Principal Software Engineer (Platform Engineering)

Kia ora!

At Air New Zealand, we’re reimagining how technology powers our journey, building platforms that enable innovation, speed, and resilience at scale. Our multi-cloud strategy across AWS and Azure is the backbone of our digital transformation, helping us modernise systems, automate workflows, and deliver exceptional experiences for our customers and teams.

As we continue this evolution, we’re looking for a Principal Software Engineer to take a strategic, technical-lead role within our DevOps Chapter. This is an opportunity to influence architecture, define standards, and guide the next generation of platform engineers across Air New Zealand.

If you’re a seasoned engineer or technical lead, perhaps with a background in microservices or large-scale distributed systems, who thrives on solving complex technical challenges and shaping organisational direction, this is your next step.

The Role You’ll Play
As a Principal Platform Engineer, you will:

• Architect and oversee the design and implementation of platform-wide services, frameworks, and standards.
• Provide deep technical leadership, mentoring engineers and empowering teams to deliver secure, reliable, and high-performing systems.
• Influence architectural decisions and set the direction for platform engineering across multiple domains.
• Lead initiatives that improve platform reliability, security, scalability, and performance.
• Champion automation, Infrastructure as Code, observability, and continuous delivery at an organisational level.
• Collaborate with SREs, Platform Engineers, Security, and Product teams to align technical direction with strategic objectives.
• Contribute to strategic planning and long-term platform vision, ensuring our engineering ecosystem remains future-ready.

What You’ll Bring

• 8+ years of experience in software, cloud, or platform engineering with a proven ability to design and lead complex systems.
• Strong background in architecture and cloud infrastructure (AWS or Azure), and deep knowledge of Kubernetes, Terraform, and CI/CD.
• Demonstrated ability to influence engineering standards and technical decisions across teams.
• Expertise in automation, observability, and security best practices.
• Hands-on experience with modern programming or scripting languages (Python, Java, Go, Bash, etc.).
• A strategic mindset with a passion for enabling others; you’re a “force multiplier” who empowers development teams to move faster and smarter.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to bridge technical and business priorities.

Why Join Air New Zealand

• Lead the technical direction of mission-critical platforms that underpin our digital transformation.
• Collaborate with a passionate community of engineers who value excellence, learning, and innovation.
• Shape the future of platform engineering at one of New Zealand’s most iconic organisations.
• Enjoy flexibility, diverse career pathways, and continuous learning opportunities.
• Competitive compensation and unique staff travel benefits that help you explore the world.

Ready to Take Flight?
If you’re ready to apply your technical depth, leadership, and strategic vision to one of New Zealand’s most ambitious technology transformations, we’d love to hear from you.

Join us, and help define what exceptional engineering looks like at Air New Zealand.