Senior AI Engineer

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Air New Zealand is seeking a Senior AI Engineer to join the Christchurch onsite Digital team. This full-time role blends hands-on coding with Generative AI to design and scale AI services that power personalised experiences, smarter operations, and employee tools. You will build GenAI apps in Python from PoC to production, secure enterprise data integrations, implement safeguards and governance, and collaborate with business teams while staying ahead of GenAI trends. Ideal candidates bring proven GenAI expertise, Python with FastAPI, solid MLOps and data engineering fundamentals, cloud and container experience, and a growth mindset. To apply, tailor your resume to show production deployments and outcomes, highlight stakeholder collaboration and security considerations, and confirm onsite availability in Christchurch; applications close 24 July 2026.

Job Description

Kia ora! 

At Air New Zealand, we’re constantly evolving, embracing innovation and pushing boundaries to create extraordinary experiences for our customers and employees. As we continue to grow and transform, we're seeking individuals who are passionate about making a difference and playing a key role in our journey. This is why we are excited to offer the opportunity to join our Digital team and help design, ship and scale business-changing Generative AI solutions. 

This is a hands-on role where you’ll balance coding and cutting-edge AI. You’ll help drive the engineering of reliable, secure, and high-performing AI services, while mentoring others and influencing Air New Zealand’s AI strategy. Your work will directly support innovations such as personalised digital experiences, smarter operations, and AI-assisted employee tools that make travel simpler, smarter and more sustainable.     

The Role You’ll Play 

As a Senior AI Engineer, you will: 

• Design, build, and maintain Generative AI services and applications in Python, from proof-of-concept to production. 
• Design and implement robust AI solutions, integrating enterprise data, tools, and platforms securely to deliver reliable, scalable business outcomes.   
• Implement safeguards, guardrails, monitoring, and governance for responsible AI usage. 
• Collaborate with business teams to identify opportunities where Generative AI can deliver value. 
• Stay ahead of emerging GenAI technologies and bring innovative approaches into practice 

What You’ll Bring 

You’re a Senior Engineer who solves real-world problems with AI and data, and has experience developing and deploying safe, scalable GenAI applications from proof-of-concept to production. You’re equally comfortable architecting agentic systems, writing clean production code, and guiding others to deliver high-quality AI-centric solutions. 

• Proven expertise in Generative AI: LLMs, agents, embeddings/rerankers, vector databases, and prompt design/evaluation. 
• Strong software engineering fundamentals including developing in Python and experience with asynchronous frameworks (FastAPI), testing & mocking, and CI/CD. 
• Strong data engineering & MLOps fundamentals including designing and querying relational (SQL) and NoSQL databases, feature stores, model/registry versioning, offline/online evaluation, and golden datasets. 
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS - preferred, Azure, or GCP) and containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes). Experience with IaC (Terraform/CloudFormation) advantageous. 
• Security, privacy, and compliance in enterprise settings; comfort working with sensitive data and regulated environments. 
• A growth mindset: curiosity, experimentation, and the drive to turn ideas into robust, maintainable systems. 

What we’re looking for 

• Strong experience designing, building and scaling Generative AI services and applications 
• Advanced Python engineering skills, with experience developing secure, production-ready systems 
• Hands-on experience with LLMs, agents, embeddings, rerankers, vector databases, RAG pipelines, and prompt design or evaluation 
• Experience taking AI solutions from proof-of-concept through to reliable, scalable, production-ready services 
• Strong software engineering practices, including testing, mocking, CI/CD, APIs, and ideally asynchronous frameworks such as FastAPI 
• Experience with cloud platforms, preferably AWS, and containerisation tools such as Docker or Kubernetes 
• Understanding of responsible AI practices, including safeguards, guardrails, monitoring, governance, privacy, security, and working with sensitive enterprise data 
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with a curious, experimental mindset and the drive to turn emerging AI opportunities into robust, maintainable solutions  

Ready for take-off? 

If you’re excited by the opportunity to work with cutting-edge AI technologies, turn ideas into robust production-ready systems, and help shape how Generative AI is used across Air New Zealand, we’d love to hear from you. 

Applications close 24 July 2026. 

Additional Information

At Air New Zealand, we are proudly committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and believe in creating a truly inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves and thrive. Our people are our greatest asset – because while everything else we do in our operation can be replicated by our competitors, it is our people that truly set us apart. We are firm believers in celebrating the differences and diversity of thought our people bring to their roles. We encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds, including those with a disability, additional health and mental health needs, and/or are neurodiverse to apply for our roles.

If you have encountered any accessibility barriers and require further information or reasonable accommodations to our recruitment process, please reach out to the recruiter listed on this job advert so they are able to support you to freely participate equitably in our recruitment and selection process.

Whāia te pae tawhiti kia tata. Ko te pae tata whakamaua, kia tina.

"Seek to bring distant horizons closer. Once near, seize them and make them your reality."