Principal Platform Engineer (AWS)

Build the platforms that power the next generation of GovTech.

At Objective, we're looking for a Principal Platform Engineer to shape the future of our cloud and platform engineering capabilities.

This is an opportunity to go beyond managing cloud infrastructure. You'll architect and evolve the platforms, automation and developer tooling that enable our engineering teams to build, deploy and scale secure, high-performing software.

Working across AWS, DevOps, internal developer platforms and emerging AI infrastructure, you'll play a pivotal role in defining our technical direction while remaining close to the technology.

About Objective

At Objective, we create software that makes a difference.

With over 400 people and five development labs across Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, we're a leading provider of SaaS solutions for government and regulated industries.

Our technology helps organisations work smarter, make better decisions and deliver stronger outcomes for the communities they serve.

Our role

• Reporting to the Cloud Operations Director, you'll be a key technical leader responsible for driving Objective's Platform Engineering and DevOps strategy.
• You'll work closely with our CTO, CISO, Cloud Operations and Product Engineering teams to build a scalable, secure and developer-friendly cloud ecosystem.
• This is a senior individual contributor role where your impact comes through technical expertise, architectural decisions and the ability to influence engineering practices across the business.
• The role requires a valid NV1 Clearance or an ability to obtain one.

A day in your role

• Shape our platform engineering strategy: Define the architecture, standards and roadmap for our AWS cloud platforms, DevOps tooling and internal developer platforms.
• Build for developer productivity: Design scalable, self-service infrastructure and developer tooling that empower engineering teams to build and deploy software with greater speed and autonomy.
• Drive automation and modern DevOps practices: Establish best practices across CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code, repository management and deployment automation.
• Enable AI innovation: Design and manage infrastructure supporting AI/ML workloads, including LLM management platforms, model deployment pipelines and AI service orchestration.
• Champion security and reliability: Embed security, governance, scalability and operational resilience into platform architecture and engineering practices.
• Lead through technical expertise: Partner with senior technology leaders, mentor engineers and influence architectural decisions across multiple product teams.
• Optimise cloud performance and costs: Drive continuous improvements in platform efficiency, reliability and AWS resource utilisation.
• Explore what's next: Evaluate emerging cloud, platform engineering and AI technologies to identify opportunities for innovation.

Your skills, experience and beyond

We're looking for an experienced Platform Engineer, Cloud Architect or DevOps technical leader who combines deep technical expertise with a passion for building platforms that make engineering teams more effective.

You'll ideally have

• Extensive experience designing and architecting complex, production-grade AWS environments.
• Strong hands-on experience in Platform Engineering, including building internal developer platforms, self-service infrastructure and reusable engineering capabilities.
• Deep expertise in DevOps, CI/CD and Infrastructure as Code, using technologies such as Terraform, CloudFormation and GitLab.
• Experience with modern cloud architectures, including microservices, containers, serverless technologies and distributed systems.
• Experience managing AI/ML infrastructure and LLM platforms, including model deployment, AI service integration or orchestration.
• Strong programming and automation skills using Python, Go or Java.
• Sound understanding of cloud security, identity and access management, networking and compliance frameworks.
• Experience with developer portal technologies such as Backstage or similar tools.
• Proven ability to influence technical strategy, mentor engineers and collaborate with senior stakeholders.
• Experience working within security frameworks such as ISO 27001, IRAP, NZISM or Essential Eight, along with cloud cost optimisation practices, would be highly regarded.