Assistant Director, Engineering Manager, Ministry of National Development

GovTech is the lead agency driving Singapore’s Smart Nation initiatives and public sector digital transformation. As the Centre of Excellence for Infocomm Technology and Smart Systems (ICT & SS), GovTech develops the Singapore Government’s capabilities in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Application Development, Smart City Technology, Digital Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity. At GovTech, we offer you a purposeful career to make lives better where we empower our people to master their craft through robust learning and development opportunities all year round. Play a part in Singapore’s vision to build a Smart Nation and embark on your meaningful journey to build tech for public good. Join us to advance our mission and shape your future with us today! Learn more about GovTech at <tech.gov.sg>.

[About the role]

We are seeking an experienced Engineering Manager to lead a team of software engineers in the design, development, and delivery of digital systems supporting the Municipal Services Office (MSO), Ministry of National Development (MND). The role spans a diverse portfolio of products, including public-facing websites and mobile applications, backend operational platforms, and enforcement systems used by government officers, town councils, and members of the public. The successful candidate will provide technical leadership, drive engineering excellence, oversee system architecture and delivery, and work closely with product managers, designers, and stakeholders to build secure, scalable, and user-centric solutions that enhance municipal service delivery, improve operational effectiveness, and support Singapore's Smart Nation ambitions.

[What you will be working on]

Full Stack Development & Delivery

• Build and maintain backend services and frontend interfaces
• Own features end-to-end: from backend logic and APIs to frontend implementation and user experience
• Develop new capabilities from scratch (0–1) where required

System Assessment & Technical Direction

• Rapidly understand existing systems (architecture, codebase, integrations)
• Solution and architecture of new systems in Govtech ecosystems
• Evaluate trade-offs across delivery speed, complexity, and maintainability
• Provide clear, actionable recommendations on system evolution

Cross-System Integration & Data Enablement

• Build and maintain integration layers between Agencies’ APIs
• Design and implement APIs and services to support interoperability and downstream analytics

DevOps & Production Ownership

• Own features from development through deployment and monitoring
• AWS Government Commercial Cloud (GCC), including governance and security considerations.
• Improve CI/CD, observability, and deployment processes
• DB change version control tools and processes
• Developmental practices like XP(TDD, BDD, CI/CD), Shift Left

Team, Product & Stakeholder Collaboration

Mentor and Direct Software Engineers in Team

• End to end ownership from solution design to delivery of products and services
• Work closely with PMs and designers to deliver user-facing features
• Translate requirements into scalable technical solutions
• Flag risks early and drive pragmatic trade-offs
• Collaborate with Business Analysts (BA) and Product Managers to refine user stories and translate them into technical requirements.
• Ensure automated test coverage and proactively fix bugs.
• Partner with DevOps teams to automate build, deployment, and monitoring pipelines.
• Design and document system architecture, ensuring compliance with security and regulatory standards.
• Optimize and improve backend systems for scalability, observability, and reliability.
• [What we are looking for]
• 6-8+ years of software engineering experience (flexible for strong candidates)

Strong full stack capability with at least one area of specialization

• Backend (NodeJS/Golang/Java or similar, APIs, integrations, data modelling)
• Frontend (React or similar frameworks is good to have)
• Proven ability to build and own systems end-to-end (0–1 and beyond)
• Strong coding fundamentals, able to write and reason about production-quality code independently without AI
• Hands-on mindset, willing to code, not just design or delegate
• Comfortable working with and improving legacy systems
• Ability to quickly understand complex systems and navigate ambiguity
• Familiar with cloud environments and modern DevOps practices
• Experience building containerised or monolithic systems
• Experience working across multiple products or systems

Technical Skills & Practices

Proficiency in modern backend programming languages (Java, Kotlin, Python, Golang, Node.js, Ruby).

Experience with Git, microservices architecture, event-driven patterns (Kafka, RabbitMQ), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, ArgoCD).

Knowledge of database technologies (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, Redis) and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools (Terraform, CloudFormation).

Familiarity with observability tools (Prometheus, OpenTelemetry, Grafana, ELK stack) and API standards (RESTful, GraphQL, gRPC, Swagger).

Strong knowledge of software engineering practices, including Extreme Programming (XP) practices like TDD and pair programming, and clean code principles.

Nice to have

Exposure to government or regulated environments (e.g., GCC)

Familiarity with data integration patterns

Experience using AI-assisted development tools effectively

What we offer you

GovTech is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive workplace that values diverse voices and perspectives, as we believe that diversity is the foundation to innovation.

Our employee benefits are based on a total rewards approach, offering a holistic and market-competitive suite of perks. These include leave benefits to meet your work-life needs and employee wellness programs.

We champion flexible work arrangements (subject to your job role) and trust that you will manage your own time to deliver your best, wherever you are, and whatever works best for you.

Learn more about life inside GovTech at <go.gov.sg/GovTechCareers>. Stay connected with us on social media at <go.gov.sg/ConnectWithGovTech>