Principal Engineer, Xero
CA$231-281k
+ Equity
Accounting software for small businesses
Be an early applicant
Accounting software for small businesses
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
CA$231-281k
+ Equity
1001+ employees
Company mission
To make life better for people in small business, their advisors, and communities around the world.
Role
Who you are
- Proven experience delivering and operating complex, large-scale systems (distributed/high-availability environments), with strong fundamentals and the ability to ramp quickly across adjacent technologies (we’re tech-stack agnostic)
- You bring extensive experience in leading the architectural direction for massive, complex cloud-based distributed systems
- A proven ability to navigate high levels of ambiguity and deliver strategic technical solutions that align with long-term business goals is essential
- You possess a high degree of emotional intelligence, allowing you to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels of the organisation
- Your leadership style is defined by a commitment to technical excellence and a passion for mentoring the next generation of technical leaders
- You have a deep understanding of the entire software delivery lifecycle and how to optimise it for thousands of engineers
- Excellent communication skills are a must, with the ability to tell a compelling story about technical strategy and its impact on our customers
- 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. We are also tech stack agnostic, so please apply if you've worked with adjacent technologies
What the job involves
- As a Principal Engineer, you will be a visionary technical leader, driving the long-term architectural evolution of Xero’s global platform
- You will operate at a level where your decisions impact not just a single product, but the entire engineering organisation, ensuring our systems remain resilient, scalable, and capable of supporting millions of small businesses worldwide
- You will act as a bridge between high-level business strategy and technical execution, identifying and mitigating systemic risks before they manifest
- Your influence will be felt through the creation of global engineering standards and the cultivation of a world-class technical culture, where you balance deep hands-on expertise with the ability to lead and inspire the broader engineering community
- You will be part of a senior leadership collective, collaborating with executive stakeholders, product directors, and other principal engineers to define the future of our technology stack
- This is a highly cross-functional role that requires building deep relationships across the global business to ensure technical alignment and to foster an environment of shared ownership and collective success
- Architecting and overseeing the transition of critical global infrastructure to next-generation distributed patterns
- Leading the technical response to large-scale, ambiguous challenges that span multiple domains and regions
- Establishing and championing the global "golden path" for developer experience, security, and operational excellence
- Driving the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and methodologies that keep Xero at the forefront of the fintech industry
Our take
For a long time, high-quality financial services have been reserved for large-scale businesses. Xero solves this problem by giving small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers access to best-in-class finance and accounting solutions.
Xero is one of the largest companies of its kind, with its promise to save time and effort for small business owners - who often don’t have in-house accounting teams - capturing interest and allowing the company to scale. It has a strong rival in Intuit QuickBooks, which offers similar services, but competes by being most effective for growing startups, and having an incredibly simple user experience.
A series of acquisitions and partnerships, including the purchase of Instafile in 2018, have consolidated Xero’s market share. The company continues to add new integrations, such as with Vehocheck Workshop Manager, and the 2023 launched Beautiful Business Fund that will help small businesses accelerate growth.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
3% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Company HQ
Te Aro, Wellington, Wellington
Leadership
Prior to Xero, she founded Boardlist and Joyus. She also served as the CEO of Polyvore and as a President of Asia Pacific and Latin America Operations at Google.
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