Principal Systems Engineer
Massey University is hiring a Principal Systems Engineer to lead the design, operation and governance of its core enterprise platforms — Microsoft 365, Azure, Microsoft Fabric, identity, Linux databases and AI services. The role sets standards and guardrails, mentors engineers, and can be based in Palmerston North or Wellington.
- Compensation
- NZ$120K–NZ$150K / yr
- Location
- Wellington
- Work setup
- Hybrid
- Seniority
- Principal
- Employment
- Full time
- Experience
- 6+ years
- Category
- Software engineering
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Tertiary qualification in IT or business management, or equivalent industry experience
- Industry-recognised senior practitioner certification in systems/platform engineering, cloud, Microsoft 365, Linux or security
- Minimum 6 years in a senior or principal engineering role across enterprise platforms such as Microsoft 365, Linux or equivalent
- Track record of designing, building and operating enterprise platforms at scale
- Hands-on experience across several of: Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams), Entra ID/Active Directory, Power Platform, Azure, databases/data platforms such as Microsoft Fabric, L
- Advanced engineering capability across automation, scripting, monitoring, performance tuning, release practices and production support
- Strong grasp of enterprise architecture and governance, including security, privacy, compliance, integration patterns and APIs
- Collaborative communicator able to explain complex platform concepts to technical and non-technical teams
- Mentors, supports and lifts the people around them
Nice to have
- Infrastructure as Code, cloud automation, CI/CD or DevOps practices
- Service ownership, disaster recovery, security hardening, data governance or compliance frameworks
- Knowledge of strategic IT issues in education, research, public sector or government
- Microsoft Copilot or similar AI assistants, including enterprise adoption, safe operation and governance
- Cloud AI services such as Azure AI, with understanding of data privacy and responsible AI
Full description
Salary: $120k - $150k p.a.
Principal Systems Engineer - Enterprise Services
Shape the future of enterprise platforms at Massey University - join our Enterprise Services team.
Be at the heart of secure, reliable and well-governed digital services that support teaching, research and operations.
Lead standards, mentor engineers and help Massey's enterprise services evolve for the future.
Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role
We're looking for an experienced Principal Systems Engineer to help shape and operate Massey's core enterprise systems - AI Platforms, Data Platform including Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft 365 and Power Platform, identity and access, Azure, databases, and Linux. You'll lead on platform design, security, performance, reliability and operational guardrails, keeping our services trusted, scalable and well governed.
Working alongside architecture, security, applications, infrastructure and digital enablement colleagues, you'll deliver joined-up services that support teaching, research, operations and future AI use cases.
Āu mahi | What you will do
- Lead the technical lifecycle of Massey's enterprise platforms, from design and build through to operation, improvement and retirement.
- Own platform foundations - configuration, access, monitoring, performance, cost, release, resilience and support.
- Set practical standards and guardrails that keep services secure, reliable, compliant and easy to support.
- Partner with technical and business stakeholders to enable trusted collaboration, automation, integration and AI services.
- Mentor colleagues and champion good practice in platform engineering, governance, automation and service reliability.
- Provide strategic technology leadership by defining and communicating a clear long-term direction, aligning investment and delivery priorities with organisational objectives, and ensuring technology decisions support future growth, innovation, and operational sustainability.
Ko koe tēnei | Who you are
- Collaborative and inclusive, able to build trust across technical and non-technical teams.
- A clear communicator who can explain complex platform concepts in practical, accessible ways.
- Generous with your expertise - you mentor, support and lift the people around you.
- Sound judgement and ownership, with the ability to make considered decisions and manage competing priorities.
- Comfortable with ambiguity and challenging change - effective and decisive while direction is still forming.
- Strong influencing skills, bringing people together to build shared understanding and practical decisions.