About the job
Lead Applied AI Engineer
Work on industry-defining AI systems with global partners and frontier clients
We’re partnering with a frontier AI company tackling some of the hardest and most meaningful problems in applied AI, building intelligent systems that transform how leading institutions operate.
It’s end-to-end applied AI: designing, deploying, and scaling production-grade systems that move the needle for businesses and governments. Backed by alliances with global leaders, this team helps large organisations realise real competitive advantage with generative AI by building production-grade systems that deliver measurable impact.
You’ll join a small, elite team of engineers who build agentic AI and intelligent applications powered by the latest LLMs, integrating them into real-world environments that demand reliability, creativity, and precision.
What you’ll do
- Design and build real AI systems: own solutions end-to-end, from architecture to deployment, creating LLM-driven agents, automation layers, and reasoning systems that reshape industries.
- Collaborate with world-class teams: work in small, autonomous pods and client engineers, solving unsolved problems with the backing of frontier research partners.
- Lead and mentor: guide junior engineers, define solution direction, and help shape technical excellence across multiple projects.
- Prototype and ship fast: turn R&D into production-ready code, contributing to reusable frameworks and accelerators that push the boundaries of applied AI.
- Engage directly with clients: act as the face of AI innovation, translating complex technology into tangible business value.
You’ll thrive here if you
- Are a strong hands-on engineer who’s built production systems using Python, SQL, and modern data/ML stacks (e.g., Spark, LLM APIs, vector DBs).
- Have experience with LLMs and generative AI, and understand how to fine-tune or orchestrate models to solve real problems.
- Can operate with autonomy and adaptability. Comfortable working across new stacks and client environments.
- Are motivated by impact over hype, you care about outcomes.
- Are curious, creative, and ethical. You think deeply about how AI shapes people, systems, and society.
Why this role stands out
- Frontier work: solve challenges no one’s solved before, with access to state-of-the-art models and infrastructure.
- Applied R&D focus: every engineer contributes to internal research, experimentation, and reusable frameworks that advance the craft.
- Trusted client partner: not a body-shop; you’ll be embedded with leaders shaping enterprise AI strategy.
- Human-centred culture: creativity, curiosity, and responsible innovation are core values.
- Mission-driven: everything ladders up to making work more meaningful and efficient
- Global exposure: collaborate with leading institutions and innovators worldwide.
- Comprehensive package: equity options, private medical, wellness plan, life policy, and flexible hybrid work.
If you want to build what doesn’t exist yet, work with world-class peers, and shape how AI is truly applied in the real world, this is where you do it.
Interested in this role? Reach out to danny@salientgroup.com.au
