Project Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior Backend Engineer to architect and deliver large-scale distributed systems for a major enterprise client. You will own backend system design, database schemas, and API architecture whilst building highly optimised, fault-tolerant distributed systems that operate at enterprise scale. Success will be measured by the robustness and performance of production systems you architect, your ability to mentor cross-regional engineering teams, and the clarity with which you communicate complex technical trade-offs to senior client stakeholders.

This engagement is part of a larger cloud-native transformation programme. You will operate within a high-calibre environment alongside ex-Google engineers and founders, where technical excellence, clean software design, and rigorous engineering governance are non-negotiable. This is an opportunity to shape critical backend infrastructure within a regulated enterprise sector whilst working with peers who understand distributed systems at depth.

Key Activities

• System Architecture & Design: Own backend system design, database schema architecture, and RESTful/gRPC API specifications for large-scale enterprise solutions, making deliberate trade-off decisions around data replication, consistency models, and network state management.
• High-Performance Optimisation: Build and optimise highly loaded, fault-tolerant distributed systems, identifying and resolving complex bottlenecks, memory leaks, CPU utilisation challenges, and performance regressions in production environments.
• Cloud-Native Deployment: Architect and deploy microservices to Google Cloud Platform environments, leveraging GKE, Cloud Run, and Cloud Functions whilst applying infrastructure-as-code practices (Terraform) and maintaining rigorous deployment governance.
• Data Pipeline Engineering: Design transactional data flows and streaming architectures utilising BigQuery, Cloud Spanner, Cloud SQL, Kafka, and Pub/Sub; build and consume clean APIs that optimise end-to-end data performance.
• Engineering Governance & Code Quality: Enforce rigorous quality standards through strict code reviews, comprehensive unit and integration testing, and clean software design patterns; mentor junior engineers and cross-regional team members on distributed systems principles and best practices.
• Client & Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with client technical leadership in Melbourne to align on architectural decisions, unpack complex system requirements, and communicate distributed systems trade-offs with absolute clarity to non-technical stakeholders.

Your Background

Essential:

• 8–10 years of professional backend software engineering experience, with a proven track record of shipping production-grade services at scale.
• Strong hands-on proficiency in one or more general-purpose programming languages (Python, Java, Go, C++, or Node.js), backed by intuitive understanding of clean code and object-oriented or functional design patterns.
• Production experience architecting cloud-native applications with deep familiarity of Docker, Kubernetes manifests, and infrastructure-as-code principles.
• Exceptional English communication skills and ability to explain complex distributed systems concepts (data replication, consistency models, network state management) to enterprise engineering leaders and senior stakeholders with absolute clarity.

Desirable:

• Strong production experience writing idiomatic, highly optimised Golang services, with deep knowledge of Go's memory model, profiling tools (pprof), and concurrency primitives.
• Active Google Cloud certifications (Professional Cloud Architect or Professional Cloud Developer) or deep familiarity with GCP identity and security paradigms (IAM, OAuth, VPC Service Controls).
• Previous experience architecting backends within highly regulated Australian sectors such as core banking, digital lending, energy, or telecommunications.
• Comfort using and implementing AI-assisted engineering tools (such as Gemini Code Assist) to maximise prototyping velocity and test-suite development.