Sofware Engineer (Innovation)

Location: Melbourne / Hybrid

Type: Full-Time

Reports to: Chief Innovation Officer

Build the Future of Construction Technology

At Breadcrumb, we're making worksites safer, more connected, and more compliant. Our digital safety tool is trusted by construction and industrial businesses across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, and the United States - and we're growing fast.

We're looking for a Software Engineer to join our Innovation Hub, a specialised team focused on rapidly executing and validating new ideas. You'll turn concepts into real, working solutions, contributing to both Breadcrumb's existing products and greenfield initiatives.

Reporting to the Chief Innovation Officer, you'll work hands-on across the full lifecycle of innovation, from idea and prototype through to production, collaborating closely with product, engineering, and design teams.

What You'll Do

• Analyse and design complex software systems, APIs, and data models that span internal architectures and third-party integrations, ensuring alignment with organisational requirements.

• Formulate technical specifications and make critical architectural decisions in ambiguous problem spaces, balancing rapid experimentation with the rigorous discipline required for production-grade software.

• Apply emerging technologies, including AI/Large Language Models (LLMs) and automation tooling, to enhance system capabilities and deliver measurable value within the product ecosystem.

• Lead the end-to-end Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), rapidly designing and building high-fidelity prototypes to validate product hypotheses with customers before scaling to production.

• Develop and maintain robust applications across web, mobile, and desktop platforms using .NET (C#) and React, contributing directly to the core "Breadcrumb" product suite.

• Oversee the evolution of prototypes, performing critical refactoring, system hardening, and seamless integration into core enterprise environments.

• Uphold and champion engineering excellence by implementing comprehensive testing strategies, including unit, integration, and regression testing, within Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines.

• Conduct rigorous code reviews and technical documentation to ensure software meets high standards of security, maintainability, and efficiency.

• Diagnose and resolve complex performance, stability, and integration bottlenecks as innovative solutions graduate from pilot phases into live production environments.

• Contribute to broader engineering strategy and architectural discussions, providing technical guidance and mentoring junior developers to foster a culture of continuous learning and technical growth.

What We're Looking For

Essential:

• Proven experience in the full SDLC, specifically using .NET (C#) and React to build enterprise-grade applications.

• A track record of making sound architectural decisions in ambiguous environments, balancing innovation with engineering rigour.

• Strong understanding of APIs, data modelling, databases, and cloud platforms.

• Strong focus on delivering real customer value over adopting technology for its own sake.

• Collaborative mindset with strong written and verbal communication.

• Genuine curiosity for applying emerging tech (AI/LLMs).

• A tertiary degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a closely related ICT field.

Advantageous:

• Experience with AI/LLMs, data pipelines, or event-driven systems

• Background in startup or scale-up environments

• Multi-platform delivery experience (web, mobile, desktop)

Why Breadcrumb?

• Work across both core product evolution and brand new initiatives.

• Build ideas that reach real users on real worksites and have genuine impact.

• Direct access to the Chief Innovation Officer and a real seat at the table on architecture and product decisions.

• Join a team that values curiosity, speed, ownership, and getting things done without the corporate waffle.

• Hybrid flexibility out of Melbourne, with genuine support for professional growth and wellbeing, including mental health days and professional development funding.