Role overview

As Engineering Manager – Data at Xero, you will lead a distributed engineering team responsible for building and maintaining core models on the company’s data platform. You will blend strategic leadership with technical expertise, guiding platform architecture while remaining actively involved in delivery to ensure quality, stability, and timely results. Working closely with product, platform, and security teams, you will drive the creation of scalable data products that address real customer needs.

Key responsibilities

Design and build core data models using AWS and Snowflake infrastructure to support the platform’s capabilities.
Optimize real-time data flows and streaming architecture across platform services to improve performance and reliability.
Lead execution of complex data platform initiatives while identifying, managing, and mitigating cross-team dependencies and risks.
Coach and develop senior engineers on your team, establishing clear expectations and supporting their career growth and progression.
Set and enforce operational standards, establish Service Level Objectives, and drive adoption of DataOps practices across the team.
Build and maintain trusted relationships with product, platform, and security teams to ensure alignment and successful collaboration.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience delivering data platform projects combined with strong data engineering expertise and data modelling capability.
Practical knowledge of cloud infrastructure, specifically AWS and Snowflake, along with understanding of real-time streaming technologies and data flow architecture.
Leadership approach that prioritizes delivery while maintaining the technical depth needed to guide architectural decisions and contribute hands-on work when needed.
Proven experience coaching senior-level engineers, setting performance expectations, and supporting individual career development.
Track record managing platform health, defining Service Level Objectives, and monitoring operational performance metrics.
Strong ability to collaborate effectively and build trusted working relationships across multiple teams and stakeholders.

What makes this role worth considering

You will lead the ‘Dataverse’ team, a nine-person engineering group distributed across Australia, New Zealand, and Canada that emphasizes knowledge sharing, constructive feedback, and empathy. The role offers flexible hybrid working arrangements, allowing you to split time between designated office days in Sydney or Melbourne for in-person collaboration and remote work from your location.