Tech Lead – Product Development Squad

About the role

Stuff Digital is looking for a hands‑on Tech Lead to join one of its two product development squads. You will directly lead a small team of engineers, shape technical direction, and influence architecture across the wider engineering function.

Key responsibilities

• Define and own the technical direction of the squad, delivering regular production deployments at consumer scale.
• Design and implement AI/LLM integration patterns that meet privacy, editorial, and accessibility standards.
• Ensure system performance during news spikes, monitor metrics, and drive continuous improvement.
• Coach engineers through 1:1s, growth conversations, code‑review culture, and hiring decisions.
• Participate in high‑level architectural decisions, including build‑vs‑buy analyses and long‑term engineering investments.

Required profile

• 7+ years of software development experience, including several years in a Tech Lead, Staff Engineer, or equivalent role.
• Proven track record of coaching and growing engineering talent.
• Hands‑on experience shipping fast, multi‑deploy‑a‑week releases.
• Experience integrating AI/LLM services into production systems.
• Familiarity with New Zealand privacy regulations, WCAG AA accessibility, and high‑trust media security requirements.

Required skills

• Distributed systems
• Cloud platforms
• APIs and data services
• Event‑driven architecture
• Performance optimization and scaling
• Build‑vs‑buy decision making
• AI/LLM integration
• NZ privacy compliance
• WCAG AA accessibility
• Security and compliance for media platforms

What we offer

• Opportunity to influence technical strategy across a leading New Zealand media organisation.
• Collaborative, fast‑moving team focused on sustainable journalism.
• Hands‑on role with real impact on production systems.