Principal Engineer - Reporting & Insights

The posting, as Xero wrote it

ABOUT THE ROLE

Millions of small businesses and their advisors use Xero reports and insights to decide what to do next. AI is changing how people understand their finances faster than any shift since the cloud, and Reporting & Insights is where Xero meets that change. Over the next few years we’re evolving reporting and insights for the agentic era, where customers ask an AI about their numbers as often as they open a Balance Sheet. As the senior technical leader for Reporting & Insights, you’ll set the multi-year technical direction, from the reports businesses file to the insights that tell them what to do next. You’ll also help hire the first Reporting & Insights engineers in Vancouver and decide how they work.

THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGES

Set a 3-year architecture across Reporting & Insights. Reporting and Xero Analytics run on a mix of modern services and systems that have grown with Xero over many years. You’ll define one target state across both, decide how they build on Xero’s data platform, and secure the investment to get there. You’ll design for high throughput, low latency and resilience, so reporting and insights scale with Xero’s largest and most complex customers.

Evolve the platform without breaking trust. Accountants file tax returns from these numbers, so correctness comes first. You’ll lead the evolution of the data foundations behind about 150 reports, sequenced across teams and organisational boundaries. Customers keep the numbers they trust, on foundations built for what comes next.

Make reporting and insights AI-native. AI changes what reporting and insights can be: answers to plain-language questions, insights that reach customers where they work, and analysis that once took an accountant hours. Every answer still has to reconcile to the ledger. You’ll define the foundations: how agents query financial data safely, how answers stay grounded and explainable, and how we prove correctness at scale. We want teams across Xero to build on what you create.

IMPACT

In your first six months you’ll own the Reporting & Insights architecture and set a direction for the data platform and the evolution of both products that engineering, Product and leadership back.

At twelve months you will have

• Set a multi-year technical strategy for Reporting & Insights
• Delivered new foundations for the first major report families, setting Reporting & Insights up for its next phase of growth
• Opened Reporting & Insights to bigger businesses, with performance that scales to our largest customers
• Put shared foundations for AI-native reporting and insights into production
• Grown the Lead and Senior Engineers around you and raised the technical bar across the group

Beyond year one, you’ll shape where Reporting & Insights goes next, and help steer Xero’s wider data and AI direction alongside the leadership team.

OWNERSHIP

You’re the senior technical voice for Reporting & Insights. You own the multi-year technical stra
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ng how you thought about it, executed it and led through its complexity.

• Values / Future Proof Xero (45 minutes): how you show up day to day, aligned with Xero's values and capabilities such as adaptability, ownership, customer thinking and AI fluency.
• LEADership (45–60 minutes): real examples of how you lead, influence and deliver in ambiguous, fast-changing environments, assessed against Xero's leadership principles

COMPENSATION & TOTAL REWARDS

At Xero, we value the impact and skills you bring to the team. We don’t just hire for a role; we invest in people. We believe in a Total Package philosophy - which means your value isn't just a single number on a paycheque. While base salary is a core component, we look at your compensation through a holistic lens that includes equity, performance incentives, and world-class benefits.

The expected base salary range for this role in

• Washington, WA & San Mateo, CA: $287,000 - $320,000 USD

Individual pay is determined by various factors, including geography, level of experience, and the specific skills you bring to the role.

In addition to base pay, Xero’s roles are eligible for the following forms of variable compensation:

• Variable Pay: Permanent employees are eligible to participate in our annual bonus and equity (RSU) programs. You may also be eligible for performance-based cash or equity (RSUs) incentives depending on your role level, and company performance.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401(k) match, and 21 days PTO, 10 days of Wellbeing leave, 5 days of Xtra Leave, 1 volunteer day, 12 paid holidays, paid parental leave. Further information included on our Xero Perks https://careers.xero.com/inside-xero/benefits-wellbeing/ page

Xero uses AI to help screen applications based on job-related qualifications. These tools assist our recruiters but do not make automated hiring decisions. A human recruiter reviews all candidates before any hiring action is taken.