Senior DevOps Engineer

Salary: Competitive salary - 3 extra Customs leave days

Help build secure, reliable technology that protects New Zealand’s border.

We are looking for an experienced Senior DevOps Engineer to provide technical leadership and help build, improve and support products that deliver value for New Zealand Customs Service and its customers. You will work across the product lifecycle to ensure our solutions are secure, stable, fit for purpose and straightforward to maintain.

As a senior member of our Engineering team, you will combine hands-on delivery with mentoring, technical guidance and team coordination. You will work closely with the Manager Engineering, architects, testers, business analysts, customer representatives and other product teams to deliver quality outcomes in a complex, fast-paced environment.

What you'll do...

• Mentor and coach engineers, helping the team grow its technical capability and adopt new technologies and ways of working.
• Help plan and coordinate sprints, deployments and incident response activity.
• Contribute to the design of technical solutions and produce clear design and operational documentation.
• Implement and test solutions that meet Customs standards and customer requirements.
• Design, implement and maintain continuous integration and continuous delivery pipelines.
• Build secure, sustainable and supportable products, aligned with New Zealand Information Security Manual and Customs cyber security requirements.
• Provide operational support for business-critical products and services, including participating in an on-call roster.
• Work collaboratively with stakeholders and delivery partners to refine requirements, manage priorities and deliver valuable outcomes.

What you'll bring...

• At least five years’ relevant experience in software development and/or infrastructure engineering.
• Experience working in product-led software development teams across a broad range of technologies.
• Hands-on experience across the product lifecycle and in supporting business-critical services.
• Strong knowledge of development languages, databases, development methodologies, DevOps practices, build pipelines, automation, APIs and cloud concepts.
• An understanding of related areas such as networking, security compliance, capacity management, user experience and product development.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor, influence and provide technical leadership to others.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to deliver quality outcomes under pressure.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to make complex technical information easy to understand.
• A collaborative, adaptable approach and an interest in learning new technologies and methods.

Working at NZ Customs...

We aim to create a great place to work, where our people have a sense of belonging and the capability and desire to meet our future challenges. We are an organisation that is clear about our mission, and this is underpinned by Te Pou Tokomanawa (the Foundations) and our Whanonga Pono (Values). Our work really matters to the safety and success of New Zealand.

As an employer, NZ Customs is committed to providing an enjoyable and challenging work environment with a focus on personal development.

We care about well-being, personal growth, and job satisfaction, which is supported through:

• offering on-the-job training and career development.
• understand that everyone has a voice and every voice counts.
• fostering inclusive and supportive team environment with vibrant social and cultural groups.
• supporting flexible working - talk to us about how we can help you achieve your flexible working goals, within our operational requirements.
• care about people’s wellbeing.
• providing discounted health insurance, and free on-site gyms (in some locations).
• Three days of service holidays, in addition to four weeks of annual leave.

To work for Customs, you must be able to meet the following requirements:

• Be a New Zealand Citizen or New Zealand Permanent Resident
• Residing in New Zealand at the time of application
• Have resided continuously in New Zealand for the last five years. Any exceptions to this will need to be discussed with recruitment to assess whether you will still be eligible to meet the Organisation's Security Clearance application criteria)
• A Confidential-level security clearance is required for this position.

How to apply...

To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter outlining your skills and experience, via our online process. If you have any specific questions about the role, please contact Suzanne Leahy (Senior Corporate Recruitment Advisor) at [email protected]

Applications close at 11pm, Tuesday 20 October 2026.

We encourage you to apply early for this position as we will be assessing applications as they are received and potentially interviewing earlier than the closing date.

Please note Customs will be managing this recruitment independently in-house and will not be engaging with recruitment agencies at this stage.

Please apply directly online as we do not accept applications sent to email addresses.

New Zealand Customs Service | Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa is a member of Diversity Works New Zealand and is committed to developing a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities and welcome applications from everyone who can meet the requirements of the role. We also offer flexible working arrangements.