Senior AI Applications Engineer

Full time continuing role as a Senior AI Applications Engineer within our Education Solutions domain Essential experience in engineering and deploying production-grade AI solutions that deliver measurable business outcomes across enterprise environments Starting salary $132,455 plus generous superannuation and leave loading Location: Kensington campus in NSW (Hybrid Flexible Working) 2-3 days in the office About UNSW: UNSW isn’t like other places you’ve worked. We’re a large organisation with a diverse and talented community; a community doing extraordinary things. Together, we are driven to be thoughtful, practical, and purposeful in all we do. Taking this combined approach is what makes our work matter. It’s the reason we’re one of the top 50 universities in the world and a member of Australia’s prestigious Group of Eight. If you want a career where you can thrive, be challenged and do meaningful work, you’re in the right place. As a Senior AI Applications Engineer you'll design, build and deploy enterprise AI applications that become foundational capabilities across Education Solutions. From Generative AI and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to intelligent automation and conversational experiences, you'll take ideas from concept through to production, creating solutions that are secure, scalable and designed for real-world use. This is a hands-on engineering role for someone who enjoys solving complex technical problems. You'll work across modern software engineering, cloud platforms, data engineering and AI, collaborating with architects, engineers, product teams and delivery specialists to build applications aligned to the Education Solutions domain. Beyond individual projects, you'll help establish the engineering standards, reusable patterns and technical direction that shape how AI is developed across Education Solutions. You'll mentor other engineers and help build an AI capability that will continue to evolve well beyond the first generation of solutions. If you're looking for an opportunity to move beyond prototypes and build enterprise AI that delivers genuine impact in education, we'd like to hear from you. Accountabilities: Design, implement and maintain complex IT solutions across modern technology stacks including front-end and back-end frameworks, cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud, Azure), server operating system admin, database operations, cloud microservices, network architecture, authentication, or cyber security. Lead the engineering and delivery of AI-enabled capabilities within Education Solutions from design through to production support. Apply modern software engineering, data engineering, and MLOps practices including CI/CD, containerisation, monitoring, evaluation, and lifecycle management to ensure reliability, performance, and scalability. Contribute to and influence AI application standards, patterns, and technical guidelines within Education Solutions. Collaborate with UNSW IT, architecture, governance and delivery teams to support secure deployment, operational management and design assurance of AI applications. Embed responsible and ethical technology practices into application design and implementation, supporting compliant and trustworthy AI use. Ensure the operational stability and continuous improvement of AI-enabled applications and platforms, including performance optimisation and issue resolution. Identify and implement opportunities to improve application engineering maturity, capability reuse and delivery efficiency. Align with and actively demonstrate the Code of Conduct and Values Ensure hazards and risks psychosocial and physical are identified and controlled for tasks, projects, and activities that pose a health and safety risk within your area of responsibility. Who you are: A relevant tertiary qualification in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, Information Technology or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience designing and operating enterprise-grade intelligent systems in complex organisational environments. Strong programming capability in Python, including the applied use of modern libraries and frameworks for intelligent and data-driven systems (e.g. TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn, Hugging Face, LangChain). Proven experience engineering Generative AI solutions, including large language models (LLMs) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures. Demonstrated expertise in modern software engineering practices, including API-driven design, microservices, test-driven development and version control (e.g. Git). Experience designing, deploying and supporting applications in cloud-based environments (AWS and/or Azure), with a strong understanding of security, identity and access management, and operational resilience. Practical experience applying DevOps and MLOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines, containerisation (Docker), orchestration (e.g. Kubernetes) and model lifecycle management. Working knowledge of responsible and ethical technology practices, including privacy, bias, explainability, security and appropriate human oversight. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to resolve complex, cross-domain technical challenges using sound engineering judgement. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with architects, delivery teams, educators, business stakeholders and governance functions. Proven ability to work with a high degree of autonomy while contributing positively to team outcomes, including mentoring and guiding other engineers where appropriate. An understanding of and commitment to UNSW’s aims, objectives and values in action, together with relevant policies and guidelines. Knowledge of health & safety (psychosocial and physical) responsibilities and commitment to attending relevant health and safety training. Benefits and Culture Flexible Working Options (work from home, flexible hours etc) Career development opportunities 17% Superannuation contributions and additional leave loading payments Additional 3 days of leave over Christmas period Discounts and entitlements (retail, education, fitness) For further details on the benefits, please visit https://www.jobs.unsw.edu.au/lifestyle-benefits How to Apply: please apply through the portal, we would like you to submit a full application including resume and addressing the who you are section. Applications close: Sunday August 2 nd at 11.30pm Pre-Employment Checks Aligned with UNSW’s focus on cultivating a workplace defined by safety, ethical conduct, and strong integrity preferred candidates will be required to participate in a combination of pre-employment checks relevant to the role they have applied for. These pre-employment checks may include a combination of some of the following checks:- National and International Criminal history checks Entitlement to work and ID checks Working With Children Checks Completion of a Gender-Based Violence Prevention Declaration Verification of relevant qualifications Verification of relevant professional membership Employment history and reference checks Financial responsibility assessments/checks. Medical Checks and Assessments Compliance with the necessary combination of these checks is a condition of employment at UNSW. Get in Touch: Jen MacLachlan [email protected] Talent Acquisition Partner – UNSW IT Please apply through the application portal and not via the contact above. UNSW is committed to equity diversity and inclusion. Applications from women, people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those living with disabilities, members of the LGBTIQ+ community; and people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, are encouraged. UNSW provides workplace adjustments for people with disability, and access to flexible work options for eligible staff. The University reserves the right not to proceed with any appointment.