Lead Developer

Find Recruitment; Wellington; Hybrid; NZD 107,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Contract through to 30 June 2027

Hourly rate up to $130 per hour

Hands-on development with leadership

Complex enterprise apps & integrations

Modern Java, Kafka, Kubernetes, OpenSh

Hybrid work – 3 days in office, 2 at &

Exposure to AWS and DevOps

Job summary

Find Recruitment is seeking an experienced Lead Developer in Wellington to join as a contract role through 30 June 2027. You will blend hands-on Java development with technical leadership across multiple projects, shaping standards and engineering direction while supporting BAU and project work.

You’ll collaborate with the Engineering Manager and wider teams, delivering design, coding, troubleshooting and end-to-end solutions in a modern tech stack including Kafka, Kubernetes/OpenShift, AWS and

Qualifications

• Java 17+ with modern frameworks
• Kafka experience with publishers/consumers
• Kubernetes/OpenShift deployment experience
• CI/CD with GitLab or similar
• Agile/Scrum practices in project delivery
• Excellent communication across tech and business teams

Responsibilities

• Lead hands-on development and integration efforts
• Design and deliver solutions using Java 17+
• Provide technical direction to developers
• Plan, estimate and manage technical delivery
• Contribute to architecture reviews and design decisions
• Develop Kafka publishers/consumers and messaging setups
• Support enterprise apps and SaaS/PaaS platforms
• Mentor developers and raise engineering standards
• Maintain CI/CD pipelines and automated deployments
• Work across project delivery and BAU initiatives
• Troubleshoot performance and distributed systems

Skills

Java

Leadership

Agile/Scrum

CI/CD

Git

AWS

Communication

Tools

Git

Kubernetes

OpenShift

PostgreSQL

Kafka

Job description

Find Recruitment – Wellington, North Island

Jora New Zealand will close on 9th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

Your new role

We are looking for an experienced Lead Developer who can combine strong hands‑on development skills with technical leadership. You’ll work across multiple projects while also supporting BAU applications, helping shape development plans, engineering standards and technical direction.

Working closely with the Software Engineering Manager, Project Manager and wider technical teams, you’ll lead development activities while remaining actively involved in designing, coding, troubleshooting and delivering solutions.

This is a contract opportunity starting ASAP and running through to 30 June 2027, with an hourly rate of up to $130 per hour.

Responsibilities

• Lead and contribute to hands‑on application and integration development
• Develop solutions primarily using Java 17 or later
• Provide technical direction and guidance to developers
• Lead development planning, estimation and technical delivery activities
• Contribute to software design, architecture and technical reviews
• Design and develop Kafka publishers, consumers and topic‑based messaging solutions
• Support bespoke enterprise applications and SaaS/PaaS platforms
• Provide technical leadership for Level 3 application support
• Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment practices
• Support applications deployed across Kubernetes and OpenShift environments
• Work across both project delivery and BAU initiatives
• Troubleshoot application performance and distributed system issues
• Mentor developers and contribute to improved engineering standards and practices
• Work closely with project managers, architects, designers and business stakeholders

Requirements

• Strong commercial development experience using Java 17 or later, ideally Java 21
• Strong understanding of software engineering best practices, coding standards and design patterns
• Practical experience with Apache Kafka, including publishers, consumers and topic‑based messaging
• Experience with PostgreSQL or comparable enterprise relational databases
• Strong experience using Git within collaborative development environments
• Experience deploying and supporting applications using Kubernetes and/or OpenShift
• Strong CI/CD experience, ideally using GitLab
• Experience working with Agile/Scrum practices and tools including Jira and Confluence
• Proven technical leadership experience within software development teams
• Strong application support, troubleshooting and problem‑solving capability
• Understanding of AWS core services and cloud architecture principles
• Familiarity with monitoring and observability technologies such as Elasticsearch, Logstash, Prometheus, Grafana and Kibana
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong stakeholder management skills across technical and business teams
• Python development experience would be advantageous but is not essential

Perks and benefits

• Contract through to 30 June 2027
• Hourly rate of up to $130 per hour
• Opportunity to combine hands‑on development with technical leadership
• Work across complex enterprise applications and integrations
• Exposure to modern Java, Kafka, Kubernetes, OpenShift, AWS and DevOps technologies
• Hybrid working - 3 days in office 2 home.

You MUST be based in WELLINGTON to be considered for this role