Principal engineer

We're looking for a Principal Engineer to lead our technical vision and join our high-performing engineering team. This is a hands-on leadership role where you'll shape our technical direction while mentoring engineers and delivering exceptional work.

Location: Christchurch, New Zealand (relocation assistance available)
Compensation: $180,000 - $220,000 NZD + ESOP

Contented is the operating system for business conversations. We capture insights from high-value conversations and transform them into meaningful, client-ready outcomes using expert-designed templates. Think Canva, but for conversations.

We serve 300+ businesses globally - wealth management firms, dairy cooperatives, agricultural exporters, construction companies, healthcare providers. We've closed a $4.2M seed round and we're growing fast. Events have become one of our most powerful growth channels - not just for visibility, but for relationships, pipeline, and community. This role exists to make sure we show up well every time.

• Own the architectural vision from infrastructure through to delivered product, making decisions that balance innovation with pragmatism

• Roll up your sleeves and contribute - this isn't a management heavy role

• Prioritise work based on business impact, helping the team focus on what matters most

• Establish engineering standards, security practices, and operational controls that scale

• At least 8 years of experience across the full stack - you can speak intelligently from HTTP/TLS fundamentals through to deployed applications

• Deep expertise in at least one area (backend systems, security, infrastructure, etc.) where you're among the best but good understanding across all areas.

• Comfortable with AI-assisted development tools while maintaining strong foundational coding skills

• Experience with Electron apps and modern frameworks is a plus

• You understand why documentation, audit trails, and process matter, and where it doesn’t (not just code)

• You hold strong opinions loosely - open to evidence-based discussion and changing your mind

• Skilled at translating technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders

• Patient mentor who can slow down to help others grow

• Self-aware about the Dunning-Kruger curve - you express confidence probabilistically, not declaratively

• You proactively identify and solve problems before being asked

• You've worked in fast-paced environments where you had autonomy to make decisions

• You're energised by building something new, not maintaining the status quo

• Competitive salary ($180K-$220K)

• Relocation support for the right candidate

• Flexible hybrid work - in-office collaboration with work-from-home flexibility (2 days/week)

• Small, high-trust team where your contributions directly impact the product

• Autonomy and ownership - we value outcomes over process

1. Initial conversation with leadership to discuss your experience and goals

2. Technical deep-dive where you'll walk us through your work and approach

3. Team interviews - multiple 30-minute sessions with engineers and product team members

We're also open to hiring pairs - if you have one or two people (engineers, product managers, UI/UX) you work exceptionally well with, let us know. We'd love to bring high-functioning teams over together.