Software Engineer - Database

Xero; Wellington; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Remote-friendly facilities

Job summary

Xero is seeking a Software Engineer for its Database Reliability Team in Wellington. The role balances software development with database reliability to improve fleet tooling and efficiency across Xero’s database platform.

You will help keep the platform healthy, observable, and fast, addressing production issues before impact and collaborating with engineering teams to scale backend systems and enable AI-assisted workflows.

Qualifications

• Experience across .NET, C# and AWS environments.
• Practical knowledge of database platforms such as SQL Server, Amazon RDS, or PostgreSQL.
• Ability to build scalable backend tools and automate processes.
• Strong observability, performance tuning, and production-issue response.
• Design resilient software and leverage AI tools to optimise workflows.
• Collaborative mindset with willingness to mentor peers.

Responsibilities

• Split time roughly 50/50 between software engineering and database reliability.
• Build internal tooling to improve fleet management and database platform efficiency.
• Keep the platform healthy, observable, and performant; investigate issues before users are affected.
• Work with Xero engineers to scale backend systems and integrate AI-driven workflows.

Skills

.NET

C#

AWS

Backend engineering

Observability

AI tooling

Mentoring

Collaborative

Tools

SQL Server

Amazon RDS

PostgreSQL

Job description

The role / impact

Join Xero's Database Reliability Team as a Software Engineer with a focus on database reliability. In this role, your time will be split roughly 50% on software engineering and 50% on database reliability, building internal tooling that improves fleet management and makes managing Xero's database platform more efficient.

You will keep the platform healthy, resilient, and performant by monitoring performance, improving observability, and investigating production issues before they affect users. Your work will strengthen the underlying platform supporting engineering teams across Xero, directly shaping a fast, reliable experience for millions of global customers.

The team / how they connect

You will join a fun, collaborative team that owns the database platform powering Xero's core products. The team shares knowledge, solves complex technical challenges together, and works alongside engineering teams across Xero to ensure backend systems scale smoothly as demand grows. Together, they focus on continuously improving platform reliability and integrating modern engineering practices, including AI-driven workflows.

The team is currently working on

• Evolution of the database platform, migrating from self-managed SQL Server to Amazon RDS and transitioning towards PostgreSQL.
• Internal tooling enhancements to streamline fleet management, automate processes, and boost developer efficiency.
• Platform observability and performance engineering to identify bottlenecks, support load balancing, and improve resilience.
• Integration of AI tools into daily workflows to enhance engineering quality and productivity.

Where and how you can work

At Xero, we offer flexible working arrangements tailored to support productivity and connection. You can work using a hybrid setup with dedicated boost days in the office to collaborate in person with your team, supported by modern remote working facilities.

Here are some of the things we're looking for

• Experience across .NET, C#, and AWS environments, or strong proficiency in backend software engineering with a language-agnostic mindset.
• Practical knowledge of database platforms like SQL Server, Amazon RDS, or PostgreSQL, paired with a drive to expand into platform engineering.
• Expertise in building scalable backend tools, writing clean code, and automating manual processes.
• A strong grasp of system observability, database performance tuning, and responding to production issues.
• Capability to design resilient software solutions while leveraging modern development tools, including AI tools, to optimise workflows.
• A collaborative mindset with a passion for continuous learning, sharing knowledge, and mentoring peers.