Principal Engineer

TAL; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

TAL is seeking a Principal Engineer, AI & Emerging Technology, to shape AI capabilities across the enterprise. You will lead the design of generative AI, agentic systems, and production ML, partnering with delivery teams to accelerate adoption and ensure secure, compliant deployments in a regulated life-insurance environment.

You will develop reference architectures, implement standards, and drive best practices to deliver scalable, business-valued AI solutions that advance TAL’s technology

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, AI, or related field.
• 10+ years in software, AI/ML or data engineering roles with production-scale AI solutions.
• Principal-level or senior technical leader experience, leading across teams.
• Deep expertise in generative AI, LLM-based and agentic systems, with MLOps/LLMOps.
• Hands-on with Azure cloud services, AI/ML APIs, containers, and modern integration patterns.
• Proficient in Python and AI-assisted software development workflows.
• Strong CI/CD, testing, observability, and software engineering principles.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical direction and reference architectures for AI solutions across the portfolio.
• Own critical design decisions in partnership with Architecture to align with TAL's strategy.
• Provide technical assurance on high-risk designs and complex trade-offs.
• Collaborate with delivery pods on complex engineering problems and integrations.
• Define and evolve engineering standards, patterns, and best practices for AI development.
• Champion reuse of shared AI platforms, gateways and governance tooling.
• Identify and address technical risks including model risk, data privacy and drift.
• Stay at the forefront of AI advancements and evaluate new technologies for TAL.

Skills

Generative AI

LLM-based systems

Agentic systems

MLOps / LLMOps

Azure cloud

Python

CI/CD

Observability

Software architecture leadership

Senior technical leader

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/SE/AI

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Azure cloud platform

Containers

APIs

Job description

• Help protect over 5 million Australians, making a real difference in their lives during their most challenging times.
• Work alongside diverse, passionate colleagues and leaders who inspire, support, and value your contributions.
• Access the tools and resources to acquire new skills, grow your capabilities, and take on new roles within a progressive, digitally enabled company.

Whatever your ambitions, take your career further than you ever imagined. If you’ve never considered insurance before, think again! With diverse, meaningful projects and a global network of opportunities, we offer so much more.

We invest in our people and partnerships. Our learning experiences are vast, including exclusive industry accreditation, and we're building capability for the future, both for TAL and the broader industry. When challenges arise (and they will), our supportive team will be there to help you grow.

Job Description

As the Principal Engineer, AI & Emerging Technology, you will serve as TAL's most senior technical specialist in AI engineering, shaping the direction, architecture, and governance of AI capabilities across the enterprise. You will lead the design and implementation of innovative solutions spanning generative AI, agentic systems, and production machine learning, while partnering closely with delivery teams to solve complex technical challenges and accelerate adoption of emerging technologies.

Through the development of reference architectures, reusable engineering patterns, and technical standards, you will drive best practice, strengthen engineering capability, and ensure solutions are secure, reliable, and fit for purpose within a regulated life insurance environment. Combining deep technical expertise with enterprise-wide influence, you will play a pivotal role in transforming complex AI innovations into scalable, practical solutions that deliver meaningful business value.

In this role you will:

• Set the technical direction and reference architectures for AI solutions across the portfolio, covering generative AI, agentic systems, ML and the platforms that support them.
• Own critical design decisions in partnership with Architecture, ensuring solutions align with TAL's technology strategy, platform foundations and integration patterns.
• Provide technical assurance on high-risk designs, acting as the escalation point for complex engineering trade-offs.
• Work directly with delivery pods on complex engineering problems e.g. complex integrations, agentic workflows, performance, reliability and evaluation.
• Define and evolve engineering standards, patterns and best practices for AI development, including agentic software development, CI/CD, testing and observability.
• Champion reuse of shared AI platforms, gateways and governance tooling, and contribute to their design and evolution.
• Identify and address technical risks including model risk, data privacy, security and drift, partnering with Cyber and Risk on controls.
• Stay at the forefront of advancements in AI, machine learning and agentic engineering, and evaluate new technologies and approaches that can advance TAL's AI capabilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, AI, or related field. Advanced degrees preferred.
• 10+ years in software, AI/ML or data engineering roles, with a sustained record of designing and shipping complex AI solutions to production at scale.
• Proven experience as a principal-level or senior technical leader, setting architecture and standards across multiple teams and leading through influence.
• Deep expertise in generative AI, LLM-based and agentic systems, and MLOps/LLMOps practices including evaluation, monitoring and safe deployment.
• Extensive hands‑on experience with major cloud platforms (Azure preferred), including AI/ML
  services, APIs, containers and modern integration patterns.
• Expert proficiency in Python and modern engineering practices; fluency with AI-assisted and agentic
  software development workflows.
• Deep understanding of CI/CD, automated testing, observability and software engineering principles, and experience embedding these across teams.

Additional Information

TAL is one of Australia’s leading life insurers, committed to inclusion, and supporting the career growth of our diverse workforce. We’re proud to be:

• An Inclusive Employer – Recognised as Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency from 2014 to 2025 and 2023 to 2026 Bronze Tier Status within the Australian Workplace Equality Index
• Diversity Champions – Member of Diversity Council Australia, Australian Disability Network, Pride in Diversity and Champions of Change
• We welcome applications from people with diverse experiences, perspectives and backgrounds including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, caregivers, individuals with disability/ies, people from culturally diverse backgrounds and the LGBTQ+ community.
• Need adjustments during the recruitment process? Let our team know by getting in touch with us here. —we’re here to support you.

You’realwaysaccountable for your actions. You never give up. You strive to find the best outcomes for customers and partners.Andyou valueworking together to find the best solutions for problems.

As part of the recruitment process, there are several checks which may be conducted to demonstrate your eligibility for a role at TAL including Criminal History, Bankruptcy, Entitlement to Work, Regulatory and Reference Checks.

#LI-Hybrid

Everyone at TAL has a responsibility to do the right thing and is accountable for the way they conduct themselves. Our expectations are that you follow the principles set out in our Code of Conduct when you come to work every day. Risk management is everyone’s responsibility.

If you are already a TAL employee please apply via the SmartRecruiters button in Workday and navigate to the Employee Portal. This is important to ensure that your application is recorded accurately