Lead Engineer

Posted 17 Hours Ago
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Auckland, NZL
Hybrid
Senior level
Cloud • Fintech • Information Technology • Machine Learning • Software
At Xero, we’re here to help you supercharge your business.
The Role
Lead technical design and implementation for high-scale reporting systems, modernize legacy .NET frameworks, integrate AI, manage incidents and on-call duties, mentor engineers, and drive multi-quarter roadmaps and engineering maturity.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Xero and the Team

At Xero, our purpose is to make running a business beautiful by empowering small businesses with world-class technology. The Reporting Platform is one of the most heavily used products across the entire Xero suite, serving over 150 reports—such as Profit & Loss and Revenue statements—to millions of users, accountants, and bookkeepers.

As part of our growing engineering group, this team operates across Wellington and Vancouver. We are seeking a Lead Engineer to bridge drive technical initiatives in your pod, modernize legacy frameworks, and drive engineering maturity across high-scale platform systems.

About the Role

In this position, you will balance your time roughly 50% hands-on coding and executing projects alongside senior engineers and 50% strategic focusing on technical discovery, incident management, and long-term roadmap planning.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Hands-on Delivery & Architecture for Product Features in Reporting: Lead technical design and implementation, balancing speed, quality, and architectural standards across complex systems to deliver features in Reporting

  • Modernize Legacy Systems: Guide software application development to modernize legacy .NET frameworks, safely shifting traffic and rolling out updates at scale.

  • Drive AI Integration: Capitalize on unique opportunities to embed AI directly into our reporting products and software development lifecycle (SDLC) and improve the overall Engineer experience in reporting.

  • Incident Management & Quality: Lead incident response, participate in the team's on-call roster, and establish robust testing and continuous deployment strategies.

  • Team Leadership & Mentorship: Elevate team capability by coaching senior engineers, improving multi-quarter project planning, and fostering an inclusive engineering culture.

What You'll Bring

We care more about your ability to build high-scale systems and solve complex architectural challenges than rigid formal credentials.

  • Large-Scale System Experience: Experience operating in high-volume, high-transaction environments (e.g., Fintech, Banking, Major SaaS, or Medtech).

  • Full-Stack Proficiency: Experience or strong familiarity with full-stack development, particularly .NET / C#, React, and SQL (tech stack experience is preferred/nice-to-have, with legacy modernization expertise prioritized).

  • Proven Technical Maturity & Ownership: A bias for action, strong communication skills, and a builder mindset where you take accountability for end-to-end deliverables.

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Ability to facilitate technical discovery, break down operational silos, and align stakeholders across multi-quarter initiatives.

Why Join Us?
  • High-Impact Work: Work on critical software used daily by millions of global small business customers.

  • Growth & AI Opportunity: Help set the standard for modern development practices and spearhead early-stage AI initiatives in our product ecosystem.

  • Flexible Working Environment: While Wellington is our preferred hub, we welcome applicants working remotely.

  • Inclusive Values: We live by our values—We make it Xero, We make it beautiful, We make it happen, We make it human, and We make it together.

Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team.

Skills Required

  • Experience operating high-volume, high-transaction systems (Fintech, Banking, Major SaaS, or similar)
  • Experience modernizing legacy .NET frameworks and safely rolling out updates at scale
  • Hands-on full-stack development and ~50% coding contribution
  • Incident management experience and participation in on-call rotations
  • Leadership, mentorship, and multi-quarter project planning experience
  • Cross-functional collaboration and technical discovery facilitation
  • Full-stack proficiency with .NET / C#, React, and SQL
  • Experience or interest in embedding AI into products and SDLC

Xero Compensation & Benefits Highlights

  • Leave & Time Off Breadth Paid time off is extensive in the U.S., including 21 days of annual leave, 10 wellbeing days, five “Xtra” days, three year‑end company holidays, and a paid volunteer day. Feedback suggests this structure provides meaningful flexibility for rest and personal needs.
  • Parental & Family Support Primary caregivers receive 26 weeks fully paid leave and partners receive six weeks, with additional family‑forming support available. Feedback suggests this depth of caregiver support stands out within the package.
  • Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits Employees have access to Modern Health coaching/counseling, Carrot fertility benefits, and an employer‑funded ThrivePass wellbeing allowance. Feedback suggests these offerings create a holistic wellbeing layer beyond standard medical coverage.

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The Company
HQ: Wellington
4,500 Employees
Year Founded: 2006

What We Do

Xero is small business accounting software that provides a platform on which businesses can build a fully integrated solution. It’s designed to make life better for people in small business, their advisors, and communities around the world. Xero minimises tedious admin by automating routine tasks, delivers valuable insights when needed, and brings together business data, trusted advisors, and powerful apps in one intuitive platform. By alleviating pain points, Xero empowers small business owners to supercharge their business, simplifying the complex and freeing up time from manual admin so they can focus on what really matters to build the business they’ve always envisaged.

Why Work With Us

Xero is a human-centric organization where you’ll have a tangible impact on the success of small businesses and their communities, globally. Our team of energised, forward-thinkers work to make life better for our customers and each other every day. We’re also always committed to supporting you with a flexible environment.

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Xero Teams

Xero Offices

Hybrid Workspace

Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.

Join us from home or at one of our beautiful workspaces. Xero has offices in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Singapore, and South Africa.

Typical time on-site: Flexible
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