The role / impact
This is a hands-on Lead Engineer role in Xero's Reporting team. You'll set technical direction for one of the most-used parts of our product and help the team make good decisions through complex, ambiguous work.

You'll lead significant technical outcomes from early thinking through to production. That means balancing customer needs and delivery pace with the long-term health of the systems behind Reporting, while staying close to the code.

This isn't a people-management role. You'll lead through technical judgement, clear communication, hands-on contribution, and by helping other engineers do their best work.

Your work will influence how small businesses and their advisors understand performance, complete reporting and compliance tasks, and get to the right answers faster.

The team / how they connect

You'll join Xero's Reporting group, which builds experiences customers rely on to understand their numbers, share insights, and support important accounting workflows.

You'll work closely with engineers, product managers, designers, principal engineers, and platform teams. A big part of the role is turning ambiguity into a practical path forward, aligning people across teams, and keeping important work moving.

Where and how you can work

We support a hybrid working model that blends the flexibility of working from home with the collaboration of being in the office. Our office is located downtown Vancouver at 333 Seymour Street. You will spend time connecting with your team in our modern office spaces on designated boost days, balancing focused independent work with in-person connection.

Initially, you will focus on

• Setting technical direction across Reporting, balancing customer outcomes, delivery needs, and system health
• Leading complex initiatives from discovery and design through rollout and production learning
• Guiding the modernisation of the reporting platform to improve reliability, scalability, maintainability, and delivery speed
• Strengthening how Reporting works with shared data and platform capabilities across Xero
• Shaping architecture, APIs, and system boundaries for complex reporting problems
• Staying hands-on through code, technical spikes, design reviews, debugging, and incident response
• Identifying risks and dependencies early, and helping teams make clear, pragmatic trade-offs
• Coaching Senior Engineers and raising the quality of technical decisions and engineering practices

Here are some of the things we are looking for

• Deep experience in backend, platform, or product engineering at scale, ideally in a SaaS environment
• A track record of setting technical direction across a team, domain, or complex problem space
• Experience leading significant initiatives through ambiguity and delivering durable outcomes in production
• Strong architectural judgement and the ability to simplify complex systems
• Experience with data-heavy or analytics-oriented systems, with a strong focus on performance, correctness, and trust
• A hands-on approach to code, design, technical investigation, and production problem-solving
• The ability to communicate clearly and build alignment across engineering, product, design, and platform teams
• A genuine interest in coaching Senior Engineers and lifting capability beyond your own work
• Curiosity about emerging product experiences, including AI-enabled workflows, and how to support them responsibly

Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team. We are also tech stack agnostic, so please apply if you've worked with adjacent technologies.

Compensation Philosophy

At Xero, we value the impact and skills you bring to the team. We don't just hire for a role; we invest in people. We believe in a Total Package philosophy - which means your value isn't just a single number on a paycheck. While base salary is a core component, we look at your compensation through a holistic lens that includes equity, performance incentives, and world-class benefits.

The base salary range for this role in Canada is $186,000 - $236,000 CAD.

Please note that this range represents base salary only. We believe in rewarding our people for their total contribution, which is why we look at compensation through a holistic lens. In addition to base pay, your total package may include:

• Variable Pay: Eligibility commissions or equity based on role and performance.
• Comprehensive Benefits: World-class health, wellness, and retirement programs.
• Xero Perks: Inside Xero Explore our full suite of benefits, from wellbeing initiatives to professional development.

Individual pay is determined by various factors, including geography, level of experience, and the specific skills you bring to the role