Senior Software Engineer in Sydney

• Salary Range $134,626 - $162,153pa + 12% super
• Haymarket and Parramatta location with hybrid working (1-2 office days per week)

About the team

Digital Services sits at the heart of the customer experience at Service NSW. We design, build and operate the digital products, platforms and shared capabilities that help millions of people and businesses access government services quickly, easily and securely.

We are a cross-functional team of engineers, designers and product managers. Our culture is highly collaborative, based on shared ownership of security, customer and financial outcomes. Team members are trusted to contribute ideas, challenge assumptions constructively and take ownership of their work. We encourage experimentation, innovation and the thoughtful adoption of emerging technologies where they improve our ways of working, or outcomes.

About the role

This role provides a unique opportunity to work on one of the most critical digital platforms within NSW Government. Senior Software Engineers influence authentication, identity and security capabilities used across the State, work on large scale, high impact systems and solve complex technical challenges that directly affect the experience and security of millions of customers. The team offers exposure to modern cloud and identity technologies, strong cross-functional collaboration and support for ongoing professional growth and development.

About you

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will design, build, deploy and operate secure, reliable and scalable digital products and platform capabilities. You will work on complex, high value services used across Service NSW and NSW Government, contributing to technical design, architecture and the continuous improvement of engineering practices.

You will bring a strong focus on system reliability, security and continuous improvement, balancing technical leadership with a pragmatic approach to delivery. You will be comfortable working on highly available platforms and contribute to incident response, service resilience and technical decision-making while helping uplift engineering practices across the team.

Key responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, deploy and operate features and improvements for digital products and services.
• Design and architect solutions to complex technical problems, ensuring they are secure, scalable, reliable and maintainable.
• Build secure backend systems, APIs and supporting platform components, with exposure to full-stack development.
• Collaborate with engineers, product managers, designers and other cross-functional teams in a fast-paced iterative environment.
• Contribute to code reviews, pair programming, testing and technical design discussions.
• Improve engineering practices, capability and skills using data, experimentation and frequent feedback.
• Take ownership of system quality, reliability, security and operational stability.
• Support production systems, monitoring, incident response, root cause analysis and ongoing service improvement.
• Mentor engineers and help uplift team capability across coding, testing, architecture and operations.
• Support critical incidents, releases or urgent operational issues, including occasional out-of-hours work where required.

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Experience designing and building secure, scalable backend systems and APIs, with exposure to full-stack development
• Experience working with cloud platforms and modern CI/CD practices
• Proven ability to deliver reliable, high quality software in production environments
• Experience contributing to incident response and production support in high availability systems
• Strong problem-solving and systems thinking
• Highly collaborative, comfortable with pair programming, code reviews and working across teams
• Takes ownership of outcomes, balancing delivery with reliability, security and operational stability
• Able to self-manage and contribute as a de facto technical leader
• Experience with authentication, identity or other highly dependent platforms
• Familiarity with microservices, APIs and containerisation
• Exposure to monitoring, observability and security practices
• Strong communication skills and ability to explain technical concepts clearly
• Growth mindset and continuous improvement focus
• Experience with high-traffic, highly available platforms
• Exposure to platform or shared services environments
• Interest in progressing towards senior technical leadership roles

To be considered for roles in the NSW public sector, applicants must:

• Be NSW residents or in the process of relocating to NSW
• Hold appropriate working rights for the type of employment offered

You’ll be part of an organisation that:

• Delivers services that genuinely impact millions of people
• Invests in modern technology, ways of working and professional growth
• Supports flexible, hybrid working and inclusive practices
• Values collaboration, purpose and continuous improvement

If you’re motivated by scale, complexity and the opportunity to shape meaningful digital outcomes, we’d love to hear from you!

Assessment Process

The process may include up to three stages, depending on the requirements of the role. Progression to each subsequent stage is subject to a successful outcome at the preceding stage.

Stage 1: Coding Challenge - approximately 1 to 2 hours

You will participate in a hands-on coding capability which is a key requirement of the role.

The challenge may assess:

• Problem-solving skills
• Code quality and maintainability
• Testing and debugging practices
• Ability to develop practical solutions

Stage 2: Behavioural Interview - approximately 45 minutes

If you progress, you will participate in a structured panel interview exploring your professional experience and approach to your work.

You will be asked to provide relevant examples from your career, including challenges you have addressed, outcomes you have delivered and experiences that have prepared you for the role.

We encourage you to draw upon real examples and discuss both your individual contributions and any collaborative achievements.

Stage 3: Technical Q&A or Systems Design- approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour

If you progress, you may be invited to a technical assessment, which will be one of the following assessments:

• Technical Q&A, consisting of predefined technical questions.
• System Design challenge, consisting of a whiteboard design exercise.

This stage is designed to assess your technical knowledge, experience and engineering approach relevant to the role.

Progression Through the Process

Following each stage, candidates who meet the requirements will be invited to the next assessment activity. Candidates who do not progress will not be required to complete the remaining stages.

Assessment outcomes are reviewed at each stage. You will be advised of your outcome and any next steps as soon as possible.

Support office roles will be headquartered across Haymarket and Parramatta. We will consider role headquarters outside of the above locations where the role can reasonably be performed from that location taking into consideration the operational, financial and customer requirements of the role and an ability to attend a NSW Government workplace as required. At the point an employee is notified of our intention to assign them to a role, the relevant leader will discuss headquarter options.

Salary Grade 9/10, with the base salary for this role starting at $130,705 base plus superannuation

Careers at Department of Customer Service

A career at the Department of Customer Service (DCS) gives you the opportunity to help improve government services and be part of reform that benefits people across NSW. We are focused on delivering excellent customer service, digital transformation, and regulatory reform. Come join us and influence the future of our great state.

Belong in our diverse and inclusive workplace

The strength of our workforce lies in its diversity and embracing difference, while the key to our success is leveraging the contributions of employees with different backgrounds and perspectives.

You can view our full diversity and inclusion statement here.

We provide adjustments to the recruitment process for candidates, including individuals with disability. If you require an adjustment during the recruitment process, including alternate formats or have questions about the support available, please contact Talent Operations on 02 8276 8*** or *************@customerservice.nsw.gov.au.

For more information, please visit

Information on some of the different types of disabilities

Information on adjustments available for the recruitment process

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