Machine Learning Ops Engineer

Solara Digital Pty Ltd; Brisbane; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Solara Digital Pty Ltd seeks a Senior MLOps Engineer for a major Australian Government client on a 12‑month contract. You will shape ML operations, taking models from data science into reliable, governed production systems used by millions of Australians.

The role is senior (EL1-equivalent) and involves setting strategy, collaborating with data scientists, engineers, product teams and stakeholders, and leading CI/CD, data pipelines, testing, and governance.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in AI/ML engineering with production experience.
• Degree in CS, statistics, mathematics or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Strong Python, SQL and Spark/PySpark skills.
• Experience with MLflow, Kubeflow or similar.
• Containerisation and Kubernetes experience; OpenShift is a plus.
• Batch and streaming data pipelines; data lake tech like Hadoop/Hive/Impala/Kafka.
• Relational databases, distributed file systems and blob storage.
• Solid Linux and Git skills.
• SFIA Level 5 in data engineering, release/deployment, and testing; Level 4 in ML.

Responsibilities

• Build automated CI/CD pipelines to test, deploy, monitor and retrain ML models.
• Plan and drive data engineering solutions balancing functional and non-functional requirements.
• Productionise algorithms and models created by data scientists.
• Lead release planning and risk assessment with rollback and reviews.
• Plan and drive testing across the ML lifecycle.
• Apply ethical AI practices and assess privacy risks.
• Contribute to standards, policies and guidelines for data engineering, testing and deployment.
• Explain solution designs clearly to product managers and business stakeholders.

Skills

Python

SQL

PySpark

MLflow

Kubeflow

Kubernetes

OpenShift

Data pipelines

Linux

Git

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Math/Statistics or related field

Tools

Hadoop

Hive

Impala

Kafka

Job description

Solara Digital is looking for a Senior MLOps Engineer to work at a major Australian Government client for a 12 month contract. You’ll help shape its machine learning operations, taking models from data science into reliable, well-governed production systems that support services used by millions of Australians.

The role

This is a senior (EL1-equivalent) role. You’ll help set MLOps strategy and practice, and work hands-on with data scientists, engineers, product teams and business stakeholders. You’ll:

• Build automated CI/CD pipelines to test, deploy, monitor and retrain ML models
• Plan and drive data engineering solutions that balance functional and non-functional requirements, including security and compliance
• Productionise algorithms and models built by data scientists, and advise on which techniques work best
• Lead release planning and risk assessment, with rollback processes and post-release reviews
• Plan and drive testing across the ML lifecycle
• Apply ethical AI practices and assess privacy risks
• Contribute to standards, policies and guidelines for data engineering, testing and deployment
• Explain solution designs clearly to product managers and business stakeholders

About you

• 3+ years in AI/ML engineering with a proven track record of putting models into production
• A degree in computer science, statistics, mathematics or a related field, ideally with a focus on ML, AI or data science (advanced degree preferred)
• Strong Python, SQL and Spark/PySpark
• Experience with MLflow, Kubeflow or similar
• Containerisation and Kubernetes (Red Hat OpenShift highly regarded)
• Batch and streaming data pipelines, plus data lake technologies such as Hadoop, Hive, Impala and Kafka
• Relational databases, distributed file systems and blob storage
• Solid Linux and Git skills
• Experience working at SFIA Level 5 in data engineering, release and deployment, and testing, and Level 4 in machine learning

The details

• Location: Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney (CBD)
• Arrangement: Onsite for the first 6 weeks, then hybrid. You’ll need to live within reasonable travel distance of the office.
• Start: 1 December 2026
• Contract: Initial 12 months, with extension options
• Clearance: You must be an Australian citizen and able to obtain and maintain a Baseline security clearance. Current clearance holders are highly regarded.