Principal Software Engineer - AI/ML

About Objective:

At Objective, we create software that makes a difference. With over 400 people and five development labs spread across Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom, Objective is a leading developer of SaaS solutions for the government.

Our role:

We’re seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join our Office of the CTO in Sydney. In this highly visible and influential role, you’ll rapidly design, prototype, and evaluate new technologies, integrations, and product capabilities across the Objective suite. You’ll work closely with business development, product management, engineering, and external partners to validate concepts, explore architectural options, and turn ideas into working prototypes that demonstrate feasibility and future value.

This role reports to the Chief Technology Officer and does not include direct people management responsibilities. Your impact will come through technical leadership, architectural guidance, and mentoring across engineering teams.

A day in your role::
• Evaluate, design, and prototype solutions using a wide range of technologies, including IaaS, PaaS, on-prem systems, and bespoke integrations.
• Rapidly progress ideas from concept to prototype and through to engineering handover with clear documentation and architectural guidance.
• Assess opportunities for applying Machine Learning across Objective products and prototype integrations to validate feasibility.
• Author internal and external technical documents, whitepapers, standards, and thought-leadership materials.
• Collaborate with other Principal Software Engineers to shape and evolve system architectures aligned with long-term strategy and product roadmap.
• Define system and module boundaries, set architectural direction, and develop high-level interfaces for new capabilities.
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying opportunities for system simplification, refactoring, and process optimisation.
• Guide engineering teams in building robust testing frameworks, ensuring adequate coverage across unit, integration, and end-to-end testing.
• Contribute expertise in architecture, coding practices, development processes, and tools to product teams.
• Ensure cohesion and interoperability across the entire product suite.

Your skills, experience and beyond: :
• Expert in AI/ML principles, multiple programming languages, and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA).
• Strong experience with open-source frameworks, modern development practices, and cloud/on-prem integrations.
• Skilled in designing scalable, stable, and cohesive architectures across software, infrastructure, and data.
• Writes clean, maintainable code and follows industry best practices.
• Proven technical leadership: influences architecture, mentors teams, and drives best-practice engineering.
• Agile experience, including pair programming, code reviews, and testing.
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills, engaging both executives and engineers.
• Pragmatic and adaptable, balancing innovation with delivery.

Why join Objective?:
• Your work has purpose - everything we build directly impacts communities and government services.
• You’re supported - flexible work, wellbeing initiatives, and a collaborative environment are central to life here.
• You can grow - we invest in learning, development, and giving people opportunities to stretch their skills.
• You’re part of a high-impact team - Collaborative, trusted, and innovative, with a culture that encourages experimentation and shared success.

If you do not tick every box, do not let that stop you. We value potential, learning agility, and diverse perspectives just as much as experience, and we encourage you to apply.

At Objective, we recognise and celebrate our diverse team as pivotal to our strong employee engagement and our high-performing culture, underpinned by Our Values.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on any protected characteristics or on any other basis prohibited by applicable laws in the regions where we operate.

To ensure a positive experience, please inform our Talent Team of any adjustments or accommodations you may require during the recruitment process, so we can support you effectively.