# Senior Engineer - Platform
**Company:** [Xero](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/xero)
Senior Engineer on Xero's Infrastructure team responsible for designing and building systems that accelerate software testing, test environment creation, and test data management. This role sits at the core of engineering productivity, supporting AI transformation initiatives while balancing modern technology with legacy systems. Requires strong platform engineering expertise with Golang, AWS, Kubernetes, and Terraform experience, combined with a problem-solving mindset and excellent cross-team communication skills.
**Role:** Platform Engineer
**Seniority:** Senior
**Locations:** AU: Melbourne: (260 Burwood Rd)
**Salary:** 155000–210000 AUD
[Apply](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/xero/65b39783-4a06-4bae-8dbe-48afb916886f)
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/jobs/xero/senior-engineer-platform
---
## Responsibilities

- Design and Build Test Environment Systems: Architect and develop platform systems that enable rapid creation, provisioning, and management of test environments; ensure test environments are reliable, reproducible, and accessible to engineering teams without operational friction
- Manage Test Data Infrastructure: Build and maintain systems for test data provisioning, lifecycle management, and availability; ensure test data is timely, accurate, and ready when teams require it for testing activities
- Develop Infrastructure-as-Code Solutions: Write and maintain Terraform code that defines AWS infrastructure for test environments; ensure infrastructure is version-controlled, documented, and follows engineering best practices
- Build Golang Services and Tools: Develop Golang microservices and command-line tools that support test environment automation, data provisioning, and infrastructure management workflows
- Manage Kubernetes Infrastructure: Deploy, configure, and maintain Kubernetes clusters that host test environment services; troubleshoot cluster issues and optimize performance for testing workloads
- Collaborate with Engineering Teams: Work closely with Xero engineering teams to understand testing challenges, gather requirements, and deliver infrastructure solutions that improve testing velocity and developer experience
- Participate in On-Call Rotation: Join the infrastructure team's on-call rotation to respond to production incidents, troubleshoot system issues, and maintain high availability of platform services
- Navigate Legacy and Modern Systems: Successfully work across complex technology landscapes that include both established legacy systems and modern cloud-native architectures; make informed trade-off decisions about where to invest in improvements
- Optimize Engineering Productivity: Contribute to longer-running initiatives that shorten feedback loops, reduce friction in testing processes, and increase overall engineering team productivity and deployment velocity
- Support AI Transformation Initiatives: Help establish infrastructure foundations that support Xero's AI transformation strategy, ensuring test infrastructure can handle new ML/AI workload requirements
- Share Knowledge and Build Culture: Participate in knowledge sharing sessions, mentor other engineers, and actively contribute to a collaborative team culture where all voices are valued

## Requirements

### education

- {"name":"Bachelor's Degree (preferred)","description":"Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field; equivalent professional experience equally valued"}

### technical

- {"name":"Golang","description":"Primary programming language; ability to write efficient, concurrent microservices and platform tools"}
- {"name":"AWS (EC2, Lambda, VPC)","description":"Hands-on experience provisioning and managing cloud infrastructure on Amazon Web Services"}
- {"name":"Terraform","description":"Infrastructure as Code expertise for declaring and managing AWS resources"}
- {"name":"Kubernetes","description":"Container orchestration platform experience for managing containerized workloads"}
- {"name":"System Architecture Design","description":"Ability to design scalable, maintainable systems for test environment and data management"}

### experience

- {"name":"Platform or Infrastructure Engineering","description":"5+ years of software engineering or infrastructure experience, with trajectory toward platform engineering; demonstrated track record building systems that improve developer productivity"}
- {"name":"Production System Ownership","description":"Experience owning and operating production systems; comfort with on-call rotation responsibilities and incident response"}
- {"name":"Large-Scale System Building","description":"Experience designing and building systems that serve multiple engineering teams; understanding of scalability, reliability, and maintainability concerns"}
- {"name":"Multi-Technology Environments","description":"Success working across heterogeneous technology stacks, integrating legacy and modern systems"}

## Skills

### required

- {"name":"Platform Engineering","description":"Proven experience designing and building platform systems that support software engineering teams; understanding of infrastructure patterns that enable developer productivity"}
- {"name":"Cloud Infrastructure (AWS)","description":"Hands-on experience with AWS services including EC2, Lambda, and network configuration; ability to architect scalable infrastructure solutions"}
- {"name":"Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)","description":"Strong proficiency with Terraform for provisioning, versioning, and managing infrastructure; experience maintaining infrastructure code at scale"}
- {"name":"Container Orchestration (Kubernetes)","description":"Practical experience deploying, managing, and troubleshooting applications on Kubernetes clusters; understanding of container networking and persistent storage"}
- {"name":"Golang Programming","description":"Proficiency in Golang for building microservices and platform tools; understanding of goroutines, concurrency patterns, and Go-specific best practices"}
- {"name":"System Design","description":"Ability to design complex systems for test environment provisioning and test data management; experience making architectural trade-off decisions"}
- {"name":"Debugging and Troubleshooting","description":"Strong capability to diagnose and resolve infrastructure and system issues; comfort working with unfamiliar legacy systems and modern platforms"}
- {"name":"Cross-functional Communication","description":"Clear communication skills for collaborating with engineering teams, understanding requirements, and presenting technical solutions to non-technical stakeholders"}

### preferred

- {"name":"DevOps and CI/CD Expertise","description":"Experience designing or improving continuous integration and continuous deployment pipelines; familiarity with testing automation frameworks"}
- {"name":"Legacy System Experience","description":"Comfort working with older systems and understanding how to integrate modern solutions with established infrastructure"}
- {"name":"Java or .NET Experience","description":"Background in Java or .NET development provides alternative foundation for understanding platform needs and building complementary systems"}
- {"name":"Database Design","description":"Understanding of database optimization and data provisioning strategies for test environments"}
- {"name":"Observability and Monitoring","description":"Experience implementing monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions for infrastructure reliability"}
- {"name":"Automation Scripting","description":"Ability to write Python, Bash, or other scripting languages for infrastructure automation tasks"}

## Tech stack

### tools

- {"name":"Terraform","description":"Infrastructure as Code tool for AWS resource provisioning and management"}
- {"name":"AWS","description":"Cloud platform including EC2, Lambda, and other services for infrastructure foundation"}
- {"name":"EC2","description":"AWS compute service for virtual machine provisioning and test environment hosting"}
- {"name":"AWS Lambda","description":"Serverless compute for test automation and on-demand infrastructure tasks"}

### others

- {"name":"On-call Support","description":"Participation in rotation-based on-call support for production systems and infrastructure"}
- {"name":"Test Environment Management","description":"System design and implementation for creating, provisioning, and managing test environments"}
- {"name":"Test Data Engineering","description":"Development of systems for test data provisioning, lifecycle management, and availability"}

### databases

### languages

- {"name":"Golang","description":"Primary language for building services and platform tools; preferred technology for new development"}
- {"name":"Java","description":"Alternative experience acceptable for those transitioning from software engineering backgrounds"}
- {"name":".NET","description":"Alternative experience acceptable for those with enterprise software engineering backgrounds"}

### frameworks

- {"name":"Kubernetes","description":"Container orchestration platform for managing test environment deployments and scaling"}

## Benefits

### benefits

- {"name":"Remote-First Working Culture","description":"Work from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, or hybrid arrangement; flexible location flexibility with no mandatory office days, allowing you to find balance that suits your work style"}
- {"name":"Flexible Work Arrangements","description":"Collaborate with your manager and team to establish working patterns that enable your best performance; autonomy in structuring your work schedule"}
- {"name":"Permanent Employment","description":"Stable, ongoing full-time employment with job security and predictable career progression"}
- {"name":"Infrastructure and Platform Impact","description":"Work on systems that directly influence how thousands of Xero engineers build and test software, providing meaningful technical impact across the organization"}
- {"name":"Modern Technology Stack","description":"Opportunity to work with contemporary cloud technologies including Golang, Kubernetes, and AWS; continuous exposure to industry-leading infrastructure practices"}
- {"name":"Career Development","description":"Grow technical expertise in platform engineering while working on critical infrastructure that supports business-wide AI transformation initiatives"}
- {"name":"Collaborative Team Environment","description":"Work with experienced engineers from diverse backgrounds (software, platform, infrastructure); strong emphasis on knowledge sharing and inclusive decision-making"}

## Compensation

- **max:** 210000
- **min:** 155000
- **currency:** AUD
- **stockOptions:** true

## Interview process

### steps

- {"name":"Initial Application and Resume Review","description":"Submit your resume and cover letter through the Ashby application portal. Highlight relevant platform engineering, infrastructure, or DevOps experience, along with specific examples of systems you've built that improved developer productivity"}
- {"name":"Screening Interview","description":"Phone or video conversation with a recruiter to discuss your background, interest in the role, and alignment with Xero's culture values (Go Bold, Go Fast, Go Together, Go Further)"}
- {"name":"Technical Assessment","description":"Coding or systems design interview covering Golang programming concepts, AWS architecture decisions, and infrastructure design patterns; you may be asked to design solutions for test environment provisioning or troubleshoot infrastructure scenarios"}
- {"name":"Infrastructure Systems Design Interview","description":"Deep-dive conversation with infrastructure team members about designing systems for test environments and test data management; discussion of trade-offs, scalability considerations, and real-world challenges in building platform systems"}
- {"name":"Cross-Functional Team Interview","description":"Conversation with engineers from other teams who depend on infrastructure platforms; focus on understanding how you communicate complex technical concepts, gather requirements, and collaborate across organizational boundaries"}
- {"name":"Leadership Interview","description":"Discussion with engineering leadership about your approach to system design, technical decision-making, team collaboration, and how you align with Xero's engineering culture and values"}

## Full description
## Senior Engineer - Platform

**The role and its impact**

As a Senior Engineer in our Infrastructure team, you’ll help Xero engineers build and test software faster and with more confidence. You’ll design and build the systems that create test environments, and you’ll make sure test data is ready when teams need it. This work sits at the heart of how we ship software, and it helps set Xero up for AI transformation.

You’ll work across complex platforms, including older legacy systems alongside modern technology. There will be trade-offs to weigh as you decide where the most value sits for engineering teams. Xero asks you to _Go Bold_ in how you approach these problems, and to _Go Fast_ without cutting corners.

**The team and how they connect**

Our Infrastructure team builds the platform foundations that Xero engineers rely on every day. Our engineers come from software, platform and infrastructure backgrounds, and we work closely with teams across Xero to understand their systems and find elegant solutions. We believe in _Going Together_, which means sharing knowledge openly and making sure everyone’s voice is heard.

**The team is currently working on / Initially, you will focus on:**

* Building support systems and tooling for test environments, so engineers can test changes without waiting on blockers.
* Improving test data and enabling frictionless testing across engineering teams.
* Working with our Golang services, alongside infrastructure built with Terraform on AWS, including Kubernetes, EC2 and Lambda.
* Contributing to a longer-running initiative to shorten feedback loops and increase engineering productivity.

**Where and how you can work**

This is a permanent role, based in Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane with a remote-first working culture. We have no set office days, so you’ll work with your manager and team to find a balance that suits how you do your best work. Once you’ve settled in, you’ll join our on-call rotation as part of supporting the systems we build.

**Here are some of the things we’re looking for, for this role:**

* Your background could be in software engineering that has moved into platform or DevOps, or in infrastructure work that understands how software is built.
* Golang is our preferred language, though strong experience in Java or .NET is equally welcome.
* Hands-on experience with Terraform, AWS and Kubernetes will help you hit the ground running.
* A curious, problem-solving mindset and the ability to pick up unfamiliar systems quickly, including legacy ones, are key to how you’ll _Go Further_ here.
* Clear communication is second nature to you, whether you’re working in another team’s codebase or presenting to leadership.

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.