Experienced Developer - Middleware

Location: Melbourne, Australia

Working style: Hybrid, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday office days in Melbourne CBD

Type: Full-time, however part-time would be considered for the right candidate

Salary: $167,560.75 plus 12% superannuation (non-negotiable)

About Fastmail

Fastmail has been the leading independent email service since 1999, headquartered in Melbourne with customers around the world. Our mission is simple: make email better. We do this by providing a premium email service that people are proud to pay for, and by leading standards, open source, and advocacy work that benefits the entire industry.

The Role

We're looking for an exceptional software developer who takes pride in writing clean, well-crafted code. This is a newly created role where you'll have the freedom to identify problems, research solutions, and build your expertise as you go. You'll thrive working independently but also as part of the wider product development team, shipping high-quality features without needing constant feedback or direction.

You're someone who deletes code as enthusiastically as you write it. Refactoring brings you joy. You care deeply about clarity - not just in your code, but in your documentation and communication. You understand that edge cases happen, and you really enjoy looking for solutions for these without wanting to give up.

You'll be part of a talented development team, but we need someone who can self-start, self-manage, and drive their own work forward with confidence.

What you'll do

• Design, develop and maintain high-quality backend services and systems
• Monitor performance, scalability, and security - learning industry best practices along the way
• Troubleshoot issues with a cool head and provide thoughtful solutions
• Collaborate with your team through clear written communication and constructive discussion
• Follow (and help evolve) our standards and patterns for code construction

What we're looking for

• 5+ years of software development experience with an excellent understanding of design and programming principles
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field.
• Knowledge of or willingness to learn API-based services, service architectures, and database design
• Experience writing backend services in Perl. Other additional coding experience would also be highly regarded, including Ruby, Lua, Python and JavaScript for the right candidate
• Self-motivation and independence - you check in with your team, then manage your day autonomously
• High standards for code quality - you ship exceptional work without needing multiple rounds of feedback
• Quick learner who's comfortable building expertise on the fly
• Customer-centric mindset; our customers matter, and we want you to care about them too
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Our culture

At Fastmail, we:

• Are good internet citizens—we believe in open protocols and fostering good relationships
• Build the future—we lead our industry through standards and innovation
• Seek understanding—we're curious and want deep knowledge of our systems
• Value discussion—we collaborate constructively to reach the best outcomes

Fastmail is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Ready to Apply?

If you're a self-directed developer, with full Australian working rights and willing to work in the office for 3 days per week (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday), who loves crafting exceptional code and learning new things quickly, we'd love to hear from you.