Head of Operations Engineering

Linktree; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing allowance

Employee stock options

Generous time off

Retirement contribution

Job summary

Linktree is seeking a Head of Operations Engineering to own the AI platform—pipelines, versioning, evaluation, monitoring, and cost controls—while driving internal AI adoption across Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Support. You will mentor engineers and shape governance around data, vendor risk, and pre-launch evaluation.

You will work with leadership to sequence AI investments against the roadmap and financial model, making pragmatic build-vs-buy decisions and ensuring reliable production

Qualifications

• 5–7 years in ML/AI engineering or data platform ownership of production systems.
• Experience running AI/ML systems in production — pipelines, versioning, evaluation, monitoring.
• Working fluency with modern LLM tooling and cost/latency trade-offs.
• Track record of driving internal AI adoption: enablement and tooling.
• Strong build-vs-buy judgement and data governance awareness.
• Excellent communication to engineers and executives.

Responsibilities

• Own the platform that AI runs on — pipelines, model and prompt versioning, evaluation harnesses, monitoring, rollback.
• Set standards for evaluating AI features before/after launch; ship measurable results.
• Maintain sustainable AI economics: cost, latency, reliability as core metrics.
• Drive internal AI adoption through tooling and enablement across teams.
• Establish governance around data handling, vendor risk, and pre-launch evaluation.
• Collaborate with leadership to sequence AI investments with roadmaps and finances.
• Make build-vs-buy calls and avoid unnecessary builds.
• Mentor engineers and analysts; raise operational standards across the org.

Skills

ML/AI engineering

Production systems

LLM tooling

AI governance

AI adoption

Communication

Job description

The Role

As Head of Operations Engineering at Linktree, you’ll own the unglamorous, load-bearing work that decides whether our AI ambitions actually hold up in production — the pipelines, evaluations, monitoring, and cost controls that turn promising demos into features 70+ million people can rely on.

The role has two halves. Outward, you own the platform: how models and prompts are versioned, how we know a feature works before and after launch, and how we keep inference cost and latency from quietly eating the margin. Inward, you own enablement: getting Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Support genuinely using AI in their day-to-day work, with guardrails that people follow because they make sense, not because they’re mandated.

You’ll report to Rob Erdin and work across the Data, Engineering, and Product leadership group, with the latitude to decide what we build, what we buy, and what we leave alone. Most of all, you’ll help Linktree achieve our mission: to empower anyone to curate and grow their digital universe.

What You’ll Own

• Own the platform that AI runs on at Linktree — pipelines, model and prompt versioning, evaluation harnesses, monitoring, and rollback.
• Set the standard for how we evaluate AI features before and after launch, so we ship things that measurably work.
• Keep AI economics sustainable: own inference cost, latency, and reliability as first-class metrics with clear ownership.
• Drive internal AI adoption — tooling, agent workflows, and enablement that changes how Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Support actually work.
• Establish proportionate governance around data handling, vendor risk, and pre-launch evaluation without slowing teams down.
• Partner with Rob and the Data leadership team to sequence AI investment against the roadmap and the financial model.
• Make the build-vs-buy calls, and be honest about what we should not build.
• Mentor engineers and analysts working on AI surfaces, and raise the operational bar across the org.

Who We’re Looking For

• 5–7 years in ML/AI engineering, data platform, or AI operations, including hands-on ownership of production systems.
• Experience running AI or ML systems in production — pipelines, model and prompt versioning, evaluation, monitoring, incident response.
• Working fluency with modern LLM tooling and the practical realities of cost, latency, context limits, and non-deterministic output.
• A track record of driving internal AI adoption: enablement, tooling, and getting teams to change how they work.
• Strong build-vs-buy judgment and comfort making pragmatic calls with incomplete information.
• Ability to set proportionate guardrails around data handling, vendor risk, and pre-launch evaluation.
• Excellent communication — you can explain AI trade-offs to engineers and to executives in the same week.
• Ability to work from our Melbourne or Sydney offices on a hybrid basis, or remotely within AU.

Linktree is committed to providing a fair and competitive compensation package including cash, equity, and benefits.

Our Story

We’re on a mission to empower anyone to curate, grow, and monetize their digital universe. We created the “link in bio” category — and we’re just getting started. From creators, artists, and entrepreneurs to global brands, we’re redefining how people connect with their communities, showcase their content and promote products — all in one link.

Today, a community of 70+ million use Linktree, including icons like Adidas, TikTok, the UN Environmental Program, The NFL, Manchester United, World Central Kitchen, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, and Selena Gomez. With 48,000 new accounts created every day, Linktree is the fastest-growing leader in our space.

We’ve teamed up with some of the world’s biggest platforms including TikTok, Snap, YouTube, GoFundMe, Spotify, Google, Stripe, Reddit, Laylo, and Kajabi, to unify Linkers’ digital spaces, and we partner with retail brands Amazon, Lululemon, Nike, Target, Sephora, Lululemon, and more to share products they love.

We’re a tight-knit, passionate team building best-in-class tools that make online presence simple, powerful, and yours. If you're excited by the idea of shaping a new category, setting the standard, and making space for everyone to be seen and succeed, we’d love to meet you.

Where And How We Work

We’re a global, diverse team spread across continents with offices in London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, and San Francisco. We work together flexibly and you can choose the setup that works best for you: fully remote or a hybrid mix of office and home.

We offer autonomy in how you structure your days and weeks. While we’re mindful of time zones and occasionally collaborate outside the typical 9–5, we lean into async work to keep things flowing. Our culture is family-friendly and Zoom-casual where kids, pets, and delivery drivers are welcome.

How We’ll Help You Thrive

• An annual wellbeing allowance to use on things like (but not limited to) fitness memberships, development courses, childcare, travel, charitable donations, pet insurance, home office set-up - the choice is yours!
• 100% coverage (and 80% for your dependents) of your monthly premiums for medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance for US-based employees.
• Employer contribution towards your retirement.
• Generous time off for vacation, holidays, parental leave, volunteer time, and other categories.
• Employee stock option program - we want each and every employee to share in the company’s success.

At Linktree, we believe in promoting a culture that celebrates unique backgrounds, talents, and experiences, and we’re proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are creating an inclusive workplace where every individual feels valued, respected, and has equal opportunities to thrive. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment where all team members have a sense of belonging. Linktree welcomes all people regardless of sex, gender identity, race, ethnicity, disability, pregnancy, age, or other lived experience. If you require accommodations to fully participate in our opportunities, please don't hesitate to reach us at [e-mail] – your needs are important to us.