Senior Software Engineer

About the Organisation

Sharesies is an expanding technology company based in New Zealand, dedicated to empowering financial inclusion for all. As part of their growth strategy, Sharesies is focusing on strengthening their in-house engineering capabilities by owning and scaling critical core systems rather than outsourcing.

The company culture fosters ambition balanced with practical grounding. Engineers are encouraged to question existing practices, remain curious, deeply understand the rationale behind projects, and concentrate on delivering meaningful value. The organizational hierarchy is flat with career growth based on skill level, promoting a culture of healthy pressure and genuine care. Sharesies has recently been recognized as one of New Zealand's best workplaces.

About the Role

The team is seeking a seasoned Senior Software Developer to join a product engineering group responsible for developing and enhancing a modern platform underpinning Sharesies' investment product suite. This group manages multiple products including investing, tax handling, corporate actions, and cryptocurrency platforms. The environment is busy and impactful, emphasizing accurate, secure, auditable, and reliable systems as core design principles.

As a Senior Developer, you will collaborate within a cross-functional team to design, build, and refine backend services, APIs, workflows, and user interactions supporting the platform. The primary language used is Python, although previous experience in Python is not mandatory if strong adaptability to new tech is demonstrated. Broader experience with multiple languages like Python, C#, and TypeScript/JavaScript is preferred over narrow specialization. The tech stack mainly includes Python and C# on AWS, but Sharesies is open to various technologies as long as sound engineering principles and fast learning ability are evident.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable backend services and APIs.
• Develop functions supporting complex transaction workflows with high data integrity.
• Ensure secure, reliable treatment of sensitive customer and financial data.
• Construct systems prioritizing transaction history, auditability, and traceability.
• Integrate internal and external platforms, including regulatory services where applicable.
• Enhance platform's performance, resilience, observability, and scalability.
• Contribute to architectural evolution as the product expands.
• Collaborate with product, design, engineering, and other teams to translate complex requirements into quality software.

Candidate Profile

• Proven commercial experience as a senior software developer or engineer.
• Expertise in backend development for production software.
• Competence in designing and building APIs, services, and integrations.
• Solid knowledge of relational data modeling and transactional system design.
• Experience creating systems emphasizing data integrity and consistency.
• Familiarity with modern cloud architectures and engineering methodologies.
• Hands-on experience with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and contemporary software delivery practices.
• Strong grasp of security principles and secure software development.
• Ability to diagnose and resolve production issues, while improving system reliability and performance.
• A collaborative mindset for cross-functional product teams.
• Clear communication skills in explaining technical trade-offs and decisions.

Bonus skills include working knowledge of PostgreSQL, Terraform, Docker, AWS services (EC2, ECS, S3, RDS), web security, and financial or investing domain experience.

Senior-Level Expectations

• Ownership of complex technical challenges from initial discovery to deployment.
• Participation in architectural and design decision-making.
• Risk identification concerning data integrity, security, scalability, and maintainability.
• Pragmatic engineering judgment and transparency about compromises.
• Code review and contributing to maintaining high engineering standards.
• Mentorship and support for junior developers.
• Partnership with product teams to shape solutions rather than only receive requirements.
• Breaking complex domain problems into manageable deliverables.
• Contributing to continuous improvement of engineering culture and processes.

Location and Flexibility

Preference is given to candidates located in Wellington, though Auckland-based applicants and those requesting flexible arrangements will be considered. New hires are expected to spend initial time in Wellington to integrate with team culture. Sharesies promotes flexible and hybrid working but values in-person presence for relationship building and maintaining office culture.

Compensation and Benefits

• Employer KiwiSaver contributions.
• Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP), currently 15% of salary for permanent employees, as additional compensation.
• Insurance coverage including life, income protection, and trauma insurance.
• Flexible and hybrid working model, plus allowances for remote work, mobile, and internet.
• Additional leave benefits such as wellness days and enhanced parental leave.
• Allocated budget for learning and development opportunities.
• Wellbeing support covering mental health, career coaching, and financial guidance.

Diversity and Inclusion

Committed to fostering diverse engineering teams that represent the community, applications are strongly welcomed from women, ethnic minorities, and underrepresented technology groups. Candidates excited about the role who may not meet all criteria are encouraged to apply.