Paid work, real users, and code you can point at.
Six paid seats across three teams, three senior and three junior, plus unpaid intern places.
The roles
Every seat has a full description you can read here, or take away as a PDF.
Senior developer and mentor
Lead one team, mentor the junior, guide architecture and keep scope sensible. Roughly 60 hours across the build, contracted to Startup Queenstown Lakes as a sole trader.
Read the full description
Who we're looking for
An experienced developer who genuinely enjoys bringing others up, someone who would rather pair with a junior for an hour than write the code themselves in ten minutes. You will guide technical decisions, keep scope sensible, and make sure what gets built is maintainable and actually useful to the community organisation receiving it.
What you'll do
- Lead or co-lead one of the three build teams
- Mentor junior developers through pairing, code review, and regular check-ins
- Guide technical architecture and tooling choices, consistent with the programme's shared standards
- Contribute to the advisory panel and tool selection process
- Support handover, documentation, and the defined warranty and support period
- Participate in the closing FLINT Showcase Hui
What we're hoping you bring
- Solid track record shipping production software (stack-agnostic, because we care about judgment, not specific frameworks)
- Genuine interest in mentoring and developing early-career talent
- Comfort with modern AI-assisted development workflows, and the judgment to coach juniors on where AI helps and where it hurts
- Ability to right-size solutions, because this is about small, useful, reusable tools, not over-engineered platforms
- Openness to open-source licensing (the programme's default)
What you'll get
- A paid contract (sole trader) with Startup Queenstown Lakes
- A tangible contribution to the local community and tech ecosystem
- Connection to the wider Queenstown Lakes tech leadership network
Junior developer or designer
Do the primary build work with a senior developer alongside you. Same contract structure, same hours, real users at the other end.
Read the full description
Who we're looking for
Someone curious about technology and AI, keen to learn by doing, and excited to ship something real that helps a local not-for-profit. You don't need a CS degree or a polished GitHub. You need curiosity, follow-through, and a willingness to ask questions.
What you'll do
- Contribute to one of three small-team builds, from discovery through handover
- Pair with senior mentors and use AI coding tools as part of everyday workflow
- Participate in sprint ceremonies, code reviews, and the closing FLINT Showcase Hui
- Help document and hand over the tool to the community organisation
What we're hoping you bring
- Genuine curiosity about AI and modern development tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, or similar, and we are happy to introduce you)
- Willingness to learn in public and take feedback well
- Reliability, showing up to your sprints and commitments
Any exposure to programming, web, design, or tech more broadly is a plus, but not mandatory. We care more about attitude and aptitude than prior experience.
What you'll get
- Mentorship from experienced local developers and tech leaders
- Real portfolio work with a named community organisation
- A paid contract (sole trader) with Startup Queenstown Lakes
- Pathway into the Queenstown Lakes tech community via FLINT, QCC, and Technology Queenstown networks
- Potential to contract directly with the community org beyond the programme
Programme intern
Sit in on stand-ups, demos and retrospectives, shadow the teams, and help with user testing and notes. No technical experience needed, and it is a stepping stone to a paid junior seat in a future cohort.
Read the full description
Who we're looking for
Someone aspiring, curious, and keen to get involved and see how a real technology project comes together. You might be exploring whether tech is for you, building confidence before applying for a junior role, or simply wanting to be part of something good for the community. No technical experience is needed at all. What matters is interest, reliability, and a willingness to learn by watching, listening, and helping where you can.
What you'll do
This is a light-touch, learning-focused role. You'll be around the teams and the work without the pressure of delivery.
- Sit in on sprint ceremonies, stand-ups, demos, and retrospectives as an observer and participant
- Shadow developers and mentors to see how tools are scoped, built, and handed over, and how AI tools are used along the way
- Help with light, non-build tasks where useful: note-taking, user research and testing, gathering feedback, and supporting documentation
- Get to know the people and organisations involved across the local tech community
- Join the closing FLINT Showcase Hui
The time commitment is intentionally light and flexible, a few hours a week, so it can fit around study, work, or other commitments.
What we're hoping you bring
- Curiosity about technology, AI, and how things get built
- Reliability and follow-through on what you commit to
- A respectful, open attitude, happy to ask questions and learn in public
- Care for the community organisations the programme supports, and discretion with anything sensitive you may see
No programming, design, or prior tech experience is required.
What you'll get
- A genuine behind-the-scenes look at how a mentored build programme runs
- Exposure to modern, AI-assisted development without needing to write code yourself
- Mentorship and connection into the Queenstown Lakes tech community via FLINT, QCC, Technology Queenstown, and QRC
- Recognition for your involvement and a reference on request
- A natural stepping stone toward the paid junior developer role in a future cohort
This is an unpaid, voluntary internship offered as a learning and community opportunity rather than a contracted role.
The rate is a community rate, well under commercial, because the work goes to organisations that could not otherwise afford it. Fees are indicative while the programme budget is confirmed, and are fixed in writing before any work starts. Open to developers based in the Queenstown Lakes district.
What you get out of it
- Paid contract work on your invoice, at a community rate
- A shipped tool with real users, named in your portfolio
- Weekly review and mentoring from an experienced local engineer
- A public open source repository at the end of the five weeks
- A way into a tech community that is small and spread out
- Applications open
- A local panel reads every application
- The three builds are announced
- Working out exactly what gets built
- Five-week build, something to try each week
- Showcase Hui, the three tools demonstrated