Senior/Lead Software Engineer

Who We Are

Open Government Products (OGP) operates like a startup within the government; We are a fast-paced, dynamic team of engineers, designers, and product managers dedicated to public good. We autonomously identify opportunities to solve public problems using tech, rapidly prototype, and launch solutions — from citizen apps to automating public agency operations. Embracing an open-sourced and flat hierarchy, we cut through bureaucracy to focus on real-world, user-centric innovations that drive change.

The Team

You will be joining the Citizen Engagement team, which is currently working with People’s Association on building new systems, as well as modernising existing systems, to better support community building and partnership efforts.

This includes designing and developing new community experiences powered by modern technologies such as facial recognition and large language models (LLMs), streamlining and modernising existing processes for managing partnerships, events, and community programmes, as well as building user-centric digital solutions that simplify access to services and make everyday life easier for Singaporeans.

About the Role

As a Senior / Lead Software Engineer, you will shape architecture, drive implementation, and raise the engineering bar across multiple products. You will own systems end-to-end, from design through to production reliability, and operate with high autonomy in an environment where engineers work directly with agency stakeholders rather than building to spec.

This role is well-suited for engineers who combine deep technical judgment with the ability to operate in ambiguity, communicate directly with technical and non-technical stakeholders, and make pragmatic trade-offs under real constraints.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead technical design and system architecture, making clear trade-offs across performance, scalability, maintainability, and delivery speed

• Drive end-to-end implementation of production systems, including ownership of reliability, failure modes, and operational considerations

• Make pragmatic architectural decisions that balance correctness with delivery speed, and clearly articulate the reasoning behind them

• Provide technical mentorship and thorough code review that elevates the team's engineering quality

• Work closely with business and technical stakeholders (up to Director level) to clarify requirements, manage constraints, and align on solutions

• Translate vague or evolving problem statements into well-scoped, implementable technical plans

• Communicate technical concepts, limitations, and trade-offs clearly to non-technical audiences

• Ultimately ensure the delivery of high-quality, user-centric products that meet real operational needs

Preferred Skills and Qualifications

Technical depth and pragmatism

• Designs systems end-to-end: APIs, data models, failure modes, and infrastructure

• Deep expertise in at least one area (frontend, backend, or cloud) with the ability to work across the full stack

• Makes deliberate trade-offs between delivery speed, correctness, and maintainability, and can explain why

• Experience with production systems at meaningful scale or complexity

Our stack: TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node.js, AWS, Postgres. Experience with CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, and secure development practices is expected.

Ownership and initiative

• Takes problems from ambiguity to shipped solution without waiting for detailed specs

• Owns production reliability, not just feature delivery

• Has a track record of identifying and driving improvements that weren't assigned

Communication and team impact

• Explains technical topics clearly to engineers and non-engineers alike

• Has worked directly with senior stakeholders, not solely through a PM layer

• Mentors other engineers and contributes to a team culture of high standards and continuous improvement

Overall we look for people who have ability, initiative, good communication, and most importantly, a passionate heart for public good. Don’t hesitate to apply, even if you might not possess all the skills and qualifications!

Working at OGP

Ownership and Autonomy — Beyond technical tasks, this means having autonomy to voice opinions and suggest future directions. Building what you believe in drives the creation of great solutions.

Rapid Prototyping — We prioritise testing ideas over debating them, allowing us to identify problems quickly and convey possibilities to others. This fail-fast approach accelerates innovation.

Flexibility — We provide flexible work arrangements based on what works best for our team and its members, fostering a productive and supportive environment.

Continuous Learning — Drive professional growth by exploring new architectures, frameworks, and technologies. With dedicated yearly learning months and hackathons, continuous learning is essential as we tackle innovative ideas and challenges.

Mission-Driven — Our work is dedicated to the public good, aiming to improve the lives of Singapore citizens. We focus on creating impactful solutions that enhance the community and the place we call home.

Projects OGP has worked on include:

ScamShield — iOS and Android mobile apps, enhanced in August 2024, help users check and report suspicious communications. The apps automatically filter known scams using an AI-powered machine learning classifier. An Admin Dashboard also allows police to verify reported scams.

ParkingSG — A mobile app alternative to parking coupons. It lets users pay, extend, and refund their parking sessions just using their phones.

RedeemSG — Helps the Singapore Government to create, send and track redemptions of digital vouchers easily.

COVID-19 Vaccination — A suite of systems built to enable Singapore's national vaccination campaign for COVID-19. This includes informational sites, appointment booking systems, and records management systems.

data.gov.sg — An open repository of all the Singapore Government's public data. It helps people understand the data using visualisations and articles, and provides real-time APIs for developers to use.

Isomer — Provides government agencies with an easy-to-deploy static website building and hosting service to create usable, secure and faster informational websites quickly.

FormSG — A form builder tool for agencies to self-service and create online forms that capture classified data, with the goal of replacing paper forms.

PaySG — Was developed to enable digital payments for government services, and was initially used for payments for COVID-19 swab tests and Stay-Home Notices for incoming travellers to Singapore.

An overview of other OGP products can be found on our website https://open.gov.sg