Senior Product Engineer

Optimal; Christchurch; Remote; NZD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee ESOP

Wellbeing allowance

Learning & development support

Home office setup

4 weeks annual leave

Remote-first

Job summary

Optimal is seeking a Senior Product Engineer to join a cross-functional team building the next generation of user research tools. You will own features end-to-end from architecture to UI, collaborating with product designers and tech leads to ship quickly and iteratively.

This remote-capable role offers ownership, mentorship, and opportunities to influence product direction globally, with a stack including React, Ruby on Rails, and AWS, plus a generous benefits package.

Qualifications

• Senior full-stack engineer with leadership capabilities
• Experience delivering product features end-to-end
• Strong collaboration with product/design teams

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of features from idea to delivery
• Lead projects end-to-end across the stack (React, Rails, AWS)
• Mentor other engineers and set technical direction
• Shape product direction through hands-on exploration and delivery

Job description

New Zealand or Australia (AEDT) | Remote, or from our Wellington HQ

About Optimal

Optimal is a comprehensive user insight platform empowering product teams and UX researchers to make confident, data-driven decisions.

We provide a powerful suite that transforms complex human behaviours into actionable insights. Our platform helps our customers understand how people interact with their digital experiences, revealing the "why" behind user behaviours so they can build products that truly connect with their audience.

We work with industry leaders like Lego, Nike, Netflix and Apple, to bridge the gap between user expectations and product reality.

The role

We're looking for a Senior Product Engineer to join one of our teams, a cross-functional crew building the next generation of user research tools. We're focused on rapid development and market delivery of new, inventive ways to conduct research at scale.

This is a senior, full-stack engineering role with a strong product and experience focus. You'll lead projects end-to-end as the engineer at the table, working with product and design on your team to go from idea to delivery. That means a full seat in shaping the project, navigating how it gets delivered, and owning the engineering all the way through to UI finesse and feature behaviour. You'll work closely with our Tech Leads, fellow Product Engineers, and a Product Designer to take new ideas to market quickly and iterate based on real-world usage.

As a senior Engineer on a small team, you won't just write code. You'll set technical direction, raise the bar on craft, and mentor others. This is an opportunity to take real ownership of meaningful projects and have a direct impact on a product used by teams around the world.

What you'll do:

• Lead projects end-to-end: Take engineering ownership of meaningful features and initiatives, from early-stage exploration through enterprise-ready delivery
• Have a full seat at the table: Work with product and design on your team to shape the project, navigate delivery, and have real say from architecture down to UI finesse and feature behaviour
• Build and ship experiences: Design, build, and ship new research features that delight users and make complex tasks feel simple
• Work across the full stack: Deliver across React, Ruby on Rails and AWS, with the depth to move confidently from frontend UX to backend services
• Shape product direction: Stay close to the problem space and user needs, actively shaping where the product goes through hands‑on exploration
• Set the technical bar: Contribute to architecture decisions, raise the standard of craft, and mentor others on the team
• Move fast and iterate: Take new ideas to market quickly and improve them based on real-world usage

What we're looking for

• Senior full-stack Engineer: Deep, hands‑on experience building and shipping product across the stack: React on the frontend, Ruby on Rails on the backend, deployed on AWS
• Strong product mindset: You build with the user in mind and care about the "why" as much as the "how"
• Excellent frontend engineering: Strong React experience and strong UI skills, so you can build beautiful, performant interfaces
• Creative and opinionated: You bring taste and care into your craft, and can prototype and polish with equal flair
• Leadership and ownership: You're comfortable leading projects and taking responsibility for outcomes, from idea through delivery and beyond
• AI-curious: An interest in integrating modern AI tools into user-facing products, and in using AI to build better software, faster
• Entrepreneurial spirit: You're proactive, self-starting, and love creating new things
• Team collaborator: You thrive in open, creative, cross-functional environments

What's in it for you:

• Competitive salary that reflects your skills and experience, plus an opportunity to join our Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP) to help you benefit from the long-term success of the company
• Annual wellbeing allowance and support
• Generous annual learning and development support
• Home office set‑up support
• 4 weeks annual leave plus an additional day off on your birthday
• Opportunities for professional growth and development
• Flexible, remote-first working (our HQ is based in Wellington, NZ, but this role can be based anywhere in New Zealand or Australia)