About Acorn PLMS: At Acorn PLMS, we are on a mission to transform the corporate learning experience. Our cutting-edge Performance Learning Management System (PLMS) software is powered by AI and designed to ensure that what people learn directly contributes to their exceptional performance in business. Corporate learning needs a revolution, and Acorn PLMS is the antidote. We are the only solution that guides learners step by step to master the specific capabilities required for their roles, ultimately accelerating organisational performance.

About the role:

We're seeking a Senior Software Developer to lead the technical vision and execution of the Learning stream within the Acorn PLMS platform. As the engineering lead for Learning, you will play a pivotal role in evolving the architecture, performance, and reliability of our platform’s learning capabilities. You’ll guide a team of developers through complex backend challenges, champion high-quality coding standards, and shape decisions on systems design, infrastructure, and integration.

This is a hands-on, backend-heavy role - perfect for someone who loves solving infrastructure and data flow problems at scale, but also enjoys mentoring others and influencing technical strategy.

We are open to individuals based in Canberra, Australia - this is an in-office role.

5 key capabilities:

The best part… we use our Acorn software at Acorn. We believe in the power of our Managers and Staff being aligned on the 5 capabilities needed for each role, and the level that we expect for any given role, using our Acorn AI tool to streamline this consistently across our business. The 5 levels comprise Foundational, Developing, Proficient, Advanced and Expert.

Here are the 5 capabilities for our Senior Software Developer to give you an idea of what the role entails, and the level we are looking for from it:

1. Back-End Development: Develops and maintains server-side logic, database integrations, and API functionality, ensuring data security and efficient performance. Uses PHP and Laravel within the Moodle-based Acorn infrastructure, working with AWS RDS, EC2, and other services. Level – Advanced: Leads on complex server-side projects, coordinating AWS services and optimising performance. Coaches others on best practices in server and database management. Drives architectural decisions to support modularity, maintainability, and long-term scalability.
2. Systems Design & Integration: Architects and integrates modular systems across Acorn’s full stack, ensuring cohesive functionality between front-end and back-end components. Balances evolving product needs with long-term technical health, and drives high cohesion and low coupling across services. Level – Advanced: Designs and leads implementation of system-wide integrations, ensuring seamless data flow and service boundaries. Defines coding standards and architecture patterns, and resolves complex technical dependencies across teams.
3. AWS Infrastructure Management: Utilises AWS services (e.g., EC2, RDS, ElastiCache, IAM) to manage and deploy Acorn’s infrastructure, ensuring reliability, scalability, and compliance with standards like IRAP. Collaborates on infrastructure as code, using tools such as Terraform. Level – Proficient: Independently manages AWS infrastructure, optimising resource allocation and implementing security best practices. Leads infrastructure deployments and contributes to cost efficiency and system resilience initiatives.
4. Security and Compliance: Ensures all development aligns with security best practices and compliance standards such as IRAP. Implements secure development practices, utilises AWS security tooling, and maintains data protection within Acorn’s multi-tenant architecture. Level – Proficient: Applies advanced security practices, implementing encryption, access controls, and compliance checks. Proactively identifies and mitigates risks across codebases and infrastructure, ensuring consistent audit-readiness.
5. Technical Leadership & Coaching: Guides engineers in design, development, and delivery practices. Fosters a culture of ownership, excellence, and continuous improvement across the engineering team. Aligns team output with Acorn’s product strategy and capability roadmap. Level – Advanced: Leads and mentors developers, setting clear technical direction and enabling high performance. Drives architectural reviews, code quality initiatives, and collaborative planning. Acts as a bridge between engineering and product leadership.

Experience and qualifications:

• 6 years of experience in back-end software engineering
• Education: Degree or certifications in a related field preferred. 
• PHP and React: Experience with both is preferred 
• Front-End Development: Strong HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills. 
• User Experience (UX) Design: Understanding of UX principles. 
• Responsive Design: Ability to design for various devices. 
• Version Control: Familiarity with Git. 
• Quality Assurance: Testing and issue resolution skills. 

Location

We are open to individuals based in Canberra, Australia. We are an office-first company, meaning we work from our local offices the majority (if not all) of the time. Please note candidates will need to be in commuting distance to our offices based in the CBD. Applicants must have full working rights in Australia to be considered for this role. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship at this time.

Our recruitment process

Acorn is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. We aim to ensure that our recruitment process is fair and accessible to everyone and encourage candidates to request any accommodations needed during the application or interview stages.

About Acorn

Acorn is the hub for learning and performance for over 1 million active learners globally. The work you do — whether that’s writing lines of code, designing the layout of a dashboard, or talking to customers — helps real people grow not just professionally, but personally. In the space of 10 years, we’ve grown to a global platform in the heart of many major organisations’ ecosystems. There’s still so much more to do, and we need people who are keen to help us journey into the next phase on board! And since we’re still growing, there’s so much you can learn on that journey with us.

Want to see more about life at Acorn? Check out our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BGUk-n3FrQ

Are you a brilliant back-end developer with a passion for clean architecture, scalable systems, and mentoring others to build something that actually helps people learn and grow? Let’s build the future of learning together.