Job Title: Frontend/Backend Developer (POC Project – Federal Government, Department of Health)
Engagement Type: Short-Term Contract – 4 to 5 Weeks
Clearance: Baseline clearance or ability to obtain
Start Date: ASAP
Confidential Project – Not for Public Advertising

About the Project

We’re supporting a confidential Proof of Concept (POC) project for the Department of Health, working in a small, agile team alongside a UX Designer, Business Analyst, and Project Manager. The goal is to connect to a data source and build a clickable prototype that demonstrates how digital tools can better support decision-making or service delivery in a health policy or operational context.

Your Role

We’re looking for a hands-on Frontend and/or Backend Developer who can:

• Rapidly build a lightweight but functional prototype that consumes data and presents it in an intuitive, interactive way.

• Set up or connect to data sources (e.g., APIs, existing datasets, or simple backend services).

• Work closely with the UX Designer to bring user flows and mockups to life.

• Contribute to technical design and suggest lightweight solutions for rapid delivery.

• Ensure code is structured in a way that supports iteration or future development if the concept is progressed.

Tech Skills We’re Looking For

• Frontend: React, Typescript, HTML/CSS, basic state management, API integration.

• Backend (if needed): Node.js, Express, simple API development, data integration.

• Bonus: Experience with prototyping tools, working with government datasets, or knowledge of health data and interoperability standards.

What You’ll Bring

• A pragmatic, MVP-first mindset – able to balance quality with speed.

• Experience delivering short-term POCs, pilots, or design-led tech projects.

• Strong collaboration skills – working hand-in-hand with design and delivery colleagues.

• Ability to work with limited documentation and rapidly shifting priorities.

• Australian Citizenship and ability to gain Baseline clearance (or already hold it).

Who are Local Peoples?

Local Peoples is a strategic research and design studio based in Melbourne and Canberra.

Our mission is to design healthy, resilient and resourceful communities. We are proud to be a certified B-Corporation with a strong focus on our social, environmental and economic impact.

We work across brand and digital design, place and experience design,, content and community engagement. Our key partners include state and local government, social enterprises, universities and large commercial organisations. All are experiencing complex challenges right now and we believe that design research, thinking and delivery can help to solve these challenges and make positive change for people and the planet.

We produce www.mattersjournal.com, a publication and community of 100K+, which focuses on design-led social innovation and impact.

Why join Local Peoples?

• Representative and inclusive - we are dedicated to building an inclusive and accessible workplace for people from diverse backgrounds

• Impact driven - work towards achieving real impact for people and the environment

• Fantastic culture - driven by a welcoming, supportive and collaborative team environment

• Professional support for design excellence- benefit from being a part of one of Australia’s fastest growing design and delivery communities

• Flexible working arrangements - including the ability to work remotely

• Market rate salaries - attractive remuneration packages in line with the market rate

• Flexible employment types - including the preference for permanent, but will consider contracting

Local Peoples proudly supports the LGBTQ+ community, neurodiverse individuals, and First Nations people. We are committed to creating inclusive spaces where everyone, regardless of their identity, feels valued and respected. Together, we strive for equality and a positive future for all.

Local Peoples works, creates, and plays on the lands of the Wurundjeri, Bunurong, and Wathaurong peoples of the Kulin Nation, land which has never been ceded. We thank them for caring for this land for over 40,000 years and recognize and pay our deepest respect to Elders past, present, and emerging. This always was and always will be Aboriginal land