New Zealand Police is working with the community to make New Zealanders be safe and feel safe. With over 13,000 staff, we provide policing services 24 hours a day, every day. We operate by land, sea and air, manage over 860,000 emergency calls a year and are always actively preventing crime and crashes.

We're working towards specific goals and targets that highlight our intent to work collaboratively with iwi and communities, other government sectors and business partners to deliver our business' and achieve long-term change.

Lead Developer - NZ Police!

• Based at Porirua CBD
• Band J
• Police Employee
• Permanent/ Full Time
• JR - 5858420

E tu ki te kei o te waka, kia pakia koe e nga ngaru o te wa.

Stand at the stern of the canoe and feel the spray of the future biting at your face

Mo te tunga | About the role

NZ Police ICT builds and supports the critical systems that frontline staff rely on every day. With our main ICT hub in Wellington and engineering teams across the motu, we deliver modern, secure, scalable technology that directly contributes to safer communities.

We are looking for a Lead Java Developer to provide technical leadership and direction inside a product team, while still staying hands-on where it matters. You'll guide solution design, set engineering standards, mentor developers, and influence technical strategy within the Centres of Expertise.

This is a role for someone who enjoys both high-level architectural thinking and pragmatic, hands-on problem solving. You'll work closely with principal engineers, product owners and senior stakeholders to ensure our systems are robust, modern, and future-focused.

Your leadership will help uplift engineering capability, support major modernisation initiatives, and enable the team to deliver solutions that are secure, reliable, and impactful.

Key Accountabilities:

• Provide technical leadership, helping shape architectural direction and system design.
• Lead the delivery of complex features, integrations, and modernisation work.
• Champion engineering best practices, coding standards, and development patterns.
• Mentor and coach developers at all levels, supporting capability uplift and professional growth.
• Conduct and lead design and code reviews, ensuring quality and maintainability.
• Partner with principal engineers, product teams, and stakeholders to design secure, scalable solutions.
• Troubleshoot complex issues across distributed systems and guide teams toward root cause resolution.
• Influence development roadmaps and participate in planning sessions as a senior technical advisor.

He aha taau e kawe mai | What you'll bring

Whilst we are looking for skills, knowledge and experience relevant to the role, we also place high importance on your state of mind, the alignment of your values with ours, your ability to contribute to and build high performing teams, and the way that you lead yourself or others.

• Strong expertise in Java (version 17 and up) and deep experience building enterprise-scale applications.
• Experience leading development teams or providing technical leadership in multi-team environments.
• Excellent understanding of software architecture, integration patterns, and engineering practices.
• Proficiency with version control, CI/CD pipelines, and modern development workflows.
• Ability to break down complex technical problems and guide teams to effective solutions.
• Strong communication skills, able to engage confidently with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• A collaborative mindset with a passion for improving systems, teams, and technical maturity.
• Experience with modern frameworks (e.g., Spring Boot), REST APIs, cloud concepts, containerisation, or frontend technologies is an advantage.

Whakaritenga motuhake | Special requirements

• NZ citizenship, residency, or a current long-term NZ work visa is required.
• Porirua CBD based, remote work from another NZ Police office may be possible.
• Relevant tertiary qualification preferred.

This role is Individual Contributor/Emerging Leader level. You can refer to Indicators for Success for further information on the requirements

To view the position description for this role please copy and paste this link into a new browser:

https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/pd/11-2025/lead_developer.pdf

Mo tatou | About us

New Zealand Police is the lead agency responsible for preventing crime and enhancing community safety. It works in partnership with individuals, communities, businesses, and other public sector agencies towards the vision of making New Zealand the safest country. Police is the government's largest front-line response agency with around 15,000 staff in large and small communities all over New Zealand and in liaison and policing development roles overseas.

Your development is highly valued at NZ Police. Our employees enjoy significant investment in their development not only at an individual level, but also at the team and community practice level. We work hard to match you with work that will both play to your strengths and challenge you in new ways.

The work you'll be engaged in is real, tangible work that directly benefits our frontline and communities. Taken all together, this means we can offer you career path opportunities to progress in your chosen profession and become a more well-rounded, experienced leader, with opportunities across the range of work we support.

To view more detailed information about our recruitment process along with further details about requirements please click below link:

Applicant Information Pack (External)

Tono inaianei | Apply now

If this position sounds like you, click apply now and submit a tailored CV. You will be required to submit an application form. Before confirmation of hire, pre-employment checks will be undertaken which include reference, drug and alcohol testing and police vetting prior to any written offer being made.

For further information on the application process, please copy and paste this URL: https://www.police.govt.nz/careers

All applications must be submitted online and will not be accepted directly via email. All applicants must have the right to work in New Zealand.

If you are an internal applicant, you must apply internally through the police system. You must provide an alternative contact email address and state your future commitments should you be successful in the next stage of the recruitment process.

Please note: Deadline for applications is 5:00 pm on 10/06/2026. Applications may be reviewed prior to the close date as well as contact made with candidates.

If you have any questions about this vacancy, please contact deepa.shankar@police.govt.nz