Job Description

Worker Type:

Permanent

Here at BNZ, it's about more than just banking. We work together in an agile, energising environment to create innovative solutions through our promise "If you can imagine a better future, let's find a way."

We support wellbeing, flexible working and have a generous leave offering. There is the opportunity for growth, learning and career development. No two days are the same.

Ko mātou tēnei | This is Us

We have an exciting opportunity for a Principal Engineer to join our Lending Origination portfolio within the Lending Platforms domain.

You’ll join a technology tīma modernising BNZ’s lending stack for the future, while safely steering our legacy platforms through to sunset. We’re simplifying the lending experience and giving our bankers modern, resilient tools that make it easier to serve customers well

Mō te Tūranga | About the Role

We sat down with the People Leader (who you would report to) and they told us the following about the role:

This is a permanent full-time position based in Wellington. It is a hybrid role with at least three days in the office and flexible working on the other days. Office anchor days are Tuesdays and Thursdays.

What skills and experiences are required for this role?

• Technical experience: 7 to 10+ years hands-on professional experience in development and maintenance of technology applications across a mix of technologies, including experience designing and supporting APIs and integrations.

• Production incident response Provide expertise and guidance triaging application issues, incidents and problems all the way through to incident closure including post incident review.

• Expertise in craft: Deep expertise in software engineering, platform design, test architecture, automation, or quality engineering at scale.

• Strategic technical leadership: Proven ability to lead cross-team initiatives, define long term technical or quality strategy and influence architecture, delivery and testing practices at scale.

• Systems Thinking: Design for resilience, performance, and testability. Balances trade-offs and considers system-wide impact in decisions.

• Influence without authority: Build trust across roles and functions. Align people through thoughtful communication and principled leadership within Lending Platforms and other domains.

• Mentorship and stewardship: Grows others through coaching, feedback, and leadership. Acts as a multiplier of capability and a steward of technical excellence.

What attributes will this person display in order to be successful in this role?

As a Principal Engineer, you are a strategic technical leader who shapes the direction and design of systems, practices, or platforms that scale across teams or domains. You drive engineering and quality excellence through your own development work, deep expertise, sound judgement, and strong influence. By solving high-impact problems, mentoring others, and guiding strategic decisions, you lift capability and help the organisation deliver outcomes with confidence, reliability, and sustainability. You will have a strong interest in AI and identify and apply AI-enabled opportunities for your team, domain and BNZ in a safe, practical, and responsible way.

What is the most exciting thing about this opportunity?

This is a rare opportunity for an experienced engineer to use both their development and technical leadership skills to shape the future of BNZ’s lending platforms at scale.

As a Principal Engineer, you’ll lead the transition from a complex, legacy lending estate to a modern, digital‑first platform built on Customer360 (nCino), while ensuring the stability and resilience of the systems that power BNZ today.

What projects / work will the candidate be working on now and into the next year?

You’ll play a pivotal role in shaping the future of BNZ’s Lending Platforms, working hands-on using your advanced development skills across both modernisation and legacy technology to deliver safe, scalable and customer‑centric outcomes.

In the near term, you’ll contribute to the ongoing Home Lending Modernisation programme, focused on simplifying and automating lending journeys end‑to‑end to enable fast, digital‑first customer experiences.

What is the team culture and environment like?

We're a vibrant mix of talented folks from all walks of life, coming together to innovate and collaborate in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. We have a focus on being Engineering Led and our Product teams are passionate about building the right thing and building it right.

Nau Mai ki te Pēke o Aotearoa | Come to the Bank of New Zealand

We review applications as they are received and may close advertising early.

This is an exciting opportunity to join us!  We're bold thinkers who are taking brave steps to create a company that people want to work for, and customers want to bank with. If you're ready to join a fun organisation where we are proud of our culture and how we are helping New Zealander's to 'Find their way', then show your interest by submitting your application - we can't wait to read it. 

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini" - Success is not the work of an individual, but the work of many.”

Closing Date: 07 July 2026

Applications will be reviewed regularly across the advertising period, but we do reserve the right to close applications early.