Applications Developer at New Zealand Customs Service, Wellington

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Looking for a new challenge?
• Got a passion for crafting and supporting resilient, adaptable systems in an evolving operating environment?

We have an exciting opportunity for someone to be part of making a genuine change to how we protect New Zealand's borders and reduce harm to New Zealanders.

New Zealand Custom's IS Protection team is responsible for the business applications that protect New Zealand's borders.  The purpose of those applications is to make our country safer and more secure by identifying and managing the risks associated with the international movement of goods, people, and mail, preventing risk from reaching our borders and reducing harm to New Zealanders.

As an Applications Developer in our Protection product team, you will have the opportunity to work on some of Custom's most business-critical applications and to make a positive impact to making New Zealand safer.

About this role | Mō tēnei tūranga mahi

This is a full-time permanent role.  Preference for this role is to be based in Wellington, but we are open to applications from candidates nationwide as this role could be based in any one of our Customhouses around New Zealand.  Reporting to the Product Manager (Protection), you will be responsible for the development of new capabilities for the Protection team.

As an Applications Developer you will be responsible for the development of new product capabilities; the ongoing maintenance and support of those products in production; as well as supporting and contributing to continuous improvement development and delivery practices.  You will use your design, build, CI/CD pipeline, containerisation, deployment automation, testing and issue resolution skills; to deliver and support quality solutions to our customers.

Working with the Product Manager and Protection team, you will ensure enterprise standards and processes are adhered to and feed into the growth of these standards.

What we value in the Protection team…

• Being focused on customer needs and how we can best deliver business value.
• Leveraging your knowledge and analytical skills to solve difficult problems with effective solutions.
• Visibility and transparency.
• Focusing on delivering value early.
• Embracing diversity, inclusion, and belonging for our people. 

About you | Ko wai koe

To help us achieve this vision, we are seeking a talented and motivated Applications Developer to join our team who is able to provide strong problem-solving skills and proven creativity to produce customer focused technical solutions. 

To be successful in this role you will need to have experience in a similar role and be able to demonstrate the following…

• Must have technical experience:
• Java, JavaScript/Typescript, Quarkus, React, NodeJS
• Azure - Kubernetes (AKS), Service Bus, APIM
• Technical experience across at least half of the below:
• Drools
• PostgreSQL
• GitLab CI, Jenkins, Terraform
• Jira, Confluence, GitLab, MS Teams, Elasticsearch, Kibana and Ansible
• Miniservice/microservice experience
• Good knowledge of relevant software development topics, including development languages, databases, methodologies, DevOps, build pipelines, automation, API's and cloud concepts.
• An understanding of UX design, product development, networking, security compliance, capacity management etc.
• Experience as a full stack developer working across all stages of the product development lifecycle and ideally in software development teams within complex technology environments.
• Experience working within an Agile delivery framework, as well as methodologies across DevOps, Lean and product management.

Qualifications

• Qualifications in software design and development, Agile, SAFe and Microsoft Azure would be preferred.

If you thrive in a complex and ever-changing environment and have a passion for continuous improvement and making a genuine difference to New Zealand, then we want you on our team!

What we offer | He aha mātou e tuku 

At Te Mana Ārai | Customs, we aim to create a great place to work, where our people have a sense of belonging and the capability and desire to meet our future challenges.  We are an organisation that is clear about our mission, and this is underpinned by Te Pou Tokomanawa (the Foundations) and our Whanonga Pono (Values).  Our work really matters to the safety and success of New Zealand.

We care about well-being, personal growth, and job satisfaction, which is supported through:

• offering on-the-job training, formal courses and leadership programmes, and the chance to move across diverse roles
• fostering inclusive and supportive team environment with vibrant social and cultural groups
• supporting flexible working - talk to us about how we can help you achieve your flexible working goals, within our operational requirements
• providing discounted health insurance, and free on-site gyms (in some locations)
• Three days of service holidays, in addition to four weeks of annual leave. 

Requirements to apply | Ngā paearu hei tono

To join Customs in any role you must be a New Zealand citizen or New Zealand Permanent Resident.  This means:

• a New Zealand Citizen or New Zealand Permanent Resident who has resided continuously in New Zealand for the last 5 years and resides in NZ at time of application; OR
• a New Zealand Citizen or New Zealand Permanent Resident who has resided in New Zealand for the last 5 years and resides in NZ at the time of application. You may have been absent from New Zealand for periods of six or more months within the past five years, preferably in one or more of the following countries: either Australia, Canada, UK or the USA.  You will be required to provide overseas police certificates for these periods spent outside of New Zealand.

You must have a background history that is verifiable and can be assessed as appropriate by the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service towards a recommendation of suitability for security clearance at a higher level.  Due to the nature of Customs work, you must have a clear Police record.  The successful applicant will also be required to pass a drug test as well as being subject to random, ongoing drug tests during their period of employment with Customs.  These requirements apply to all successful applicants for roles at Customs and Customs employees.

How to apply |Me pehea te whakauru

To apply, please submit an up-to-date CV and cover letter outlining your skills and experience.  We will also have some additional questions for you around why you are interested in the role and working at Customs.

Applications close at 11:00pm, Thursday 20 March 2025.

We encourage you to apply early as we will be shortlisting applications as they are received and may interview earlier than the above closing date.

Please note Customs will be managing this recruitment independently in-house and will not be engaging with recruitment agencies at this stage.

New Zealand Customs Service | Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa is a member of Diversity Works New Zealand and is committed to developing a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace.  We provide equal employment opportunities and welcome applications from everyone who can meet the requirements of the role.  We also offer flexible working arrangements.