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Neara - Lead Engineer, Engineering Productivity ​

Recruiter Screen Prep ​

Job URL: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4366662999
Company: Neara
Role: Lead Engineer, Engineering Productivity
Location: Australia (flexible; office in Redfern)
Interview type: Recruiter screen (30 to 45 mins)

1) What this role is really hiring for ​

Neara is hiring someone who can build the golden path for software delivery, introduce AI tooling to accelerate engineers, and measure the outcomes with clear productivity metrics.

  • Define and maintain a golden path: opinionated, well-supported default workflows for build, test, deploy, and release that teams actually want to use
  • Integrate AI tooling into the development lifecycle: code review assist, automated test generation, intelligent CI triage, and developer support bots
  • Measure engineering productivity with metrics that drive decisions: DORA metrics, cycle time, build reliability, developer satisfaction surveys, and time-to-onboard
  • Build relationships with engineers across teams by scheduling regular 1-on-1s to surface and unblock friction points before they become systemic
  • Guide and grow engineers through hands-on tech engagement, structured training, and a culture of continuous learning

2) Your strongest match ​

  • Golden path delivery: At Domain, I designed the paved road for 20+ teams migrating 100+ services from ECS to Kubernetes with GitOps. This was not a migration project; it was building the default way to ship software safely. At Viator, I established CI/CD standards across GitLab pipelines and GitHub Actions for 15+ teams.
  • AI tooling for productivity: At Viator, I built an AI Slack support bot that cut first-response time by 50%. I also shipped Backstage-based project metrics dashboards and automated GitLab token workflows that reclaimed 10% team velocity. These are real examples of using AI and automation to remove toil.
  • Metrics-driven productivity: I established DORA-aligned metrics, observability dashboards across 40 services, and SLO adoption practices. Every productivity initiative I run starts with baseline measurement and tracks outcomes.
  • Cross-team relationships: I built trust across 20+ engineering teams by embedding with squads during migrations, running regular check-ins to understand their blockers, and adjusting the platform roadmap based on their feedback.
  • Engineer guidance and enablement: I run knowledge-sharing sessions, pair on complex deployments, lead design reviews, and create internal training materials. I treat cultural fit and technical growth as equally important.

3) 90-second tell me about yourself ​

I am a Senior Platform Engineer with 13 years in infrastructure, reliability, and developer experience. My approach is to build golden paths for software delivery, integrate AI tooling where it removes real friction, and measure everything with clear productivity metrics.

Most recently at Viator, I shipped an AI Slack support bot that cut first-response time by 50%, built Backstage-based metrics dashboards to give teams visibility into their delivery health, and automated token workflows that recovered 10% velocity. I also improved observability coverage across 40 services so teams could diagnose issues faster.

Before that at Domain, I built the default delivery path for 20+ teams: migrating 100+ services from ECS to Kubernetes, rolling out GitOps, and introducing SLOs. I spent significant time building relationships across those teams through regular check-ins, understanding their blockers, and adjusting our platform roadmap based on what they actually needed.

Throughout my career, I have also prioritised growing engineers around me: running training sessions, pairing on hard problems, leading design reviews, and creating a culture where people feel safe to ask questions and push boundaries.

I am excited about this Neara role because it is exactly this combination: build the golden path, bring AI and automation into developer workflows, measure outcomes, and help engineers across the org deliver better.

4) Why Neara and why this role ​

Three reasons:

  1. Mission with real-world impact: Neara's work on grid resilience matters. I want my engineering productivity work to support something meaningful.
  2. Golden path ownership: This role is about defining how software gets delivered at Neara and making that path fast, safe, and measurable. That is where I do my best work.
  3. People and culture fit: I thrive when I can build relationships across teams, understand their pain points through regular conversations, and guide engineers technically and culturally. This role has that scope.

5) Expected recruiter questions and concise responses ​

Why are you leaving Viator? ​

Viator restructured its Australian engineering organization, including my role. I am proud of what I delivered there and I see this as the right time to move into a lead role where I can own the golden path for software delivery, introduce AI tooling practices, and drive productivity through metrics and cross-team engagement.

What are you looking for next? ​

A role where I build and own the golden path for engineering delivery. I want to integrate AI tooling where it genuinely helps, measure productivity with metrics that drive decisions, build relationships with engineers across teams through regular 1-on-1s on blockers, and help people grow both technically and culturally.

Do you have experience leading without authority? ​

Yes. At Domain and Viator, most of my initiatives were cross-team. I build influence by scheduling regular 1-on-1s with engineers and tech leads to understand their blockers, then delivering solutions that address those pain points. When people see you consistently remove friction from their work, they trust your direction. I also invest in the relationship side: understanding team culture, what motivates people, and what slows them down beyond just technical issues.

How technical are you vs people leadership? ​

Both are core to how I operate. Technically, I build golden paths, CI/CD pipelines, AI tooling integrations, and observability systems. On the people side, I schedule regular 1-on-1s across teams to surface blockers, I run training and knowledge-sharing sessions, and I mentor engineers through design reviews and pairing. I believe technical leadership without relationship-building does not scale.

What is your experience with build systems and monorepo productivity? ​

I have deep experience designing the golden path for build and release workflows. While the role references Bazel, Gradle, and Cargo specifically, my transferable strength is in defining the opinionated default workflow, measuring its reliability and speed with clear metrics, and iterating based on developer feedback. I ramp quickly on specific toolchains because the systems thinking is the same.

How do you approach AI tooling for developer productivity? ​

I start with high-friction areas where AI adds genuine value, not novelty. At Viator, that meant an AI Slack bot for developer support and automated token management workflows. My approach is: identify the bottleneck, prototype an AI-assisted solution, measure the outcome, and then scale it through the golden path. I am also tracking the broader AI developer tooling landscape closely: code generation, test generation, intelligent CI triage, and PR review assist.

Salary expectations? ​

I am looking for a package aligned to a Lead Engineer, Engineering Productivity role in the Australian market. I am flexible based on total compensation, scope, and growth opportunity.

6) High-signal points to repeat ​

  • I build golden paths for software delivery that teams actually adopt.
  • I integrate AI tooling where it removes real friction and measure the outcomes with clear metrics.
  • I build cross-team relationships by scheduling regular 1-on-1s to surface and unblock friction.
  • I guide engineers through hands-on tech engagement, training, and mentorship, both culturally and technically.
  • I measure engineering productivity with DORA metrics, cycle time, build reliability, and developer satisfaction.

7) Likely risks and your framing ​

  • Are you too infrastructure or SRE focused?
    • My recent work is directly engineering-productivity focused: AI tooling, developer experience metrics, golden path design, and cross-team enablement. Infrastructure is the foundation, not the outcome.
  • Do you have direct Bazel or monorepo ownership?
    • I have led adjacent scaling challenges in CI/CD and delivery workflows. The same golden-path thinking applies: define the opinionated default, measure it, iterate. I ramp quickly on specific tools.
  • Can you influence senior stakeholders?
    • Yes. I build influence through data (metrics and outcomes) and relationships (regular 1-on-1s with engineers and leads). When stakeholders see measurable productivity gains, alignment follows.
  • Are you too technical and not enough on the people side?
    • I deliberately invest in cross-team relationships, cultural understanding, and training. I schedule regular check-ins not just about technical blockers but about how engineers feel about their workflow, what training they need, and where they want to grow.

8) Smart questions for the recruiter ​

  1. How does Neara currently define and maintain its golden path for software delivery?
  2. Is there an existing productivity metrics framework, or would this role build one from scratch?
  3. How open is the engineering team to AI tooling in their development workflows?
  4. What does the cross-team engagement model look like today? Are there regular touchpoints between platform and product engineering?
  5. What does success look like at month 3 and month 12?
  6. How is the interview process structured after the recruiter screen?

9) 30-second close ​

Thanks, this role is exactly where I want to be: building the golden path for software delivery, integrating AI tooling to accelerate engineers, and measuring outcomes with clear metrics. I care deeply about building relationships across teams and helping engineers grow both technically and culturally. I would love to continue in process and discuss where I can have the most impact in the first 90 days.