Artificial Intelligence Engineer

Overview

Sentry AI seeks a mid-level Artificial Intelligence Engineer to develop production-ready AI solutions for businesses in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. This is a unique opportunity to be the company's first engineering hire, collaborating closely with the founder and shaping technology strategies from the ground up. The ideal candidate combines front-end and/or back-end development experience with a strong enthusiasm for AI.

Key Responsibilities

• Transform initial client briefs into functioning AI systems and take ownership of their ongoing performance.
• Develop AI-driven agents that operate within business environments by retrieving, analyzing, and acting on live data, requiring human approval for consequential decisions.
• Deliver voice AI applications capable of managing real conversations, including handling unexpected or complex scenarios.
• Lead AI agent development phases by defining architecture and context, evaluating outputs, and ensuring accuracy before deployment.
• Implement and refine the proprietary WATCH methodology to guide AI-first development projects from conception through live operation.

Technology Stack

• Frontend: Next.js, TypeScript, Vercel for user interfaces.
• Backend: Python, FastAPI, Supabase, PostgreSQL powering services and agents.
• Data Management: Supabase, AWS RDS, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), vectorization, and embeddings integrating company knowledge bases.
• AI Tools: Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, MCP, LangChain, Langfuse, AgentCore, OpenClaw, Frontier, and open-weight models for managing context and operational constraints.

Work Approach

• Operate agentically: utilizing coding agents, harnesses, and context files as standard tools.
• Apply the WATCH methodology for AI development consisting of Workshop (planning), Architect (documentation), Task (building and testing), Check (quality and compliance), and Hand Off (review and deployment) stages.

Candidates We Seek

• Developers who value hands-on AI projects over credentials, demonstrating what they have built and learnings from failures.
• Experienced in either front-end, back-end, or both with eagerness to deepen cross-disciplinary skills.
• Practitioners with an AI-first mindset, regularly employing coding agents and aware of the latest tooling advancements.
• Individuals authorized to work in New Zealand and able to attend the Eden Terrace office two to three days weekly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with the technologies in the specified stack.
• Experience in voice AI technologies such as Retell, ElevenLabs, or telephony systems.
• Personal or side AI development projects to showcase.

Compensation and Benefits

• Annual salary of NZ$84,000.
• Hybrid working model with 2 to 3 days onsite and remaining days remote.
• Access to current AI tooling, fully funded by the company to encourage extensive use.
• Direct impact through shipping real, user-facing AI systems rather than prototypes.
• Substantial autonomy over development strategies and ongoing project ownership.