Principal Systems Engineer - Platform & Cloud Leader

New Zealand Government; Wellington; On-site; NZD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

Five weeks annual leave

Income Protection and Critical Illness

Job summary

NZTA | Waka Kotahi in New Zealand seeks a Principal Systems Engineer to lead the design and delivery of enterprise technology solutions across cloud and on‑prem environments. You will influence roadmaps and drive secure, scalable services while mentoring engineers and guiding delivery teams.

You will champion Agile, DevOps, and continuous improvement, collaborating with Platform Leads and Product Owners to ensure resilient platforms and high‑performing teams across multiple locations.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in senior technical leadership roles
• Strong infrastructure, systems engineering, and cloud expertise
• Advanced problem‑solving and troubleshooting capabilities
• Experience operating within large and complex technology environments
• Strong knowledge of Agile, DevOps, and continuous improvement practices
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication, and collaboration skills
• The ability to balance competing priorities in a fast‑paced environment
• You will demonstrate knowledge of Te Ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi as it applies in public service

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and delivery of enterprise technology solutions
• Drive platform reliability across cloud and on‑prem environments
• Provide leadership during complex incidents and critical outages
• Champion Agile, DevOps, and continuous improvement practices
• Influence technology roadmaps and engineering direction
• Mentor engineers and strengthen technical capability
• Collaborate across teams to deliver secure, scalable services

Skills

Senior leadership

Cloud expertise

Infrastructure design

DevOps practices

Agile methods

Stakeholder engagement

Technical mentoring

Job description

NZTA | Waka Kotahi in New Zealand seeks a Principal Systems Engineer to lead the design and delivery of enterprise technology solutions across cloud and on‑prem environments. You will influence roadmaps and drive secure, scalable services while mentoring engineers and guiding delivery teams.

You will champion Agile, DevOps, and continuous improvement, collaborating with Platform Leads and Product Owners to ensure resilient platforms and high‑performing teams across multiple locations.