This guide is for the Principal Developer application with the Department of Customer Service, supporting Revenue NSW digital services. The role sits in a modernisation program focused on core systems, customer experience and better business processes, with a backend-led full stack engineering focus.
Build your application around evidence that matches the work: production-grade Java or Node.js, Spring Boot, microservices, REST APIs, AWS or cloud-native delivery, infrastructure as code, CI/CD, security, testing and technical documentation. Also make clear whether your previous experience is best described as frontend, backend or both.
Use your one-page cover letter and CV to show senior judgement, not a long technology list. Select examples where you made technical decisions, improved engineering practices, coached other developers and delivered reliable digital services in a complex environment.
View the official job ad before you start writing, then use this guide to plan how to apply for Principal Developer with clear evidence.
Contents
- Role snapshot
- Application requirements
- Candidate requirements
- Example application structure
- Help with your application
Principal Developer Role Snapshot
| Role title | Principal Developer |
| Organisation / Entity | Department of Customer Service |
| Job location | Bathurst & Central West NSW |
| Job reference number | req52650 |
| Work type | Full-Time |
| Total remuneration package | $149,739 to $173,174 per year |
| Closing date | Monday 6 July 2026 |
| Official job ad | View the official job ad |
The Principal Developer role is part of a Revenue NSW modernisation program focused on core systems, customer experience and better business processes. A day in the role can involve backend-heavy full stack engineering, technical design, code quality, integration, cloud-native delivery, infrastructure as code, CI/CD practices and decisions about how systems should scale. The role calls for someone who can still engage deeply with code while also shaping technical direction and helping others deliver well. It is a strong fit for senior engineers with Java or Node.js backend depth who can connect engineering choices to customer and business outcomes.
NSW Government Application Requirements
Application requirements matter because NSW Government recruitment panels use them to check whether an application is complete, compliant and relevant. Your documents need to follow the requested format, and your examples need to show the evidence behind your claims.
Application Requirements For Principal Developer
- Cover letter
- CV
Essential role requirements
- travel requirement
Use the application requirements below as a compliance checklist before you submit. The written application needs to be easy for the panel to assess and clearly connected to the work described for this role.
NSW Government Candidate Requirements
Candidate requirements are the skills, experience and behaviours the hiring team will look for in your examples. For this role, your application should make it easy to see how your past work connects to the setting, systems, customers, risks and responsibilities in the position.
Candidate Requirements For Principal Developer At Department of Customer Service
| Backend engineering with Java or Node.js | Use examples of production-grade backend systems you have designed, built or improved using Java, Node.js or Spring Boot. Include scale, reliability, performance or maintainability outcomes where you can. |
| Microservices, APIs and integration patterns | Describe your work developing microservices, RESTful APIs and service integrations across complex environments. Show how you handled authentication, error handling, data flow, resilience or integration constraints. |
| Cloud-native delivery and infrastructure as code | Provide evidence of deploying secure, scalable and resilient solutions on cloud platforms, particularly AWS if relevant. Mention hands-on use of containers, serverless patterns, Terraform, CloudFormation or similar tools. |
| Code quality, security, testing and CI/CD | Show how you have lifted engineering standards through code reviews, testing practices, CI/CD pipelines, secure coding or documentation. Link your evidence to measurable improvements such as fewer defects, faster releases or better maintainability. |
| Technical leadership and coaching | Use examples where you guided developers, influenced technical decisions or helped a team adopt better practices. Strong evidence will show how you balanced delivery goals, architecture, quality and team capability. |
| Frontend contribution and user experience awareness | If you have frontend experience, reference React, TypeScript, reusable components, state management, accessibility, responsive design or frontend testing. If your strength is backend, show that you can still work effectively with frontend teams and support a good customer experience. |
Example Application Structure For Principal Developer
For this role, build the application around the written requirements above and use the maximum page or word limits listed in the official application form. The structure below gives each section a clear job, so the panel can quickly see your fit for the role. If the portal asks additional questions, answer those questions directly with specific examples.
| Opening paragraph | Open with the Principal Developer opportunity at DCS and briefly connect your backend-led full stack experience to Revenue NSW system modernisation and customer service outcomes. |
| Backend engineering with Java or Node.js | Use one strong Java, Node.js or Spring Boot delivery story, covering the system you built or improved and the reliability, performance or maintainability gains. |
| Microservices, APIs and integration patterns | Show how you designed or delivered microservices, REST APIs or integrations, including authentication, data flow, resilience, error handling or constraints across connected systems. |
| Cloud-native delivery and infrastructure as code | Set out your hands-on cloud delivery, preferably AWS where relevant, including containers, serverless, Terraform, CloudFormation or similar, and how you protected scalability and resilience. |
| Code quality, security, testing and CI/CD | Describe how you improved code quality through reviews, secure coding, testing, CI/CD, documentation or standards, and link this to release speed or defect reduction. |
| Technical leadership and coaching | Outline a time you shaped a technical decision, coached developers or lifted team practices while balancing delivery needs, architecture, quality and stakeholder expectations. |
| Frontend contribution and user experience awareness | If relevant, include React, TypeScript, reusable components, state management, accessibility, responsive design or testing, and show how you supported a usable customer experience. |
| Mandatory requirements | Check the advertisement requirements before submission: one-page cover letter, CV up to five pages, and any requested statement on frontend, backend or both. |
| Closing paragraph | Finish by linking your senior engineering strengths to DCS digital service outcomes, noting availability for the temporary role and submission before Monday 6 July 2026. |
What the panel will want to see in your examples
- Clear alignment to a backend-primary full stack role, including whether your experience is frontend, backend or both.
- Evidence of building and supporting scalable, secure and maintainable digital services in production.
- Sound judgement in technical decision-making, architecture alignment and trade-offs under delivery pressure.
- Practical leadership through code reviews, coaching, documentation and improvement of development practices.
- Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and communicate complex technical issues clearly.
- Customer and service awareness, including reliability, accessibility, performance and ease of use.
Help With Your Principal Developer Application
Before submitting, return to the official job ad and check the closing date, documents and portal instructions one final time.
Team 3Thirty has a free NSW cover letter template if you want a clearer structure before you write. If you want practical help from someone who understands government recruitment, you can request professional application writing support.