Lead Microservices and AI Technical Architect

Job description

Application closing date: Sunday, 13 September 2026 • 11:59pm, Canberra time Estimated start date: Thursday, 01 October 2026 Location of work: NSW Working arrangements: The department supports flexible and remote working arrangements where operational requirements permit Length of contract: 12 months Contract extensions: 2x 12 months Security clearance: Must have Baseline security clearance Rates: $120 - $140 per hour (inc. super) The Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) strives to encourage the sustainable growth of Australian industries including the delivery of a national innovation system to drive knowledge creation, international competitiveness and greater productivity. Our staff are committed to developing policies and delivering programs, in partnership with stakeholders, to provide lasting economic benefits based on principles of social justice and equity for all Australians. The CIO Division provides a range of enabling services and operations delivery to the department and to Australian businesses and are seeking a Microservices & AI Technical Lead to support business application transformation program of work. The program is establishing DISR's first enterprise Microservices and Event-driven Architecture foundations and is embedding AI enabled engineering practices across the software delivery lifecycle. The role will provide technical leadership, influence system builds and engineering decisions, guide the adoption of AI across the service deliver lifecycle and ensure capability transfer occurs throughout delivery. This role will provide technical leadership, influence system builds and engineering decisions, guide the adoption of AI across the service deliver lifecycle and ensure capability transfer occurs throughout delivery. The successful candidate will be required to, Provide technical leadership and architectural authority for the design, governance and evolution of cloud native, microservices based and AI enabled platforms, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture, security and business transformation objectives. Lead the establishment of modern engineering and AI delivery practices, including AI enabled software development lifecycle (SDLC), DevSecOps, CI/CD, observability, automated testing and platform engineering standards that support secure, scalable and reliable service delivery. Drive technology modernisation and platform adoption, including microservices enhancement, containerisation, integration of enterprise systems and implementation of reusable patterns that improve scalability, maintainability and operational resilience. Build organisational capability and technical maturity through knowledge transfer, engineering governance and leadership of multidisciplinary teams, fostering engineering excellence and continuous improvement. Essential criteria Extensive experience designing, implementing and governing cloud native, microservices and event driven architectures within complex enterprise environments, delivering scalable, resilient and secure business critical platforms. Demonstrated expertise in AI engineering and AI enabled solution delivery, including the development, deployment and operationalisation of enterprise AI capabilities, semantic search, machine learning solutions and responsible AI practices. Strong software engineering and platform engineering capability, including modern development frameworks, DevSecOps, CI/CD, automated testing, observability, security by design and operational excellence. Proven ability to lead enterprise technology modernisation and transformation initiatives, providing technical direction, influencing architecture decisions and delivering measurable improvements in platform reliability, security, scalability and engineering maturity. Exceptional stakeholder engagement, communication and leadership skills, with demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams, delivery partners and senior executives and translating complex business requirements into practical technology outcomes. Desirable criteria Experience designing, implementing and operating container platforms using technologies such as Kubernetes, OpenShift, AKS, EKS or GKE, including platform automation, governance and workload management. Experience with cloud platform modernisation, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), platform engineering, observability tooling and enterprise scale automation practices. Experience leading delivery within Agile environments, including coaching geographically dispersed teams, driving capability uplift and fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement. HOW TO APPLY Please provide an updated CV (a maximum of 3 - 5 pages) to reflect your suitability to the role based on the job description. You will also need to complete a one page pitch (no more than 5000 characters) to address all criteria specified. Your application will be reviewed based on ability to demonstrate, or potential to develop, the capabilities required.