Lead AI Engineer - AI Services

Westpac Group; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Westpac Group in Sydney and Melbourne offers a hands-on leadership role for an AI Engineer lead, shaping architecture, standards, contracts and acceptance criteria while staying deeply involved in design, coding, testing, release and production support.

You will mentor engineers, guide AI-powered full-stack delivery across software, data, AI, integration and UX, and ensure secure, privacy-conscious, observable production outcomes.

Qualifications

• Hands-on full-stack engineering across architecture, software, data, AI, integration and operations.
• Strong API and data-flow design across service boundaries and identity.
• Experience leading AI service engineering, ML/LLMs, RAG and evaluation.
• Proven ability to deliver secure, observable, production-grade AI solutions.
• Governance-by-design with traceability, privacy and risk controls.
• Complex financial services domain experience and prior leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead a major solution or technical workstream from intent through design, build, verification, release and operation.
• Set solution-level architecture, engineering standards, contracts, boundaries and acceptance criteria.
• Guide AI-powered full-stack engineering across software, data, AI, integration and user experience.
• Build security, privacy, Responsible AI, resilience, observability, rollback and recovery into the solution.
• Lead technical reviews, resolve cross-cutting risks and elevate service-wide decisions when required.
• Mentor engineers and turn delivery lessons into reusable patterns and practical guidance.
• Compare technology choices against required outcomes and simpler alternatives rather than relying on product assumptions.

Skills

Full-stack

AI systems design

Architecture leadership

Security by design

Observability

Mentoring

Production deployment

Job description

• Superstar Lead AI Engineer sought to hit the ground running
• Sydney or Melbourne Based / Hybrid Working
• Corporate Domain Experience Overseeing AI Solutions into Production

Are you ready?

Our AI Services team is looking to appoint a hands-on technical leader for a major AI solution or workstream.

This is an awesome role (highly visible) and you will set solution-level architecture, standards, contracts and acceptance criteria while remaining deeply involved in design, coding, testing, release and production support.

This is technical leadership through delivery, and your key responsibilities will include -

• Lead a major solution or technical workstream from intent through design, build, verification, release and operation.
• Set solution-level architecture, engineering standards, contracts, boundaries and acceptance criteria.
• Guide AI-powered full-stack engineering across software, data, AI, integration and user experience.
• Build security, privacy, Responsible AI, resilience, observability, rollback and recovery into the solution.
• Lead technical reviews, resolve cross-cutting risks and elevate service-wide decisions when required.
• Mentor engineers and turn delivery lessons into reusable patterns and practical guidance.
• Compare technology choices against required outcomes and simpler alternatives rather than relying on product assumptions.

Key Ingredients for Success

• Expert hands-on full-stack engineering across architecture, software, data, AI, integration, testing and operations.
• Strong design of APIs, events, data flows, service boundaries, identity, state, audit and failure recovery.
• Strong AI service engineering across ML, LLMs, RAG, agents, evaluation, tool controls, monitoring and safe fallback.
• Strong secure delivery, automated testing, CI/CD, observability, resilience and production-support practice.
• Governance-by-design expertise spanning traceability, evidence, privacy, human approval and control-aware delivery.
• Complex financial service domain experience highly regarded as is previous People Leadership experience.
• Demonstrated technical leadership through clear decisions, mentoring, design and code review, and reusable patterns.
• Sound judgement about where AI adds value and where a simpler solution is safer or more effective.

Your scope & work with purpose

You will own technical direction for a major solution or workstream within service-wide direction set by the Chief Engineer. The role leads by doing, deciding, mentoring and setting standards.

Importantly, you will help deliver practical AI outcomes while applying Westpac engineering, security, privacy, Responsible AI, risk and operational resilience requirements. Approved AI tools may support delivery, but people remain accountable for design, controls, review and production decisions.

Does this sound like you?

We’re all about creating a supportive and inclusive community. We welcome everyone – no matter your age, gender, background, or abilities. We also provide additional support to welcome our veterans, Indigenous Australians, and neurodiverse community.

If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, you can find out more information and additional contact details by visiting the "People with Disability and/or needing Accessibility Requirements" page on our website .