Data Solutions Engineer

About the company

The Social Research Centre (SRC) is Australia’s trusted partner for rigorous, ethical and high-quality social research and evaluation. Our work informs public policy and programs across health, education, employment and social services, supporting better decision-making that reflects the experiences of people across Australia.

We deliver nationally significant research programs at scale, combining methodological expertise with close collaboration between researchers, statisticians, programmers and data specialists.

About the role

This is a mid-level, hands-on technical role for someone with strong programming and data skills who has moved beyond one-off analysis and is comfortable developing code and processes that need to be reliable, repeatable and maintained over time.

The work sits between data engineering, research operations and software development. You will work across the research data lifecycle — from sample preparation and live data collection through integration, validation, processing and final research outputs.

Typical work might involve automating survey sample preparation, integrating a survey platform with an external API, building a repeatable processing workflow for a longitudinal study, developing automated data-quality checks, or investigating an issue affecting a live data-collection process.

You will take ownership of assigned technical work, working with colleagues to understand requirements, investigate possible approaches, develop and test solutions, and ensure they can be understood and maintained by others. You will have support when working with unfamiliar technologies, complex architecture or higher-risk technical decisions.

This role would suit someone who enjoys solving messy data and systems problems, improving manual processes and developing increasingly robust and reusable solutions.

You do not need to arrive knowing every technology we use. We are looking for strong programming and data fundamentals, evidence that you think carefully about reliability and maintainability, and an interest in developing further across data engineering, systems integration and research-data infrastructure.

Please note that this is not a machine-learning, AI or commercial data-science role. The focus is on data engineering and research data operations in support of large-scale social research.

Our technical environment

Our work commonly involves:

• R, SQL and relational databases
• Git and version-controlled codebases
• REST APIs and structured formats such as JSON
• online survey and data-collection platforms
• cloud services and object storage
• Excel, SPSS and other research-data formats

Experience working in a similar technical environment would be highly regarded, however we do not expect candidates to have experience with all of these technologies.

Location and hybrid working

This role is based in Melbourne (VIC). SRC operates under a hybrid working model, which involves a mix of working from the Melbourne office and from home. For these roles, employees should expect to attend the Melbourne office at least three days per week. Please do not apply if you are seeking a fully remote role.

What you'll bring

Essential:

• Strong proficiency in either R or Python. You should be comfortable using your primary language for substantial data-processing work, not only simple analysis or scripting.
• Experience developing repeatable data workflows. You have built scripts, applications, pipelines or automated processes that are run more than once and need to be maintained or used by others.
• Ability to work with existing code. You can read, debug, modify and improve code written by yourself and others, and are comfortable breaking larger problems into sensible functions or components.
• Working knowledge of SQL and relational data. You are comfortable working with relational databases and concepts such as tables, joins, keys and data types.
• Experience with Git and version-controlled development. You understand why code changes should be reviewable, reproducible and maintainable.
• Strong data-wrangling and problem-solving skills. You can work effectively with large, complex or messy datasets and turn unclear data problems into structured, practical solutions.
• A thoughtful approach to data quality. You consider how incorrect, incomplete or unexpected data could affect a workflow and how problems can be detected before they become downstream issues.
• Ability to take ownership of technical work. You can clarify requirements, investigate possible approaches and progress a solution through development and delivery, while seeking input where a problem involves unfamiliar technology or higher-risk technical decisions.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills. You can work proactively with technical and non-technical colleagues, explain technical issues clearly and identify potential downstream impacts.

Highly regarded:

• Experience in one or more of the following areas would be valuable but is not required:
• Consuming REST APIs and working with JSON or other structured data formats
• Integrating data between different systems or platforms
• Automated testing, logging or monitoring of data workflows
• Survey data, longitudinal studies or social research
• Online survey or data-collection platforms
• Cloud services, object storage or workflow-automation platforms
• Data governance, privacy or compliance requirements
• SPSS, SAS or other statistical software used in research environments
• Dashboards or automated reporting workflows
• Modern developer tooling, including appropriately reviewed and validated use of AI-assisted development tools

Why join us

This role offers the opportunity to develop broad technical experience while working on nationally significant research.

You will work on more than downstream analysis. Our team contributes to the systems and processes that support how research participants are sampled and contacted, how data is collected and validated, how different platforms exchange information, and how complex research datasets are ultimately produced.

You will have the opportunity to:

• develop from strong programming and data-processing foundations into broader data-engineering and systems-integration work
• work across APIs, databases, survey platforms, automation and complex research datasets
• take meaningful ownership of technical solutions without being expected to know everything from day one
• replace manual and project-specific processes with reusable tools and workflows
• contribute ideas about how our technical standards and ways of working should improve
• work closely with researchers, statisticians, programmers and operational teams
• work on projects with meaningful public-policy and social outcomes
• learn from colleagues with experience across data engineering, research methods and large-scale data collection

We value practical engineering, continuous improvement and knowledge sharing. We want people to understand why a solution works, how it might fail and how someone else will maintain it — not simply whether the code runs today.

SRC also offers flexible working arrangements, paid parental leave, wellbeing initiatives and access to our standard employee benefits.

How to apply

Please submit the following through the advertised recruitment channel:

• your CV; and
• a cover letter of no more than one page addressing the questions below.

In your cover letter, please tell us:

1. Which programming language are you most proficient in, and how do you use it in your work?

Please provide a concrete example of a problem you have solved using R or Python.

2. Tell us about a data application, pipeline or automated process that you designed or substantially developed.

What problem did it solve? How was the solution structured? What did you do to make sure it worked correctly and could be maintained or reused?

We welcome a link to an example of your code, such as a GitHub repository, if you have one available. This is optional.

3. Please confirm that you are willing to work under SRC’s hybrid working arrangements, including attending our Melbourne CBD office at least three days per week.

Applications submitted outside the advertised recruitment process cannot be accepted or considered.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete an on-site practical technical assessment designed to understand how they approach data-processing and engineering problems.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and we may begin shortlisting before the advertised closing date. Applications will close on 13 October 2026.

Work rights

Applicants must have valid working rights in Australia for the expected duration of employment. These are permanent roles and visa sponsorship is not available. Please do not apply if you require visa sponsorship or hold a visa with limited work rights (including Subclass 500 Student visas).

Accessibility and adjustments

If you require an adjustment to participate in the recruitment process, or if you are unable to apply via the online portal or provide a written cover letter, please contact [email protected]. We will work with you to provide a reasonable adjustment or alternative application method.

Recruitment agencies

The Social Research Centre does not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate referrals from recruitment agencies for this role. Any agency submissions without a prior, written agreement will not be considered, and no fees will be payable.

Diversity and inclusion

The Social Research Centre values diversity and believes that an inclusive and fair work environment has a positive impact on employee wellbeing, job satisfaction and productivity.

We encourage applications from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples; people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities; and people with disability.