AI & Data Platform Operations Lead

About One New Zealand

One New Zealand is focused on shaping a better-connected Aotearoa New Zealand. The organisation is working toward an ambition to become the world’s most AI-enabled telecommunications company, with a strong emphasis on developing its people, supporting growth, and creating pathways for learning and leadership.

Employees can access an AI School, world-class learning platforms, and development opportunities designed to help curiosity and capability grow. The culture is centered on people and on building something meaningful for customers and communities.

Role overview

As the AI & Data Platform Operations Lead, you will be accountable for the operational performance of One New Zealand’s AI and data platforms. The position focuses on reliability, scalability, resilience, and secure production operations across AI Ops, SRE, and DataOps. Working with engineering teams, you will improve observability, incident handling, governance, and ongoing service improvement so that AI and data services remain trustworthy and ready at scale.

Key responsibilities

• Own the operational stability and service health of the AI and data platforms, making sure they are measurable, resilient, and supported by clear service targets, error budgets, and practical runbooks.
• Organise and rank operational work across incidents, changes, automation efforts, and resilience improvements to keep delivery moving efficiently.
• Embed consistent AI Ops, DataOps, and SRE ways of working, including readiness checks, deployment controls, rollback steps, and reviews after incidents.
• Oversee managed service providers and vendors so business-as-usual support and after-hours coverage are delivered in line with agreed service levels and escalation routes.
• Work closely with the Data & AI Platform Engineering Lead so that operational insights, risks, and requirements help shape platform direction and engineering priorities.
• Lift performance by lowering incident numbers, shortening recovery times, and making releases safer and more dependable.
• Lead improvement initiatives that strengthen resilience, service quality, and day-to-day efficiency.
• Support governance across security, privacy, compliance, and FinOps to keep operations secure, compliant, and cost-conscious.
• Coach team members and share knowledge across squads and operations groups to build capability, reduce dependency on individuals, and grow internal expertise.

What you should bring

• Hands-on experience running business-critical data and AI platforms, with strong capability in SRE, DevOps, and reliability-focused operations.
• Practical understanding of AI Ops and DataOps, including model monitoring, data quality controls, service readiness, and ongoing reliability management.
• Deep experience with incident management, observability, change control, on-call preparedness, and performance tuning.
• Working knowledge of cloud and data platform tools such as AWS, Snowflake, Databricks, dbt, Terraform, and observability solutions.
• Solid grasp of security, privacy, compliance, and FinOps, including least-privilege access, encryption, audit trails, and cost optimisation.
• Experience handling operational backlogs, prioritising work, and coordinating delivery using agile methods and tools.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work well across both technical and non-technical groups.
• A collaborative leadership approach with a focus on mentoring, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.

What the company offers

• Support for flexible working arrangements in many roles, helping employees balance work with whānau commitments.
• Fully subsidised Southern Cross health insurance for you and your family.
• Lifestyle leave that allows you to buy an extra one or two weeks of annual leave.
• Discounts on One New Zealand products, services, and additional benefits.

Additional information

One New Zealand is Rainbow Tick certified and actively supports diversity of thought, perspective, and background. Joining the team is described as more than taking a new role; it is seen as the start of a journey that contributes to something larger.

The company also highlights a guiding message about lifting, supporting, and elevating others.

Location

This position is based onsite in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand.