Our purpose is to be a global leader in maximising human potential. Our mission is to build talent and prepare a skilled future-fit workforce that drives personal, organisational, and industry success. The purpose and meaning of this role: The Senior Developer is responsible for designing, developing, testing and maintaining scalable, secure, and maintainable software solutions that support Ignite Colleges’ learning platforms and internal systems. This role will collaborate across product, design, academic and operations teams to deliver high-quality features, improvements, and integrations that enhance learner and staff experiences. The Senior Developer will demonstrate technical leadership, mentor other engineers, contribute to architecture and process decisions, and ensure solutions meet business, performance and compliance requirements.

Your key responsibilities: Technical Delivery and Development Key Activities:

• Design, implement and maintain backend and/or frontend components using modern languages and frameworks aligned with the company technology stack.
• Write clear, well-tested, and documented code; conduct and participate in code reviews to maintain high quality standards.
• Develop automated unit, integration and end-to-end tests; ensure continuous integration and deployment pipelines are reliable and efficient.
• Collaborate with product owners, designers and stakeholders to translate requirements into technical designs and deliverables.
• Troubleshoot, diagnose and resolve production issues, ensuring appropriate incident response and post-incident reviews.
• Contribute to API design, data modelling, and integrations with third-party services and internal systems such as the Student Management System (SMS).
• Ensure solutions meet security, performance and accessibility standards and follow best practices for data privacy and compliance.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Features are delivered on time and meet acceptance criteria and quality standards.
• Automated test coverage and CI/CD reliability targets are met.
• System uptime and performance meet agreed service level objectives.
• Production incidents are resolved within target timeframes and root cause analyses are completed.
• Peer reviews demonstrate code quality and adherence to standards.

Your key responsibilities: Technical Leadership and Collaboration Key Activities:

• Provide technical mentorship and coaching to developers to grow capability and promote best practices.
• Lead architectural discussions, propose pragmatic solutions, and help define the technical roadmap.
• Work collegially with academic, product and operations teams to ensure features support learning outcomes and business needs.
• Participate in planning, estimation and retrospective activities to continuously improve delivery processes.
• Support the hiring process by interviewing candidates and helping to build a diverse and inclusive engineering team.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Team delivery and quality metrics improve under technical guidance.
• Positive feedback from peers and cross-functional stakeholders on collaboration and leadership.
• Successful onboarding and growth of new hires and junior developers.

Your key responsibilities: System Design, Documentation and Governance Key Activities:

• Create and maintain architecture and design documentation, runbooks and operational run-lists.
• Ensure code and system documentation is up to date and accessible to relevant teams.
• Support internal and external review and moderation processes to ensure compliance with regulatory and audit requirements.
• Contribute to security reviews, risk assessments and implementation of mitigation plans.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Documentation quality and completeness meet internal standards.
• Architectural decisions are recorded and reviewed; technical debt is managed and reduced over time.
• Compliance and audit requirements are satisfied for relevant systems.

Other responsibilities:

• Participate in programme promotional activities and support cross-functional initiatives as required.
• Maintain a safe work environment and adhere to occupational health and safety policies.
• Engage in agreed professional development and remain current with relevant technologies and industry trends.
• Attend relevant team and organisational events and contribute positively to company culture.

What we value:

At Skills, we are more than a team, we are a community. Our culture is built on our vital signs of Joy, Manaakitanga, Grow and Bold. We believe in creating an environment where everyone feels valued and empowered. We encourage curiosity, innovation, and continuous learning. We celebrate our successes together and support each other in challenges.

Our guiding whakatauki (proverb) encapsulates this ethos: 'Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro nōnā te ngahere, ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōnā te ao.' This translates to 'The bird that feasts upon the miro berry, the forest belongs to it; the bird that consumes knowledge, the (whole) world belongs to it.' We are committed to fostering an environment where knowledge is celebrated, the key to unlimited possibilities.

Experience and skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years professional software development experience, including hands-on work across the stack and in production systems.
• Proven experience with modern development frameworks, languages and cloud platforms relevant to the role.
• Strong testing and CI/CD experience; familiarity with infrastructure-as-code and automated deployments.
• Demonstrated ability to design scalable, secure and maintainable systems.
• Excellent communication skills and experience working in cross-functional teams.
• Experience with data privacy, accessibility and regulatory compliance is desirable.
• Commitment to mentoring, collaboration and continuous improvement.

What we offer:

• Opportunity to contribute to impactful education technology that supports learners and staff.
• Collaborative and supportive environment with a commitment to professional development.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Flexible working arrangements and inclusive culture that values diversity.

Equality, diversity and inclusion:

We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We are committed to providing a workplace where everyone is treated with respect, and where differences are valued and supported.

How to apply:

Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter outlining your relevant experience and why you are interested in this role. Shortlisted candidates may be asked to complete a technical assessment and participate in interview stages that include technical and behavioural discussions.