Wellington, being the capital of New Zealand, has a large portion of its IT workforce employed in government roles. This spans both the permanent and contract markets.

In particular, Wellington has an extremely strong contract market, with government projects spinning up and down at a moment's notice. Contracting can be a great way to break into the public sector, but it's important to be aware that a change in government, or even a shift in government priorities, can result in contracts ending unexpectedly.

Common IT Roles in Wellington

Because of the strong presence of government departments, crown entities, and public sector programs, Wellington has a distinct demand for certain types of roles compared to other regions in New Zealand. The emphasis is often on delivering large, complex programs of work ,which means that project delivery and governance roles are in high demand.

Here are some of the most common types of jobs we see in the Wellington market:

• Project Managers & Programme Managers: Digital transformation is the big "word" across the entire sector making these roles in high demand. Your core project management certifications such as PRINCE2 and MSP are still in big demand, but "Agile" delivery (Or atleast as close as you'll get in a government setting) is also seeing demand grow.
• Business Analysts & System Analysts: Analysts across the entire spectrum from technical to non-technical are in huge need. With government systems always in a state of migration, that gathering of requirements and mapping our current vs future state is always in demand. Stakeholder management and documentation is seen as extremely important and desirable for these roles.
• Change Managers & Change Analysts: Change roles are critical in the public sector, where new systems or processes impact hundreds (sometimes thousands) of internal staff or citizens. Similar to the roles above, there is always a need for these types of roles as government systems are in a perpetual state of upgrading.
• Test Analysts & Test Managers: With ongoing system upgrades and transitions to new platforms, testing is a crucial function. Manual testing is still (And likely will always) be king, but test automation is slowly eeking it's way up in demand.
• Solution Architects & Enterprise Architects: Architects are always in demand but their skills can vary wildly. Often an architect in a government setting is more about managing expectations than technical design, but there is a demand for architects who can map on-premise legacy systems to the cloud.
• Scrum Masters & Agile Coaches: Agile is being increasingly adopted across Wellington agencies, especially in digital teams. Scrum Masters who understand the balance between Agile delivery and public sector reporting frameworks are particularly sought after.
• Security Consultants: As government systems modernise and move to the cloud, cybersecurity and identity management are becoming high-priority skill sets. Similar to architect roles, these tend to be less on a technical spectrum and more about managing expectations.
• Data Analysts, Data Engineers & Data Scientists: With a focus on evidence-based policy and service delivery, departments are investing more in data capability. This includes roles in reporting, analytics, and machine learning, often using tools like SQL, Python, Power BI, and R.
• Software Developers: While Wellington isn't traditionally known for product startups, there is still strong demand for developers, particularly in .NET, Java, and frontend frameworks like Angular and React ,often working on large, citizen-facing systems.

These roles are often contract-based but can also be permanent depending on the department and project size. Contractors in Wellington frequently enjoy multi-year engagements via rolling contracts, but it's not uncommon for teams to ramp up or down depending on policy shifts or funding cycles.

Common Tech Stacks In Wellington

Due to the nature of government agencies and large-scale enterprise systems, Wellington leans heavily on established, enterprise-grade technologies. This includes:

• .NET and Java: These two are dominant, particularly within legacy systems and ongoing digital transformation projects. Many public sector applications are built on these platforms and continue to evolve over time.
• SQL Server and Oracle: Your standard traditional relational databases are still in heavy demand. You are much more likely to see Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle than Postgres, MySQL, or some other open source alternative.
• Angular and React: While government agencies have traditionally leaned on Angular for frontend development (particularly due to its structure and maintainability), React is becoming increasingly common in new projects, especially in innovation or customer-facing teams.
• Python: With the growing popularity of data engineering, Python has seen a large increase in demand. There are some roles that utilize Python for the Web (Flask, Django, FastAPI), but not many. Python is almost exclusively locked to data engineering, analytics, and machine learning projects.
• Cloud Technologies: Wellington is seeing a strong push towards the cloud, and in particular, to Azure. Governmental departments are typically already Microsoft customers so the leap to utilizing Azure is smaller than other clouds. AWS does seem some use in government, but is much more prevalent in the private sector.
• Salesforce, SAP, Oracle NetSuite, and Dynamics 365: Out of the box CRM and ERP systems have a huge place in the Wellington ecosystem, but these roles are typically always contractual.

These technologies are typically used in governmental environments, but also are seen across all sectors in Wellington. One additional technology is worth nothing however :

Ruby on Rails: Wellington has a unique ecosystem when it comes to Ruby on Rails. Several startups in the region are built on top of Ruby, and it continues to be in use heavily across the region.

Things to Consider

Wellington offers a lot of opportunity, but the environment comes with a few nuances:

• Security Clearance: Many government roles, require some level of security clearance. Depending on your residency and/or existing security clearance levels, this can be a non-starter. Some roles even advertise that you should have some level of security clearance before applying which does lead to a bit of a chicken/egg scenario.
• Bureaucratic Environments: Projects within government have much longer lead times and typically more stakeholder management than you may be used to in the private sector. It's great for professionals who enjoy structure, planning, and thorough documentation, but can also be frustrating if you come from a startup environment.
• Stability vs Flexibility: Contracts in Wellington can be surprisingly stable—many professionals stay in the same department for years through rolling extensions, however a government change or funding priority change can introduce risk and leave you out of a job. Keeping your network warm and your options open is critical.

In Summary

Wellington is a unique tech market in New Zealand in that it's almost entirely driven by governmental and government adjacent roles. It's an ideal location for those who enjoy working on large scales systems and multi-year projects. There is a strong product development private sector, but you almost can't work in Wellington for any length of time without doing even a short stint within Government. Whether you're an experienced contractor or just considering your first move into government, Wellington is well worth exploring.