Principal Engineer / Solutions Architect (PHP, AWS, LLMs) - Contract at Clearpoint

<h4 data-path-to-node="0"><strong>A bit about us</strong></h4> <p data-path-to-node="1">For over 19 years, ClearPoint has been the trusted technology partner for organisations navigating complex digital transformation. We combine software engineering, AI, data and insights, cloud, and human-centred design to deliver meaningful, lasting outcomes.</p> <p data-path-to-node="2">We work with some of New Zealand’s most impactful organisations - and we care deeply about the quality of what we build. Our Auckland head office overlooks the Viaduct (5 minutes from Britomart), with co-working access across NZ and Australia. Through innovative thinking, we strive to make a difference for ourselves, our teams, our clients and our community across New Zealand, Australia and the UK.</p> <h4 data-path-to-node="3"><strong>The ClearPoint culture</strong></h4> <p data-path-to-node="4">At ClearPoint, we’re proud of the culture we’ve built - collaborative, curious, and high-performing. Our values aren’t just words:</p> <ul data-path-to-node="5"> <li> <p data-path-to-node="5,0,0"><strong data-path-to-node="5,0,0" data-index-in-node="0">Respect and Care for People</strong></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="5,0,0"><strong data-path-to-node="5,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Act with Integrity</strong></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="5,2,0"><strong data-path-to-node="5,2,0" data-index-in-node="0">Earn and Nurture Trust</strong></p> </li> </ul> <p data-path-to-node="6">You’ll work with sharp, passionate people who take ownership, raise the bar, and genuinely enjoy what they do. Whether you’re in Auckland, Wellington, or Christchurch, you’ll be part of a team that invests in your growth and makes space for you to shine.</p> <h4 data-path-to-node="20"><strong>The Role</strong></h4> <p data-path-to-node="20"><span data-path-to-node="8,0">We are looking for a <strong data-path-to-node="8,0" data-index-in-node="21">Principal Engineer</strong> to join a high-impact engagement for a ClearPoint client. </span><span data-path-to-node="8,2">You will lead the architectural analysis and design of a critical subsystem within a large-scale, high-throughput platform</span><span data-path-to-node="8,3"><sup data-turn-source-index="1"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="1"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="1"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="1"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="8,4">. </span><span data-path-to-node="8,6">Your primary mission is to solve complex scalability constraints by deconstructing a monolith into a modularised, domain-led architecture</span><span data-path-to-node="8,7"><sup data-turn-source-index="2"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="2"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="2"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="2"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="8,8">.</span></p> <div><span data-path-to-node="9,1">This is a <strong data-path-to-node="9,1" data-index-in-node="10">3-month initial contract</strong> with a strong likelihood of extension as we move from design into execution</span><span data-path-to-node="9,2"><sup data-turn-source-index="3"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="3"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="3"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="3"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="9,3">. </span><span data-path-to-node="9,5">You will work as part of the client’s leadership group to provide the blueprint for their next phase of enterprise growth</span><span data-path-to-node="9,6"><sup data-turn-source-index="4"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="4"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="4"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="4"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="9,7">. </span><span data-path-to-node="9,9">This role is <strong data-path-to-node="9,9" data-index-in-node="13">Auckland-based</strong>, requiring you to be onsite at least <strong data-path-to-node="9,9" data-index-in-node="65">Monday, Thursday, and Friday</strong> to foster close collaboration with the engineering leadership team</span><span data-path-to-node="9,10"><sup data-turn-source-index="5"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="9,11">.<br><br><span data-path-to-node="4,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="4,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Immediate Start:</strong> This project is ready to move into execution quickly</span><span data-path-to-node="4,1,1"><sup data-turn-source-index="4"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="4,1,2">. </span><span data-path-to-node="4,1,4">We are looking for a candidate who is available to <strong data-path-to-node="4,1,4" data-index-in-node="51">start as soon as possible</strong> to lead the initial analysis and design phase.</span><br></span></div> <h4 data-path-to-node="22"><strong>The experience we are looking for</strong></h4> <ul data-path-to-node="23"> <li> <p data-path-to-node="23,0,0"><span data-path-to-node="13,2,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="13,2,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Tech Stack Proficiency:</strong> Extensive experience with <strong data-path-to-node="13,2,1,0" data-index-in-node="50">PHP, MySQL, and AWS</strong> environments is essential</span><span data-path-to-node="13,2,1,1"><sup data-turn-source-index="14"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="13,2,1,2">.</span></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="23,1,0"><span data-path-to-node="13,1,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="13,1,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Legacy Modernisation:</strong> Proven experience with evolutionary design and incremental architecture patterns such as <strong data-path-to-node="13,1,1,0" data-index-in-node="111">Strangler Fig</strong>, anti-corruption layers, and shadow traffic</span><span data-path-to-node="13,1,1,1"><sup data-turn-source-index="13"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="13,1,1,2">.</span></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="23,2,0"><span data-path-to-node="13,0,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="13,0,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Systems Thinking:</strong> A deep ability to see through a monolith to identify coupling types, transactional boundaries, and underlying domain seams</span><span data-path-to-node="13,0,1,1"><sup data-turn-source-index="12"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="13,0,1,2">.</span></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="23,3,0"><span data-path-to-node="13,3,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="13,3,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Pragmatic Leadership:</strong> The ability to influence engineering leaders and create alignment while prioritising business value over technical purity</span><span data-path-to-node="13,3,1,1"><sup data-turn-source-index="15"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="15"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="15"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="15"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="13,3,1,2">.</span></p> </li> <li><span data-path-to-node="13,3,1,2"><span data-path-to-node="13,4,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="13,4,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Data-Driven Validation:</strong> Comfort working in low-test, high-risk environments by using observability-driven validation to get legacy systems under control.<br></span></span></li> <li><span data-path-to-node="13,3,1,2"><span data-path-to-node="13,4,1,0"><span data-path-to-node="13,5,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="13,5,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Modern Tooling:</strong> Experience using <strong data-path-to-node="13,5,1,0" data-index-in-node="33">LLMs (e.g., Claude Opus)</strong> for accelerated analysis of legacy codebases is highly appropriate for this role</span><span data-path-to-node="13,5,1,1"><sup data-turn-source-index="17"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="13,5,1,2">.</span></span></span></li> </ul> <h4 data-path-to-node="24"><strong>What you will be doing</strong></h4> <ul data-path-to-node="25"> <li> <p data-path-to-node="25,0,0"><span data-path-to-node="11,0,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="11,0,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Architectural Blueprinting:</strong> Analysing the current "billing trigger" subsystem and designing a target architecture that removes database-locking constraints and supports bulk API actions</span></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="25,1,0"><span data-path-to-node="11,1,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="11,1,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Technical Strategy:</strong> Formalising and documenting a cohesive tech strategy to guide engineering squads and measure the success of the new design</span><span data-path-to-node="11,1,1,1"><sup data-turn-source-index="7"></sup></span></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="25,2,0"><span data-path-to-node="11,2,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="11,2,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Observability &amp; Analysis:</strong> Using current observability tools and adding granular metrics to capture and analyse database load and performance bottlenecks</span><span data-path-to-node="11,2,1,1"><sup data-turn-source-index="8"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="8"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="8"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="8"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="11,2,1,2">.</span></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="25,2,0"><span data-path-to-node="11,2,1,2"><span data-path-to-node="11,3,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="11,3,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Domain Modelling:</strong> Identifying bounded contexts and defining clear interfaces and event-driven boundaries between domains</span><span data-path-to-node="11,3,1,1"><sup data-turn-source-index="9"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="11,3,1,2">.</span></span></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="25,2,0"><span data-path-to-node="11,2,1,2"><span data-path-to-node="11,3,1,2"><span data-path-to-node="11,4,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="11,4,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Roadmap Development:</strong> Creating a work breakdown with T-shirt-sized milestones and transition stages to "break apart the tentacles" of the existing monolith</span><span data-path-to-node="11,4,1,1"><sup data-turn-source-index="10"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="10"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="10"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="10"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="11,4,1,2">.</span></span></span></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="25,2,0"><span data-path-to-node="11,2,1,2"><span data-path-to-node="11,3,1,2"><span data-path-to-node="11,4,1,2"><span data-path-to-node="11,5,1,0"><strong data-path-to-node="11,5,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Proof of Concepts:</strong> Building and validating POCs to test domain boundaries and validate your architectural choices</span><span data-path-to-node="11,5,1,1"><sup data-turn-source-index="11"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="11"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="11"></sup><sup data-turn-source-index="11"></sup></span><span data-path-to-node="11,5,1,2">.</span></span></span></span></p> </li> </ul> <div> <h4><strong>What’s next?</strong></h4> <p>Sound like the opportunity you’ve been looking for? Please apply and one of our <strong>Talent team</strong> will be in touch for a confidential chat. You must be <strong>eligible to work in New Zealand</strong> to be considered for this opportunity.</p> </div>