Data Platform Engineering Lead

Rocket Lab Corporation; Auckland; On-site; NZD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Auckland is seeking a Team Lead - Data Engineering to steer the data tools, systems and platforms that support our launch vehicles, simulations and ground operations.

You will lead a high‑performing software team, design end-to-end data processing pipelines, ensure robust delivery, and collaborate across engineering, operations and mission teams to enable reliable, well‑documented software that scales with our space programs.

Qualifications

• Degree in Software Engineering, CS, EE, or related field.
• 8+ years of software engineering experience.
• Proven leadership or mentoring experience required.
• Experience with data platform architecture and data management.
• Experience with REST APIs, databases, Git, and modern software workflows.
• Familiarity with Spark, Pandas/Numpy, ETL processes or similar tools.
• Strong problem-solving skills and collaborative mindset.

Responsibilities

• Lead a high‑performing team of software engineers.
• End‑to‑end software development across infrastructure, storage, ingestion, and presentation of operational data.
• Design, development, testing, and documentation of software used across launch operations, integrated systems testing, simulations, and ground systems.
• Architecture, code quality, coding standards, and agile engineering practices.
• Cross‑functional collaboration with engineering, operations, and mission teams.
• Continuous improvement, technical excellence, and a strong culture of ownership.

Skills

Team leadership

Data platform architecture

REST APIs

Databases

Git

Software workflows

Spark

Pandas/Numpy

ETL processes

Problem-solving

Education

Tertiary qualification in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or similar

Tools

Spark

Pandas/Numpy

ETL processes

Git

Job description

Rocket Lab in Auckland is seeking a Team Lead - Data Engineering to steer the data tools, systems and platforms that support our launch vehicles, simulations and ground operations.

You will lead a high‑performing software team, design end-to-end data processing pipelines, ensure robust delivery, and collaborate across engineering, operations and mission teams to enable reliable, well‑documented software that scales with our space programs.