Lead Engineer - Hawthorn East
We’ve been trusted to serve Aussie communities since 1914 and grown to become a top 30-listed on the ASX with over 115,000 team members and a portfolio of iconic brands. At Coles Group, you’ll not only get to make a difference to millions of Aussie lives—you’ll also get to see your impact.
About the team
As the way we shop continues to evolve, our Digital team keeps us at the cutting edge. Driven by our innovative, inclusive, and forward-thinking culture, we’re constantly looking at ways to create differentiated, omni-channel experiences for our customers and build the next generation of digital retailing.
About the Role
We are looking for a Tech Lead to drive the evolution of our back-end systems, including our bespoke Order Management System (OMS) and Stock on Hand (SOH) Availability platforms. In this role, you will work across multiple Digital projects and collaborate with broader Technology functions to build scalable, high-performance solutions for a business of our scale.
As a Tech Lead, you will lead one of the squads in the team and provide both technical leadership and hands-on engineering expertise, ensuring our systems are resilient, performant, and aligned with the strategic vision of our Digital business.
Key Responsibilities:
Technical Leadership: Lead the design and development of critical back-end systems, ensuring best practices in scalability, security, and maintainability. Due to heavy transaction volumes we need expertise in build efficient, high performing solutions.
Cross-Team Collaboration: Work closely with Digital Engineering, Product, DevOps, Architecture, and Core Technology teams to deliver integrated solutions that meet business needs.
Bespoke System Development: Drive the development and enhancement of our in-house OMS and SOH Availability systems, ensuring they support seamless eCommerce and fulfillment operations.
API & Integration Excellence: Architect and maintain robust APIs that enable smooth interoperability with other platforms, including front-end eCommerce systems, third-party logistics, and supply chain applications.
Scalability & Performance: Ensure our back-end systems are designed for high availability, low latency, and resilience, particularly given the demands of a large-scale retailer.
Innovation & Problem Solving: Leverage modern engineering approaches, including event-driven architectures, microservices, and cloud-native development, to solve complex business problems.
Mentorship & Engineering Culture: Foster a strong engineering culture by mentoring mid and senior-level engineers, advocating for best practices, and driving continuous learning.
What We’re Looking For:
Technical Skills & Experience:
8+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 3+ years in a technical leadership role.
Deep expertise in back-end development using .NET Core, Blazor.
Strong experience designing and developing scalable microservices architectures.
Hands-on experience with event-driven architectures (Kafka, Pub/Sub, EventGrid or equivalent).
Proven expertise in designing and implementing high-availability transactional systems, preferably within eCommerce or retail environments.
Experience integrating with warehouse, logistics, and fulfillment systems.
Knowledge of database technologies (SQL and NoSQL – e.g. Cosmos, MySql, Redis).
Strong understanding of API design & management, including REST and GraphQL.
Experience working with Azure for cloud-native development.
Soft Skills & Leadership:
Ability to navigate complex stakeholder environments and influence architectural decisions across Digital and Core Technology teams.
Comfortable working in an agile environment and managing competing priorities.
Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset.
Passion for mentoring engineers and fostering a high-performance team culture.
Why Join Us?
Work on mission-critical back-end systems that power one of Australia’s biggest eCommerce platforms.
Be at the forefront of Digital transformation and cloud adoption in a large-scale enterprise.
High-impact role with visibility across Digital and broader Technology teams.
Competitive salary, performance-based bonuses, and career growth opportunities.
What’s in it for you?
- Flexible working options: We know that work is only one part of your life, so we actively encourage a positive work-life balance and provide hybrid working options to help you achieve it.
- Office perks: Take advantage of our gym facility and fitness classes, free parking, BBQ area, mini-Coles supermarket, fooderie hub where you can sample new products before they hit the shelves, school holiday program and so much more when you come in.
- Discounts: Eligible team members receive 5% discount all year round on your Supermarket and Liquor online and in-store purchases. We also offer additional periods of double discount (10%) at various times throughout the year. As well as hotdeals exclusive to team members that translate into additional savings.
- Reward through recognition: Give and receive recognition, linked to our Coles values, through our digital recognition platform ‘mythanks’. You can accumulate points to redeem in the online shop for exciting gifts and electronic gift cards from an extensive range of retailers.
- Opportunities for learning and development: No matter where you start within our diverse business, you’ll have experiences, exposure, and education to satisfy you. Discover and explore a variety of career development programs and job-specific training.
- Paid parental leave: We understand how important your life outside work is and offer permanent team members paid parental leave to support you in balancing work and family.
- Investment in your future: Our annual team member share plan offer allows eligible team members to make regular pre-tax salary sacrifice deductions to purchase Coles Group shares.
About the recruitment process
We’re continuing to build a gender equitable team, and a culture that is just as diverse, inclusive and welcoming as the communities we serve. We are committed to creating a workplace that is safe and respectful for our team. We encourage applications from people of all ages, cultures (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples), abilities, sexual orientation and gender identities.
We’re happy to adjust our recruitment process to support candidates with disability. For further information and additional contact details visit the ‘Our Recruitment Process’ section of our careers site or email inclusionrecruitment@coles.com.au
Job ID: 151179
Employment Type: Full time
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