Lead - Engineer

Orica; Richmond; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Orica in Australia is seeking a Lead Engineer for the Digital Solutions team, focused on FRAGTrack. You will provide technical leadership across edge and cloud systems, guiding engineering decisions and delivering secure, observable software for distributed environments.

You will collaborate with product managers, engineers and data scientists to design and implement scalable IoT and analytics capabilities, including Azure-based cloud services, Linux edge devices and computer vision components.

Qualifications

• Strong experience leading distributed software teams.
• Deep expertise in C# and Python.
• Experience with Azure cloud and multi‑tenant SaaS.
• Experience with Linux-based edge devices and IoT.
• Knowledge of ISO 27001 security practices.
• Ability to mentor engineers and lead architectural decisions.

Responsibilities

• Define and deliver FRAGTrack capabilities with PMs, engineers, analysts.
• Provide technical leadership across FRAGTrack and IoT platforms.
• Design data models, contracts and interfaces between distributed systems.
• Deliver highly available products by automating delivery, monitoring and management.
• Engineer secure, observable software across cloud and edge environments.
• Collaborate with CV/ML engineers to productionize research.
• Mentor engineers and support growth within the team.
• Maintain security posture aligned with ISO 27001 and Orica practices.

Skills

C#

Python

Distributed software

Technical leadership

Azure cloud

Edge computing

IoT deployments

Computer vision/ML

Mentoring engineers

APIs and service integration

Tools

Yocto Linux

Azure IoT

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

At Orica, it’s the power of our people that leads change and shapes our futures. Every day, all around the world, our people help mobilise vital resources essential to progress. Established in 1874, we have grown to become the world leader in mining and civil blasting with a diverse of team of more than 13,000 across the world.

It’s an exciting time to join us – we are shaping the future of mining through digital and automated technologies, embracing new ways of thinking, pioneering innovation and reimagining the way we work.

We are excited to announce a key opportunity at Orica for a Lead Engineer within our Digital Solutions team, focused on FRAGTrack. Orica’s Digital Solutions seamlessly connects our customers’ physical and digital worlds so they can readily understand and optimise their operations at every step of the value chain, from exploration to processing, empowering smarter, data-driven decisions.

FRAGTrack combines ruggedised field hardware, custom Linux operating systems, edge computing, computer vision, machine learning and cloud software to provide automated fragmentation measurement and operational insights across mining operations worldwide. The platform spans embedded and edge devices deployed in remote mining environments through to cloud services, analytics and customer-facing applications.

We seek a Lead Engineer who loves working with other people to solve complex problems with simple solutions. You will work with Product Managers, Engineers, Business Analysts, UX and Subject Matter Experts to design and deliver our pioneering FRAGTrack solutions.

Your role involves providing technical leadership across edge and cloud systems, guiding engineering decisions and ensuring our software integrates reliably with the practical needs of our customers. You will balance hands‑on engineering with technical and people leadership, supporting the team to deliver secure, observable and maintainable software operating in demanding field environments.

The breadth of the platform provides an opportunity to work across embedded systems, Linux, edge computing, computer vision, machine learning, cloud platforms and customer-facing applications while collaborating with specialists from multiple engineering disciplines.

The team is a mixture of remote and hybrid workers based in Australia. You will work with other teams geographically distributed across Australia and overseas.

• Working with Product Managers, Engineers, Business Analysts, UX and Subject Matter Experts to define and deliver capabilities that solve real customer problems.
• Providing technical leadership across the FRAGTrack and IoT platforms.
• Designing data models, contracts and interfaces between distributed systems.
• Delivering highly available products by automating the delivery, monitoring and management of infrastructure and applications.
• Engineering reliable, secure and observable software that operates across cloud platforms and remote mining environments.
• Collaborating with Computer Vision and Machine Learning engineers to transform research and algorithms into production‑ready solutions.
• Working closely with field, support and operations teams to improve the reliability, maintainability and supportability of deployed systems.
• Driving technical excellence through architecture reviews, code reviews, engineering standards and continuous improvement.
• Working closely with Product and operational stakeholders to balance customer outcomes, technical sustainability and delivery priorities.
• Collaborating with other technical leads and teams on capabilities that cross product boundaries.
• Mentoring engineers and supporting their professional growth within the team.
• Maintaining and improving the security posture of the FRAGTrack and IoT platforms in alignment with ISO 27001 and Orica security practices.
• You love working with other people to find simple solutions to complex problems.
• You have strong experience designing and delivering distributed software systems.
• You have deep experience with C# and Python.
• You have experience with cloud application architecture, preferably Azure and multi‑tenanted SaaS platforms.
• You understand event‑driven architectures, APIs, data modelling and service integration.
• You have experience building and operating software for Linux and distributed edge‑computing environments.
• You understand software security, automated delivery and operational observability.
• You have a track record of delivering robust, high‑quality software in cross‑functional teams.
• You are comfortable leading technical decision‑making across multiple engineering disciplines.
• You communicate effectively with technical and non‑technical stakeholders and enjoy supporting the growth of other engineers.
• You make pragmatic technical decisions where hardware, software, networking, cloud and operational requirements intersect.
• Experience with IoT, computer vision or machine learning systems is desirable.
• Experience with image processing, GPU‑accelerated workloads or spatial and temporal data is desirable.
• Experience developing mining software or supporting operational technology is desirable.

The Tech Stack

• Modern .NET and C# services communicating through a mixture of events, messaging and HTTP APIs.
• Python services supporting computer vision, machine learning and image processing workloads.
• React and TypeScript user interfaces delivering operational and analytical workflows.
• Linux‑based edge computing platforms deployed to mining environments.
• Custom Yocto Linux distributions targeting AMD64 and ARM64 hardware platforms.
• Computer vision, machine learning and image processing systems deployed across edge and cloud environments.
• Containerised workloads and distributed systems operating across edge and cloud environments.
• Azure IoT and cloud‑native services supporting device management, telemetry ingestion and application hosting.
• Networking, device connectivity and remote management technologies supporting industrial IoT deployments.
• Relational, document and object storage technologies selected for the operational needs of each workload.
• Infrastructure and deployment automation using Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD pipelines.
• Monitoring and observability using metrics, logs, traces and operational dashboards.
• Secure software development and operational practices aligned with ISO 27001, including automated testing, vulnerability management, software supply chain security, threat mitigation, audit readiness and continuous improvement of security controls.

As part of a truly global company, you will have the ability to grow and learn in a diverse, collaborative culture. We foster relationships and learning through connected global and local teams, promote flexible and diverse career paths and support the development of your knowledge and skills.

You will be paid a competitive salary, learn from talented individuals across multiple disciplines and be able to thrive in a safe workplace within a collaborative culture. Ignite your career at a place where your distinct potential can find its home.

Orica promotes and fosters a culture of inclusion and Equal Opportunity Employment everywhere we operate. We treat our people and applicants with fairness, dignity, and respect, getting the best of everyone’s contributions.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, nationality, age, military or veteran, marital or disability status.