
• Clearance: Must be an Australian Citizen with a current NV2 clearance OR eligibility and willingness to obtain/maintain NV2 or above.
• Experience: 8+ years in software development or DevOps engineering, with proven experience leading cross-functional teams (Software, Cyber, AI).
• Technical Depth: Expert hands-on skills in CI/CD, IaC, containers, and secure cloud architecture (AWS).

Highly Desirable

• Experience delivering to Australian Defence, National Security, or Government clients.
• Knowledge of sovereign cloud/air-gapped environments, ISM, Essential Eight, or IRAP accreditation.
• Certifications in AWS, Kubernetes (CKA), or Cyber Security.

Why You'll Love this Role

• Real Impact: Lead high-level technical delivery across secure military applications, sensor processing systems, cyber apps, and AI solutions.
• Balance: Stay technical, code, and design AWS/sovereign cloud architectures without losing your connection to team leadership.
• Professional Development: We provide annual funded professional development, conferences, and certifications.
• Support: We provide a monthly IT remote allowance and hybrid/flexible work arrangements.