Full Stack Developer/Engineer x2

Salary: From $120,000 per year plus superannuation

Help shape the future of free access to law in Australia. A rare opportunity to take on a high-impact role enhancing access to justice in the AI era.

Join AustLII at a pivotal moment and work with recognised pioneers in computer science and law to shape the future of free legal information

About the job

AustLII (austlii.edu.au) is at a pivotal point in its growth. Under the leadership of world-class academics in computer science and law, we are developing the next generation of legal information services, combining trusted legal content, advanced search capabilities and new and emerging AI technologies to further strengthen free access to legal information in Australia.

As a member of the newly established Software Engineering team at the centre of this transformation, you will help build scalable backend services and intuitive frontend interfaces that integrate seamlessly and deliver quality user-facing applications. You will provide engineering expertise in the design and development of large-scale legal information, search and AI-enabled platforms and services. Working closely with our Data & Content and Infrastructure teams, you will contribute to collaborative, agile ways of working and a culture of innovation across the organisation.

Organisational background

AustLII is Australia’s most-used free-access online resource for Australian legal information, serving more than 500 million page access requests last year — over 1 million per day — from more than 13 million distinct hosts.

Since 1995, AustLII has built the most comprehensive curated collection of Australian primary and secondary legal information and made it freely and anonymously available to the community online. In doing so, AustLII has created a service that plays a fundamental role in the Australian legal system, safeguards the integrity of Australian law and supports national data sovereignty.

Sitting at the intersection of technology and the law, AustLII pioneered free online access to legal information in Australia and helped shape similar services around the world. Now, on the cusp of the most significant transformation in access to information since the development of the World Wide Web, AustLII is ready to pioneer once more. We are uniquely placed to develop AI-assisted tools that make Australian legal information easier to discover, understand and navigate for citizens, courts, government, educators and legal professionals.

What we offer

We offer meaningful work and an opportunity to help build technology with impact:

• Be part of a mission-driven organisation creating technology with real-world impact

• Work alongside a small, passionate and collaborative team

• Work from centrally located offices in a vibrant campus environment

• Receive a competitive salary package with generous superannuation

Role and responsibilities

This fixed term role offers the opportunity to shape software development within a newly established engineering team and contribute directly to AustLII’s next generation of AI-enabled services.

Key responsibilities include:

• Engineering capability and quality: Contribute to sound software engineering practices, development standards and delivery disciplines that support AustLII’s legal information, search and AI-enabled platforms.

• Collaborative working style: Build trusted partnerships and agile working practices to align and deliver on quality engineering outcomes across teams.

• Problem-solving expertise: Work through complex technical challenges, applying deep logic and using root-cause analysis to design practical and sustainable solutions.

• DevOps mindset: Engage in the full lifecycle of a feature, ensuring systems are sustainably monitored, stable, well-alerted and production-ready before considering work complete.

Further information related to the position is available in the Full Stack Developer/Engineer Position Description available at http://www.austlii.edu.au/austlii/recruitment/2026/full_stack_developer.pdf

Selection criteria

• A relevant postgraduate qualification with extensive subsequent experience in full stack software development; or an equivalent combination of qualifications, training and substantial professional experience in software engineering.

• Demonstrated expert capability in designing, building, testing, deploying, maintaining and improving production web applications or digital services across frontend and backend technologies, including contemporary JavaScript or TypeScript frameworks, Python or equivalent backend/scripting languages, APIs, responsive user interfaces and Linux-based environments.

• Demonstrated ability in aligning frontend and backend development by building shared understanding, communicating effectively and supporting cohesive, maintainable application outcomes aligned with agreed technical standards.

• Proven ability to contribute to the technical design of user-facing applications, public web services, administration systems, workflow systems and supporting platform services, including the development of secure, scalable and maintainable integrations across complex systems.

• Demonstrated experience working with relational databases, text-search infrastructure, information retrieval systems, search optimisation, data-intensive applications or related technologies that support reliable access to large-scale information resources, ideally within legal, research, digital information or other data-rich environments.

• Proven ability to write clean, maintainable and well-structured code; develop automated and unit tests; participate constructively in peer code reviews; maintain technical documentation; and contribute to continuous improvement in development practices.

• Demonstrated understanding of, or capacity to work with, AI-enabled technologies such as machine learning, semantic retrieval, vector search, embeddings, reranking technologies, knowledge graphs, LLM APIs, retrieval-augmented generation or related tools, with the ability to apply these technologies in practical application development contexts.

• Ability to clarify and analyse functional requirements, translate them into effective technical solutions, and deliver full stack and digital services that meet organisational, user and operational needs.

• Demonstrated capacity to investigate and resolve complex, novel or ambiguous technical issues, and make practical technical decisions that support system performance, scalability, security and reliability.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across technical and non-technical teams, explain complex technical concepts clearly, contribute constructively to code reviews and documentation, and support a collaborative engineering culture.

Highly regarded - Knowledge and Experience

• Knowledge of Australian law and the legal system or previous experience working with legal information or legal knowledge systems

• Previous experience working in an agile software engineering environment

• Experience working in teams within small to medium-sized organisations, research institutions, digital information services or mission-driven organisations.

• Familiarity with cloud, on-premise or hybrid technology environments.

• A genuine interest in AustLII’s mission to expand free access to legal information or digital public infrastructure or technologies that support access to information

How to apply

We would welcome applications from candidates who are inspired by the opportunity to build technology that supports open access to legal information and helps shape the future of AI-enabled legal research.

To apply, please submit the following documents:

• A cover letter of no more than two pages outlining your interest in and addressing suitability for the role; and

• Your CV (including relevant academic results, experiences and references).

To be considered eligible for this role, you must have unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this employment. Visa sponsorship is not available for this appointment.

Applications close 25 October 2026.

AustLII reserves the right to commence shortlisting and interviewing prior to the advertised closing date and, where appropriate, to close the recruitment process early. Applicants are therefore encouraged to submit their application as soon as possible.

Interview process

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an initial interview, between 45-60 minutes, held in person, with a mix of technical and behavioural questions. We aim to keep candidates informed in a timely manner and will advise outcomes as soon as possible.

If you progress after interview, we will undertake reference checks and you will need to complete other relevant pre-employment background checks and clearances, including qualification verification.

For an initial discussion, contact Leah Angrisano, Organisational Design and Development Manager, AustLII, at [email protected] or via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/leah-angrisano-8bb67825.