Senior Software Engineer - Team Lead (AI First Delivery)

Vista; Auckland; On-site; NZD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Medical insurance

Life insurance

Parental leave

Mentoring & career development

Wellness benefits

Team events

Job summary

Vista is seeking a Senior Software Engineer - Team Lead to advance our AI-first delivery program from Auckland, New Zealand. You will translate business needs into data-driven, AI-enabled solutions while leading the Data Engineering team and collaborating with stakeholders across disciplines.

The role combines discovery, solution design, AI orchestration, and hands‑on engineering, with 60% analysis and 40% implementation.

Qualifications

• Strong software engineering fundamentals and experience delivering production systems.
• Experience with Python, TypeScript, APIs, integrations, data pipelines, or distributed systems.
• Strong experience using AI tools to design, generate, test, review, and operate software.
• Experience leading, mentoring, or coaching software engineers.
• Ability to build trust, provide clear feedback, and support meaningful career‑development conversations.
• Ability to set clear expectations while enabling engineers to work with a high degree of autonomy.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to articulate problems clearly and precisely.
• Strong analytical and problem‑framing skills.
• Experience translating business needs into technical solutions and prioritised engineering work.
• Confidence working independently in ambiguous and fast‑moving environments.
• Ability to manage several workstreams in parallel without requiring significant management overhead.
• Familiarity with relational databases, data modelling, cloud platforms, and data quality principles.
• Sound judgment around security, privacy, governance, and access control.
• A practical, outcome‑focused approach to AI and emerging technologies.
• Experience with AI orchestration, agents, event‑driven systems, analytics platforms, data engineering, or automated workflows would be valuable.

Responsibilities

• Work with stakeholders to understand business outcomes, operational pain points, workflows, and decisions that could be improved through better access to data and AI.
• Translate business needs into clear requirements, data points, metrics, source systems, and prioritised engineering work.
• Design and deliver data ingestion pipelines, services, integrations, and tooling using the patterns established by Vista's data engineering team.
• Use AI‑first engineering practices to orchestrate the design, development, testing, documentation, and operation of production systems.
• Build practical AI‑enabled solutions, including copilots, agents, automation, and decision‑support workflows.
• Break ambiguous problems into clear, achievable increments that deliver measurable value.
• Run multiple streams of work in parallel while remaining self‑directed and accountable for outcomes.
• Ensure data quality, security, access, auditability, observability, and responsible AI practices are built into each solution.
• Work closely with data engineering, product, support, security, and business teams to ensure solutions are useful, reusable, and scalable.
• Provide day‑to‑day people leadership for the Data Engineering team, including regular one‑to‑ones, coaching, feedback, career development, wellbeing support, and performance management.
• Build a healthy, inclusive, and accountable team environment that supports high autonomy and effective collaboration.
• Provide leadership visibility into team health, capacity, capability, and emerging people risks

Skills

Python

TypeScript

APIs

Data pipelines

Distributed systems

AI tools

Leadership

Mentoring

Autonomy

Security & governance

Job description

As a Senior Software Engineer - Team Lead, focusing on AI first delivery, you'll deliver the next phase of Vista's AI programme.

Working closely with business stakeholders and the data engineering team, you'll turn complex operational problems into clear requirements, practical solutions, and reliable AI-enabled systems. You'll help connect fragmented systems and data to build a clearer view of Vista's customer and business operations. This role combines discovery, solution design, AI orchestration, and hands‑on engineering, with an emphasis on clearly understanding the problem before directing AI to help solve it.

Alongside your hands‑on engineering responsibilities, you'll also provide people leadership for the Data Engineering team, supporting engineers through regular one‑to‑ones, feedback, career development, performance conversations, and day‑to‑day coaching, helping to create a healthy, capable, and highly autonomous team.

Working closely with the programme's technical and delivery leadership, who will be accountable for delivery priorities, timelines, and technical coordination, you'll be accountable for team health, capability, career development, and people‑management outcomes. You'll help the team operate effectively through lightweight coordination, clear expectations, and high individual autonomy, without introducing unnecessary process or meetings.

This role is expected to be approximately 60% analysis and discovery, and 40% implementation.

Help us build the data and engineering foundations that allow Vista to make better decisions, redesign important workflows, and create valuable AI‑enabled products and experiences.

What You’ll Do

• Work with stakeholders to understand business outcomes, operational pain points, workflows, and decisions that could be improved through better access to data and AI
• Translate business needs into clear requirements, data points, metrics, source systems, and prioritised engineering work
• Design and deliver data ingestion pipelines, services, integrations, and tooling using the patterns established by Vista's data engineering team
• Use AI‑first engineering practices to orchestrate the design, development, testing, documentation, and operation of production systems
• Build practical AI‑enabled solutions, including copilots, agents, automation, and decision‑support workflows
• Break ambiguous problems into clear, achievable increments that deliver measurable value
• Run multiple streams of work in parallel while remaining self‑directed and accountable for outcomes
• Ensure data quality, security, access, auditability, observability, and responsible AI practices are built into each solution
• Work closely with data engineering, product, support, security, and business teams to ensure solutions are useful, reusable, and scalable
• Provide day‑to‑day people leadership for the Data Engineering team, including regular one‑to‑ones, coaching, feedback, career development, wellbeing support, and performance management
• Build a healthy, inclusive, and accountable team environment that supports high autonomy and effective collaboration
• Provide leadership visibility into team health, capacity, capability, and emerging people risks

Requirements

What you’ll bring with you

• Strong software engineering fundamentals and experience delivering production systems
• Experience with Python, TypeScript, APIs, integrations, data pipelines, or distributed systems
• Strong experience using AI tools to design, generate, test, review, and operate software
• Experience leading, mentoring, or coaching software engineers
• Ability to build trust, provide clear feedback, and support meaningful career‑development conversations
• Ability to set clear expectations while enabling engineers to work with a high degree of autonomy
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to articulate problems clearly and precisely
• Strong analytical and problem‑framing skills
• Experience translating business needs into technical solutions and prioritised engineering work
• Confidence working independently in ambiguous and fast‑moving environments
• Ability to manage several workstreams in parallel without requiring significant management overhead
• Familiarity with relational databases, data modelling, cloud platforms, and data quality principles
• Sound judgment around security, privacy, governance, and access control
• A practical, outcome‑focused approach to AI and emerging technologies
• Experience with AI orchestration, agents, event‑driven systems, analytics platforms, data engineering, or automated workflows would be valuable

For this particular role, we are currently only considering applicants with the right to live and work in New Zealand without the need for employer sponsorship.

About Vista

Vista is a world‑leading company that makes software for the cinema industry. Started in Auckland, New Zealand, over 25 years ago, we now serve cinemas, film distributors, and moviegoers worldwide.

Our HQ is in the City Works Depot in Auckland. We have offices and subsidiary companies in Sydney, Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, Cape Town, Shanghai, Mexico City, and Kuala Lumpur. We use the latest technologies and offer a fun, agile and collaborative environment. We continue to innovate and build our reputation as one of the best Kiwi tech companies to work for.

Shared Standards

Our Shared Standards act as a compass for how we work together and reflect the behaviours we value at Vista Group. The way in which each member of our crew embodies these Shared Standards is an indicator for performance and success, as it aligns with our vision and strategy.

One Crew

• We’re a diverse team, in different places and functions, and we’re at our best when we connect, help and collaborate

Shine a Light

• We communicate openly, we explain the why, and we ask when we don’t understand. We don’t leave people in the dark

Make it Happen

• We make good things happen as people and as teams through our focus on delivery

Chase Great

• We challenge ourselves and each other to keep improving

Benefits

You will be supported to continually learn and improve your tech skills, share knowledge and ideas in the team, and be part of a dynamic and open culture.

We have a range of benefits that include:

• Excellent work/life balance including a 4 ½ day working week
• Hybrid working (home and office‑based split)
• Medical and Life insurance (after qualifying period)
• Volunteer day, enhanced paid parental leave and wellness benefits
• Strong mentoring & career development focus
• Fun team events including the Vista Innovation Cup

If you enjoy a challenge and working in a dynamic and collaborative team, you’ll love working at Vista.

We value inclusivity celebrate diversity and are committed to offering equal opportunity to our staff and candidates — regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, marital status, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religious, ethical beliefs or political opinion. This commitment is reflected in all our employment policies and procedures.