AI and Automation Lead

About the Role

This position is a permanent opportunity based in Sydney, Melbourne, or Adelaide with hybrid working options. The company, a long-established business serving critical infrastructure and essential services sectors, is investing significantly in AI, automation, and data utilization to enhance operational efficiency. The focus is to reduce manual tasks, improve reporting reliability, and enable smarter decision-making across contracts, operations, and finance.

Currently, many core operations depend heavily on manual effort, disconnected systems, and undocumented knowledge. The AI and Automation Lead will be central to transforming these practices by applying practical AI and automation solutions tailored to the business context.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate within a supportive, low-ego team geared towards data analytics, automation, reporting, and business process enhancement.
• Partner with operational leaders, finance personnel, and various stakeholders to identify and implement process improvements.
• Lead discovery phases to pinpoint areas for automation and AI application that yield tangible business benefits.
• Analyze and document existing workflows across contracts, operations, invoicing, and service delivery to highlight pain points and inefficiencies.
• Design clear, actionable solution plans by converting ambiguous business challenges into technical requirements.
• Develop working prototypes, automations, and proofs of concept to rapidly demonstrate value and incorporate feedback.
• Drive business transformation efforts aimed at reducing manual workload, capturing operational knowledge systematically, and improving information quality and accessibility.

Requirements

• Minimum of 9 years’ professional experience blending business transformation with hands-on AI and automation development.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a capacity to navigate ambiguous circumstances effectively.
• Proven experience collaborating with operational teams to extract explicit and implicit process knowledge.
• Expertise in translating business needs into scalable process, system, or automation solutions.
• Hands-on proficiency in building, testing, and iterating prototype solutions.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of engaging with both operational teams and senior leadership.
• Practical experience working with major technology platforms such as Google, Amazon, or Microsoft stacks.
• Advanced skills in SQL and Python programming languages.
• Preferred but not essential: experience in infrastructure, construction, transport, utilities, manufacturing, or similar project-driven operational industries.

Additional Information

Salary offered ranges between $150,000 and $180,000 annually plus superannuation. The role is focused on enhancing team capacity rather than reducing workforce. The company culture encourages humour, curiosity, critical thinking, and pragmatic problem-solving.