Our client is a highly respected government organisation operating at the forefront of national security and advanced technology. They play a critical role in protecting Australia from global threats through cutting-edge cyber, intelligence, and data capabilities.
Working within a mission-driven environment, you’ll be contributing to systems and platforms that have real-world impact at scale, supporting critical operations through innovative data engineering solutions.
About the Role
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Lead Data Engineer to take ownership of a high-impact data platform within a complex, large-scale environment.
You will be responsible for designing, building, and optimising end-to-end data pipelines and platforms, enabling real-time and batch data processing to support advanced analytics and operational outcomes. The role combines hands-on engineering with leadership, mentoring, and strategic input into platform design and best practices.
Key responsibilities include:
- Designing and maintaining scalable data ingestion pipelines across streaming and batch architectures
- Developing and managing schemas for data storage and event processing
- Supporting and optimising large-scale data platforms (including Hadoop and similar technologies)
- Implementing robust monitoring, observability, and performance tuning across environments
- Driving platform reliability, scalability, and security, including role-based access controls
- Identifying and implementing continuous improvements to data engineering practices
- Leading and mentoring engineering teams while managing competing priorities
- Managing and optimising analytical and search clusters
The Successful Candidate
You are a highly capable and motivated data engineering professional with strong leadership experience and a passion for building robust, scalable data platforms.
You will bring:
- Proven experience delivering large-scale, high-performance data platforms and pipelines
- Strong expertise in streaming technologies such as Kafka, NiFi, and Spark
- Solid software engineering skills (Python, Scala, or Java)
- Experience with infrastructure automation and CI/CD pipelines
- Strong Linux systems administration and troubleshooting capability
- Hands-on experience with cloud platforms, particularly AWS (EC2, S3, Lambda, etc.)
- Familiarity with containerisation and IaC tools (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform)
- Experience with observability and monitoring tools such as Prometheus and Grafana
- The ability to lead, mentor, and guide teams to deliver outcomes in complex environments
Candidates must also be willing to undergo an Organisational Suitability Assessment (OSA) prior to engagement.
Why partner with Whizdom?
We’re Whizdom. We view you as an extension of our strong, dependable brand and have differentiators which really are different! The Whizdom way:
- We pay our contractors same day you submit your timesheet!
- We are Level 3, DISP certified and have signed the Veteran Employment Commitment and been awarded the highest level of compliance to this important initiative, proactively assisting veterans transitioning from the forces to civilian roles. We’ve been lucky enough to win industry awards for our high level of process compliance and are ISO 9001 certified. Our commitment to reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions has been accredited in line with large global organisations.
- We value diversity and welcome applications from Indigenous Australians, people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and people living with a disability.
Location: The role is based in Canberra ACT.
Contract terms: 12 months from commencement date, plus 2x 12 month extensions
Experience Level: Senior – EL1 Equivalent
Security Requirements: Candidates must hold an active or reactivatable Top Secret Positive Vetting (TSPV) Security Clearance on submission. Our client is not looking to upgrade an existing clearance for this position. An OSA(Organisational Suitability Assessment) will be required for this position.
How to Apply: Please upload your resume to apply. Please note you will need to complete selection criteria to complete this application process. We will be in touch with instructions for suitably skilled candidates.
Candidates will need to be willing to undergo pre-employment screening checks which may include, ID and work rights, security clearance verification and any other client requested checks.
Applications open until 8am 02 June 2026.
Reach Damien on 0480 002 503 or damienm@whizdom.com.au for any further information.
