AI Engineer

Whānau Āwhina Plunket is Aotearoa’s largest provider of support services for the health and wellbeing of tamariki under five and their whānau. We are proud to visit more than 80% of newborn babies across Aotearoa and to walk alongside pēpē, tamariki and their whānau during their earliest years.

The opportunity | Te Whiwhingamahi

This is an exciting opportunity to help Whānau Āwhina Plunket turn emerging AI capability into secure, practical solutions that improve how we work and support better outcomes for tamariki, whānau and our people. This is a full time fixed term position until September 2027.

Joining our Data & Insights team, you will take existing proof of concept work through to operational delivery, develop secure internal AI applications and help establish the foundations for responsible, sustainable AI adoption across the organisation.

You will also:

• Develop scalable data engineering and MLOps pipelines that integrate with our enterprise applications. 
  

• Establish reusable engineering patterns, reference architectures and development standards. 
  

• Implement appropriate AI governance, monitoring and lifecycle-management practices. 
  

• Ensure solutions meet privacy, cybersecurity and information-governance requirements. 
  

• Embed Responsible AI, TeTiriti o Waitangi commitments and Māori Data Sovereignty principles into solution design and delivery. 
  

• Partner with Data & Insights, Digital & Improvement, ICT, clinical, service delivery and operational teams to identify and prioritise valuable AI opportunities. 
  

• Produce clear technical documentation and support knowledge transfer so the capability can be sustained beyond the fixed-term engagement. 
  

• Build confidence and capability across the organisation through mentoring, knowledge sharing and clear communication. 
  

This role offers the opportunity to combine technical innovation with genuine social impact, helping release capacity for higher value mahi and improve access to trusted organisational knowledge.

About you | Mōu

You are an experienced AI engineer who enjoys taking ideas beyond the proof-of-concept stage and turning them into secure, reliable and scalable solutions. You can work comfortably across AI engineering, data platforms and software development, while keeping the people who will use the technology at the centre of your approach.

You will bring:

• At least five years’ experience designing, developing and deploying enterprise AI solutions in cloud environments, ideally Microsoft Azure. 
  

• Strong programming skills in Python and SQL. 
  

• Experience with Azure Databricks, including Spark or PySpark, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, workflows, MLflow and Databricks Machine Learning. 
  

• Experience developing generative AI and machine learning solutions, including LLMs, RAG, embeddings, vector search, AI assistants and intelligent automation. 
  

• Experience with Azure AI services such as Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, Azure Machine Learning and Azure AI Search, or comparable platforms. 
  

• An understanding of enterprise data platforms, data pipelines, APIs, data quality, governance, security and access controls. 
  

• Experience applying MLOps and DevOps practices, including Git, automated testing, Azure DevOps, CI/CD, deployment, monitoring and model lifecycle management. 
  

• Experience integrating AI capabilities with enterprise applications, knowledge repositories and business processes. 
  

• An understanding of Responsible AI, privacy, security, transparency and ethical AI development. 
  

Just as importantly, you will be curious, collaborative and solutions focused. You will use sound judgement to balance innovation and business value with privacy, security, equity and responsible data stewardship.

An understanding of, or willingness to grow your knowledge of, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori Data Sovereignty principles will be important in this role.

What we offer | Ngāhua mahi o Te Whānau Āwhina

Whānau Āwhina Plunket provides the opportunity to apply your technical expertise to mahi with a clear and meaningful purpose. You will join a supportive Data & Insights team and work alongside people from across the organisation who are committed to improving outcomes for tamariki and whānau.

We offer:

• Access to a range of wellness benefits including Fitness passport and Two Well health Days for you to proactively look after your wellbeing.
  

• Flexible working arrangements and support for ongoing learning and development. 
  

• The opportunity to help shape enterprise AI capability from an early stage. 
  

• Purpose led work where your expertise can contribute to better outcomes for communities across Aotearoa. 

   

Our values of Māia, Tūhono, Manaaki and Māhaki guide how we work together. We are committed to creating a culturally safe and inclusive environment where everyone can contribute, learn and thrive.

Me pēheatetukutono| How to apply

For any specific questions, contact our HR team on hr@plunket.org.nz

Applications must be made online and close on September 23rd 2026. Please note, we will consider applications as they are received and may close this advert early if we find a suitable candidate.

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He huanuioranga mongā mokopuna whakatipuranga roto ingā hapori hekeiho, heke iho

Setting the path of wellness in our communities for the early years, for generations to come

Whānau Āwhina Plunket is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing ofpēpi,tamarikiand their whānau/family. We have committed to adopting a pro-equity approach where we give life to the Treaty principles of tinorangatira tanga, partnership, active protection, equity and options in our mahi/work to ensure healthy tamariki, confident whānau and connected communities.

Position description Apply now

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