Senior AI Engineer

Senior AI/ML Engineer, MelbourneAn early-stage AI business, growing fast, hybrid in Melbourne.You'd be one of the most senior technical hires on the team, working directly with leadership rather than through layers of management. The mandate is to take ownership of production AI/ML systems that run against real operational data, not synthetic data in a lab, and to be the technical point of contact when a client's own operations team hits a problem.What you'll ownAI/ML systems built and deployed at scale, through to production, not prototypes that stop at a demoNew client engagements where the operations team depends on your system working correctly, not just performing well in a demoWhat ships, what doesn't, and how it's monitored once it's liveSystems built against data where the trust bar to get access is high and the output has to hold up once it's in the fieldWhat you'll bringSeven-plus years, hands-on. You're still the one writing and shipping the codeTime in an industrial, energy or manufacturing environment, enough to know what operational data looks like once it leaves the spreadsheetPython and SQL as a given, Azure preferred, a track record of getting models into production and keeping them thereThe confidence to sit across from a client's operations team without someone more senior in the roomWhat's on offerDirect access to the leadership team, no layer in betweenEquity, offered to the right hire after the standard probation periodHybrid, Melbourne-based. Open to Sydney and elsewhere in Australia for the right personSalary dependent on experienceSmall team, real ownership, and problems that run on physical operations rather than a dashboard. Worth a conversation if that's the kind of mandate you're after.How to applySend Lewis Heeks a message or a CV, happy to talk it through first.We welcome applications and referrals from people of all backgrounds and will be in touch with suitable candidates as soon as possible.About InnovaInnova is an Australian technology search firm specialising in software, product, architecture, data and AI. We partner with businesses from executive leadership through to specialist delivery teams, with every search led by a founder and specialist in the function being hired.