Head of Infrastructure & DevOps Engineer
Summary
Leads the end-to-end AI-as-a-service platform (Agentaus), ensuring scalability, ultra-security, and sub-second inference latency for defense/logistics customers. Balances 70% hands-on cloud/DevOps work with 30% team leadership and strategic vendor/cost governance.
Head of Infrastructure & DevOps Engineer
Location: Canberra, Australia (We are looking for someone who lives in Canberra)
Employment type: Full‑time, senior leadership
About Trellis Data
Trellis Data is a fast‑growing Australian sovereign‑AI leader that powers high‑security organisations across defence, logistics and law‑enforcement. Our product Agentaus (Agentaus.com.au) is Australia’s AI capability leading the country and the region in AI Chat, Agents, and API connectivity. Our mission is to deliver world‑leading AI that is trusted and safe for our customers. We champion a culture of curiosity, collaboration and rapid impact, where every voice can shape the future of secure AI.
Why this role matters
You will lead the end‑to‑end platform ‘Agentaus’ - our flagship AI‑as‑a‑service engine – ensuring it scales, stays ultra‑secure and delivers sub‑second inference latency for mission‑critical workloads. As a senior technology leader, you’ll spend roughly 70 % of your time hands‑on building, optimising and automating the cloud stack, and 30 % guiding a high‑performing team of Deep Tech AI Experts, SREs, cloud architects and Engineers.
Key responsibilities
Technical leadership – Design, build and continuously improve a resilient, multi‑cloud platform that supports billions of AI inferences per day.
Performance & security – Lead initiatives on cost‑effective scaling, hardening, compliance (IRAP, ASD Essential 8) and latency reduction for inference pipelines.
Automation culture – Champion “Automation Everywhere”, automated specification, development, testing, CI/CD, monitoring, reporting and patching.
Team leadership (≈ 30 %) – Mentor a team of 10-20 engineers, set career pathways, run regular 1‑on‑1s and foster a blameless post‑mortem culture.
Strategic partnership – Work closely with the CTO, product and AI Adoption teams to align platform road‑maps with market demands and emerging security standards.
Vendor & cost governance – Evaluate all cost drivers, suppliers, negotiate contracts and implement spend‑optimisation mechanisms.
Who you are:
Attributes
Technical depth: 10‑+ years architecting large‑scale cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) plus strong scripting/programming skills in Python, Go and web technology stacks.
Hands‑on leader: Comfortable rolling up sleeves to write code, help test, build automation outcomes, and troubleshoot complex latency issues.
Security‑first mindset: Proven experience delivering IRAP‑ or ISO‑27001‑aligned infrastructures, preferably for AI/ML workloads.
Security clearance: Australian Security Clearance is Highly Desirable (NV1 preferred, Baseline acceptable with willingness to gain a NV1)
People champion: Demonstrated success building and scaling high‑performing engineering squads; excellent communicator and mentor.
Strategic thinker: Ability to translate product vision into robust, cost‑effective platform designs.
Cultural fit: Passion for Australian‑owned tech, thrives in a fast‑moving, collaborative environment and shares our commitment to ethical AI.
What we offer:
Positive, Collaborative Culture
Great salary + significant performance‑based bonuses
Access to cutting‑edge AI hardware and cloud resources
The opportunity to join Canberra’s most innovative company and one of Australia’s upcoming success stories in AI.
How to apply:
Submit your resume through Seek or email recruitment@trellisdata.com.au with the subject line “Head of Infrastructure & DevOps Engineer – Trellis Data (Canberra)’