Senior AI & Data Solution Engineer

About One New Zealand

At One New Zealand, we are committed to building a future where Aotearoa New Zealand is better connected. Our vision is to be the world’s most AI-driven telecommunications company, focusing not only on cutting-edge technology but also on empowering our people through continuous learning and growth. With initiatives like our AI School and access to top-tier learning platforms, we foster an environment where innovation and professional development thrive.

Role Overview

As a Senior AI & Data Solution Engineer, you will partner closely with business stakeholders to grasp their needs and deliver scalable, high-performance AI and data-driven solutions that align with our strategic goals. You will be a vital contributor to the AI & Data Engineering team, managing complex solution components across the full lifecycle — from design and development through to deployment and continuous optimization — to future-proof our workforce and accelerate our delivery toward becoming the most AI-enabled telco worldwide.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of intricate AI and data engineering solution elements across multiple squads and streams.
• Convert sophisticated business and technical needs into production-ready, scalable AI, data, and integration solutions.
• Design, build, maintain, and enhance data pipelines, data products, AI workflows, integrations, APIs, automation scripts, dashboards, AI models, prompts, and agent processes.
• Implement and uphold engineering standards, reusable design patterns, DevOps and AgentOps practices, governance, and production readiness benchmarks.
• Collaborate with product owners, architects, business experts, and technical leaders to clarify requirements, create technical designs, define data flows and AI workflows, and establish acceptance criteria.
• Provide technical leadership at the squad level by supporting architectural decisions, estimations, prioritization, and problem resolution.
• Advocate for responsible, secure, scalable delivery adhering to responsible AI principles, data governance, privacy, cybersecurity, access control, monitoring, reliability, cost management, and operational support.
• Lead comprehensive testing and validation activities including unit and integration tests, data quality assurance, AI evaluation, performance checks, monitoring, documentation, runbook creation, and deployment readiness assessments.
• Mentor colleagues through paired programming, code and design reviews, knowledge transfer, and hands-on coaching in AI, data engineering, cloud technologies, software engineering, and technical analysis.

Candidate Profile

• Demonstrated hands-on experience designing, building, testing, deploying, and maintaining complex AI and data solutions using contemporary engineering methodologies.
• Strong expertise in data engineering and analysis encompassing data structures, SQL, data modeling, data quality, pipelines, reporting, analytics, and business logic implementation.
• Practical experience in AI and Generative AI engineering, including prompt engineering, retrieval augmented generation, AI automation workflows, evaluation approaches, human-in-the-loop designs, and responsible AI practices.
• Proficient with programming, scripting, API development, continuous integration/delivery, source control, testing, observability, automation, and cloud-based delivery methods, preferably including Python, SQL, AWS, and associated AI/data platforms.
• Ability to take ownership of technical outcomes, manage dependencies, and transform requirements and designs into robust production solutions.
• Commitment to engineering excellence, emphasizing clean code, thorough testing, comprehensive documentation, maintainability, security, performance, observability, and production support.
• Strong systems thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to navigate ambiguity to devise practical and scalable solutions.
• Excellent communication skills enabling clear explanation of design decisions, risks, and trade-offs to engineers, product owners, delivery managers, and other stakeholders.
• A supportive mentoring approach, experienced in coaching, pairing, reviewing, and sharing reusable patterns, lessons learned, and best practices.
• A passion for continuous learning and curiosity in AI, data, cloud, software engineering, and solution architecture disciplines.

Benefits

• Flexible work arrangements with options to work from home and flexible hours to support work-life balance and family commitments.
• Fully subsidized Southern Cross health insurance coverage for employees and their families.
• Additional lifestyle leave opportunities allowing purchase of extra annual leave weeks.
• Discounts on One New Zealand products and services.

Diversity and Inclusion

One New Zealand proudly holds Rainbow Tick certification and values diverse perspectives and backgrounds. Joining us means becoming part of a community that uplifts, supports, and inspires you to contribute meaningfully to something larger than yourself.