Position overview
* Permanent, Full-time opportunity
* True hybrid working – work from home and our Mitcham office
* $180,000 Total Remuneration Package per annum (inclusive of 12% superannuation)
About usWe’re on a mission to create a brighter future, where you can be a change maker at the actual source. We’re one of Australia’s largest water utilities with over 30% of Victoria’s population relying on us for their essential water and sanitation services.
Our award-winning culture fosters an inclusive, collaborative, and flexible environment that enables our people to thrive. Here, you’ll be inspired and challenged to grow alongside us.
We're committed to reconciliation and supporting the self-determined role for Traditional Owners/Custodians in water and land management.
The RoleThe AI Lead Engineer plays a strategic and influential role in advancing the organisation’s data and AI capability within the Enterprise Data & Analytics function. The role drives business value and enterprise performance by designing, developing, and operationalising AI and machine learning solutions that inform decision-making, optimise operations, and enable predictive and prescriptive insights across Asset Services, Asset Transformation & Technology, and other critical enterprise domains.
Working closely with Architects, Enterprise Data and Analytics leads, and business stakeholders, the AI Lead Engineer ensures AI initiatives are strategically aligned to organisational objectives, technically robust, and deliver measurable outcomes, including efficiency gains, risk mitigation, and enhanced service delivery. The role champions the adoption of Databricks, Azure, and modern AI frameworks to accelerate intelligent automation, enable actionable insights, and embed innovation across the organisation, positioning AI as a driver of enterprise strategy and long-term value creation.
Your key responsibilities
* AI Model Development and Innovation - Drive the development and deployment of advanced AI/ML solutions using NLP, transformers, LLMs, and generative AI to deliver business value, improve decision-making, and enable intelligent automation. Leverage cloud platforms and enterprise data tools for scalable, reusable, and rapid AI innovation while fostering continuous improvement and adoption across the organisation.
* AI Engineering and Operationalisation - Design, deploy and operate scalable, secure MLOps pipelines that support the full AI lifecycle from experimentation to production, ensuring high-quality, auditable and cost-effective models. Establish AI engineering standards and best practices, automate deployment using DevOps and Infrastructure-as-Code, and collaborate with data and software engineering teams to seamlessly integrate AI solutions into enterprise systems and workflows.
* Governance, Risk and Responsible AI - Establish and enforce responsible AI governance, standards and validation processes to ensure AI solutions are ethical, explainable, auditable and compliant, working closely with risk, data governance and security teams to enable safe and trusted AI adoption.
* Strategy Alignment and Influence - Align AI initiatives with organisational strategy and architecture, influence enterprise AI direction and standards, and translate complex AI concepts into clear, actionable insights for stakeholders.
* Leadership, Culture and Capability Uplift - Provide technical leadership and mentorship to uplift AI capability, lead cross-functional teams to deliver AI outcomes, and promote a collaborative, learning-focused culture of responsible AI adoption.
What we’re looking for
* Strong background in software or data engineering using Python and/or TypeScript
* Hands-on experience with Databricks Machine Learning, including MLflow, AutoML, Delta Lake and Spark
* Proven experience building machine learning and deep learning models using TensorFlow, PyTorch and Scikit-learn
* Solid understanding of MLOps practices, including model tracking, deployment, monitoring and CI/CD
* Experience working with cloud platforms, preferably Azure, including Databricks Lakehouse and Unity Catalog
* Practical experience with transformer-based and generative AI technologies (LLMs, LangChain, LlamaIndex, Semantic Kernel)
* Strong data engineering skills, including Spark/PySpark, Delta Lake and production-grade data pipelines
* Experience applying DevOps and Infrastructure-as-Code practices using Docker, Kubernetes/AKS, Terraform and CI/CD pipelines
* Demonstrated ability to design and deliver AI/ML solutions such as chatbots, summarisation and intelligent automation
* Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline or equivalent Technical Qualification in Engineering or IT
To view the full position description, click HERE.
Why Yarra Valley Water? We celebrate and encourage new thinking at every level. Creating opportunities for you to grow – both professionally, and personally. When you flourish, we all do.
* $180,000 Total Remuneration Package per annum (inclusive of 12% superannuation)
* Flexible working arrangements where our people are empowered to design their days with their team. Read our hybrid playbook HERE.
* Free and secure on-site parking with on-site café at our Mitcham office.
* 14 weeks paid leave parental leave.
* 15 days paid personal leave, which can be used for caring, wellbeing, mental health, menstrual or menopause.
* Request to swap certain public holidays for another day of paid leave.
To read more about our benefits and culture, read our employee handbook HERE.
Did you know?Research shows that men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, while women and other marginalised people tend to only apply when they meet all of them. So, if you think you have what it takes, but don't necessarily tick every box, please apply or get in touch. We'd love to have a chat and see if you could be a great fit.
How to applyApplications should include a supporting Cover Letter and Resume. Closing date: Friday, 6th February 2026This position is available for Yarra Valley Water employees and external applicants.
We welcome applications from everyone, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, mature age and young job seekers, members of the LGBTIQA+ community and people of all cultural backgrounds. If you need this information in an accessible format or would like to discuss reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process. Please call 03 9872 2*** or email ***@yvw.com.au. If you need any help with the application process or would like to discuss the recruitment process, please contact us via email *******@yvw.com.au.
Successful applicants must be eligible to work in Australia and agree to provide information for pre-employment checks, if required for the position. This may also include a Police Check or AusCheck, where an offer will be subject to a satisfactory outcome of these checks.