Lead Software Engineer - Small Business Growth

As a Lead Software Engineer at Xero, your main responsibilities include setting the technical direction for your team, mentoring team members, and dedicating at least 50% of your time to hands-on coding and design reviews. You'll also engage in technical kick-offs and legacy code exploration, while ensuring code standards for security and testability. Collaborating closely with product managers and designers is vital as you aim to deliver high-quality solutions that simplify business complexities.

To apply for the Lead Software Engineer position at Xero, you should have experience in a Lead Engineer or Technical Lead role, with demonstrated success in delivering software solutions at scale. Proficiency in C#, NodeJS, or React is essential, along with a deep understanding of the full development lifecycle. Experience in AWS, auditing codebases, and mentoring engineers is recommended to align with Xero's commitment to technical excellence.

Xero deeply values career development, offering a range of resources and programs to help you succeed and grow as a Lead Software Engineer. You’ll benefit from mentoring opportunities both giving and receiving, access to learning resources, and a culture that encourages experimentation with new technologies. Additionally, Xero provides generous paid leave for well-being and personal development, allowing you to focus on your growth.

As a Lead Software Engineer at Xero, you'll enjoy an array of benefits tailored to support your work-life balance. These include generous paid leave for personal use, dedicated leave for physical and mental wellbeing, and an Employee Assistance Program. Health and life insurance, income protection, 26 weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers, and employee share plans are just a few offerings that reflect our commitment to your well-being.

Joining Xero as a Lead Software Engineer means engaging in exciting projects that have a direct impact on small business management. You will work on transforming accounting data into actionable insights through sophisticated reporting tools and platforms. Additionally, you will lead the charge in creating seamless integrations and improving user experiences while tackling challenging technical problems, constantly pushing the envelope on innovation.

When asked about your experience leading software engineering teams, focus on specific instances where you provided mentorship, set technical direction, and fostered an environment of collaboration and innovation. Highlight how you resolved conflicts, facilitated discussions, and contributed to the professional growth of your team members.

In response to technical decision-making, discuss your methodology for evaluating options, including weighing pros and cons and collaborating with your team. Share examples of how you’ve led discussions and encouraged input from team members to ensure that decisions align with overall goals and maintain high standards.

When discussing your strategies for code reviews, explain your focus on security, testability, and readability as you scrutinize team members’ work. Mention templates or checklists you follow to ensure consistency and discuss how you provide constructive feedback that empowers engineers to enhance their coding skills.

To answer questions about solving complex technical problems, detail a specific instance, the steps you took to investigate it, the solutions you considered, and the ultimate outcome. Emphasize your analytical skills and collaborative efforts, as well as any tools or methodologies you used to reach a solution.

When asked about encouraging innovation, describe your strategies for creating a culture of experimentation and curiosity. Share examples where you introduced new technologies or processes and how you fostered an environment where team members feel safe to explore innovative solutions without fear of failure.

In answering questions about cloud platforms, share your hands-on experience working with AWS, detailing specific projects where you utilized its services. Discuss how you ensured scalability, security, and efficiency in these projects, and mention any relevant certifications if applicable.

Describe your structured process for onboarding new engineers, emphasizing personalized mentorship, the resources you provide, and the timeline you follow for integrating them into ongoing projects. Mention how you assess their skill levels and tailor onboarding to foster their strengths.

When discussing handling underperformance, focus on your approach of first understanding the underlying issues through open communication. Talk about how you handle feedback constructively and collaboratively work towards a performance improvement plan, setting clear goals for both the individual and the team.

In answering about projects related to small business growth, you'll want to highlight specific initiatives where your work had a measurable impact on small business management solutions. Discuss the technologies employed and how they simplified processes or improved customer experiences.

Explain your commitment to user-centered design and your strategies for involving users in the development process. Discuss methodologies such as user testing, feedback loops, and collaboration with UX/UI designers to ensure that software meets user needs and is intuitive.