Principal technology consultant

About Portable

We care about people and the world. We seek out areas of social need and policy failure and make transformational change using research, design and technology. Our clients are as passionate as we are — working in government agencies and socially-minded businesses, as well as Australia's most recognised tech companies. Ever wondered what it’s like to work in a high performing engineering team at a start-up? This role gives you exposure to the culture and practices but with a mature and supported team.There are currently 65+ of us working as technology consultants, researchers, strategists, designers and producers towards our mission from our head office in Collingwood, and remotely from co-working spaces and homes across Australia.

Technology consultants with a difference

This role sits within our embedded consulting practice, which is called “Midnyte”. The team is a closely knit group of technology experts that work directly inside our client organisations to provide technology leadership, technical uplift and problem solving for periods between three months to over a year in some cases. Our clients are typically well known technology companies or mature start-ups and our team is highly regarded in the industry - we just won AWS partner of the year because of our unique approach. The work is genuinely complex: large-scale cloud infrastructure, high-availability systems, and real engineering problems that matter. You'll be employed by Portable, connected to our broader team and culture, and embedded with a client where you'll do some of the best technical work of your career.

Then there's you

A highly experienced technologist with deep expertise and the judgment that comes from years of solving hard infrastructure problems across different industries and environments. You may have designed global-scale networks and landing zones, built CI/CD pipelines that actually hold up under pressure, and guided clients through complex cloud migrations without losing sight of security, cost, or reliability. 

You're past the point of needing to prove yourself technically. What drives you now is doing the work well — architecting things properly, sharing what you know, and leaving systems (and teams) in better shape than you found them. However, fundamentally you’re a problem solver who can step into spaces and add value. 

We are looking for someone who:

• Has deep, hands-on AWS expertise — ideally holding AWS Professional or Specialist certifications
• Has designed and implemented cloud landing zones, multi-account architectures, and global-scale infrastructure
• Is highly proficient with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, AWS CDK, or similar) and treats it as standard practice, not a nice-to-have
• Has built and maintained CI/CD pipelines for complex, production-grade systems
• Has strong Linux and Windows systems knowledge
• Understands cloud economics at a practical level
• Brings experience with database performance, scalability assessment, and working across SQL and cloud-native data patterns
• Has worked in regulated or security-conscious environments and applies secure-by-default thinking
• Can work closely with client engineering teams — communicating clearly, building trust quickly, and operating with a high degree of autonomy
• Is a Principal/engineering manager-level  practitioner: technically excellent, adaptable across stacks, and comfortable working without a people management brief
• Brings curiosity and generosity — you share knowledge, engage seriously with problems, and make the teams around you better

Please note! We are also interested in hearing from people who are interested in embedded consultant roles, but also have a background in related areas like observability, site reliability engineering and complex software development. 

An example of what a week might look like:

• Working embedded in a client's engineering team, leading the design and implementation of a new AWS landing zone or infrastructure migration
• Conducting a performance and scalability assessment — analysing execution plans, identifying bottlenecks, and delivering clear, evidence-based recommendations
• Pairing with a client or Portable developer on a tricky infrastructure problem and helping them see a cleaner path through it
• Contributing to an internal Portable Deep Dive session on a cloud or DevOps topic you've been working with
• Collaborating with a producer and client stakeholders to scope upcoming work, shape architecture decisions, and keep delivery on track

How we remunerate and support our team

The salary range for this role is $138,000–$200,000 plus superannuation.

Here's what else you can look forward to:

• Meaningful work: Clients who are building things that matter, and problems worth solving properly
• Flexible work arrangements: Hybrid and remote options, flexible hours, and personalised start/finish times. You can expect to be in either Portable’s local office or the client you are embedded with 3-4 days a week. 
• Enhanced leave: Bonus annual leave based on tenure, purchasable additional leave, paid volunteering leave, and paid mental health days with no explanation required
• Growth and development: $2,000 annual professional development allowance plus two working days, structured career pathways, twice-yearly salary reviews, and access to our Emerging Leaders program
• Wellbeing support: Up to 4 counselling sessions per year through our EAP with The Mindroom
• Financial incentives: Profit-sharing bonus, employee share plan options, and salary sacrificing
• Family-friendly policies: Enhanced parental leave and flexible arrangements around family commitments

How to apply

We are committed to building a diverse and equal team. People from groups which are typically underrepresented in technology leadership are strongly encouraged to apply.

Please send us:

• Your resume
• A short cover letter (max. 1 page) answering:
• What's attracted you to this role and why do you think it would be a good fit for you?
• Tell us about a time you navigated a technically complex or ambiguous environment and delivered a strong outcome — what was your approach and what did you learn?
• What does a commercial mindset mean to you?