Data Engineer

About the role

At Xero, our Data Platform team builds the pipelines, models, and infrastructure that turn raw data into products used across the company and by millions of small businesses worldwide. In this role, you will design and build data solutions at scale, from ingestion through to modelling and the underlying platform. You will own complex technical problems end to end, navigate ambiguity, and help lift both the engineering systems and the people around you. You will play a key part in continuously raising our technical standards, driving better data quality, and creating a more self-service platform. Our team fosters an engineering culture that actively leans into automation and modern engineering practices, ensuring our foundations remain reliable and scalable as we grow.

Key responsibilities

• Design and build data solutions at scale, from ingestion through to modelling and the underlying platform
• Own complex technical problems end to end
• Expand core data platform capabilities and infrastructure using Snowflake, dbt, Prefect, and AWS to enhance observability and access management
• Advance Infrastructure as Code practices by deploying and operating platform components with Terraform
• Build out raw data intake pipelines and core data models that make information reusable and valuable for downstream teams
• Develop real-time data products and behavioural analytics platforms using tools like Flink to enable advanced analytics and self-service capabilities
• Manage production systems, handling monitoring, incident response, and building automated, self-service tools to improve developer productivity
• Help lift both the engineering systems and the people around you

About you

• Strong understanding of end-to-end modern data platforms, including hands-on experience with orchestration and tools like Snowflake, dbt, and Prefect
• Solid infrastructure as code practices, particularly using Terraform to build, deploy, and operate data platforms
• Well-rounded core engineering habits, such as writing robust tests, implementing CI/CD pipelines, and working comfortably within AWS environments
• Deep understanding of data engineering fundamentals, spanning data modelling, transformation, pipeline design, and data quality management
• Experience managing production systems, handling monitoring, incident response, and building automated, self-service tools
• Excellent problem-solving skills, strong ownership, and the ability to collaborate effectively with data consumers and engineering teams

About us

Our team sits within the Data Engineering organisation, which builds and operates trusted, scalable data foundations to power analytics, decision-making, and artificial intelligence across Xero. We are a collaborative group dedicated to delivering high-quality data products through robust engineering practices and a culture of empathy towards stakeholders. You will join an environment that values knowledge sharing, regular constructive feedback, and close collaboration with product and security teams to solve real customer problems.