Data Engineer

New Zealand (remote) • Contract, full-time •

About the role

We’re looking for a Data Engineer in New Zealand to join the data team of one of our established Australian technology clients. They’re part way through a substantial uplift of their data platform and need a capable extra pair of hands to help finish the job and keep the wider platform moving forward.

This starts as a six-month engagement focused on resource augmentation rather than a fully scoped project. You’ll join a mostly senior internal team, pick up real work straight away, and add capacity through a busy period. There’s a good chance of extending if things go well.

The central piece of work is completing the move to Databricks and retiring the last of the legacy stack. An earlier monolithic MySQL database has been progressively migrated, with earlier Athena and Redshift stages already phased out, and there’s a final legacy component still to bring across. The team works in Australian hours, so the overlap with New Zealand makes for close, day-to-day collaboration.

What you’ll be doing

• Completing the migration of the last legacy MySQL data into the modern Databricks-based platform.

• Building and maintaining pipelines across Databricks, Fivetran for ETL and reverse ETL, DBT for modelling, and Airflow for orchestration.

• Doing data engineering, (not just modelling) i.e. ingestion, reliability, performance and the plumbing that keeps everything flowing.

• Helping phase out legacy systems cleanly, without dropping data or breaking downstream consumers.

• Working alongside a senior internal team, picking up work and running with it rather than waiting for direction.

• Flagging issues early and leaving clear documentation behind you.

What you’ll need

The right person here has genuine data engineering depth and has lived through a platform migration before. You’re happy owning the unglamorous parts that keep a data platform trustworthy, and you can do it inside an environment someone else has already shaped.

• Strong Databricks experience and broad data engineering capability, well beyond modelling alone.

• Hands-on with Fivetran, including reverse ETL, along with DBT and Airflow.

• Comfortable retiring legacy systems such as MySQL, and unfazed by a stack with some history to it.

• mid-senior and mature with it, able to complement a strong existing senior team.

• A clear communicator who can explain a data decision to another engineer or a stakeholder and keep everyone aligned.

Working with us

This is a New Zealand-based role and you can work remotely from anywhere in the country. The client and the wider team work in Australian hours, so a healthy daily overlap comes naturally and we won’t be asking you to keep unsociable hours.

You’ll be engaged through our New Zealand team, with the backing of an established UK business that has been setting up global software teams for nearly 15 years.

Compensation

This is a full-time contract role paying NZD 8,000 to 10,000 per month, depending on your experience and track record. The initial term is six months, with a good chance of extension.

Interested?

If this sounds like you, we’d love to talk. Send through your CV along with a short note on a data platform or pipeline you’re proud of and the part you played in building it.