Work with cutting edge technology, making the world a safer and more secure place. DroneShield (ASX:DRO) offers an opportunity to solve some of world’s most challenging technical problems in the Electronic Warfare, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, RF sensing, Sensor Fusion and distributed systems. Working with high profile customers across militaries, government agencies, airports, critical infrastructure, law enforcement and many others.

With one of the largest listed defence company market capitalisations in Australia and having raised approximately $250m in 2024 alone, DroneShield is undergoing hypergrowth stage, fuelled by rapidly increasing use of drones for nefarious applications, from battlefield, to terrorism, to contraband delivery and commercial espionage.

This role is in the DroneShield Sydney headquarters in Sydney CBD. There are approximately 390 staff based in the 4,000sqm facility today, scheduled to grow to approximately 500 staff by end of 2026. Overseas on the ground presence includes Virginia (USA), Denmark, Germany and Dubai, as well as distributors in over 70 countries globally.

About the role

DroneShield is seeking a Senior Software Engineer - AI Enablement with relevant experience to join the newly created AI Enablement team in Sydney, NSW. This role will be the first hire for the AI Enablement team.

The AI Enablement team is responsible for empowering all staff across DroneShield by deploying and supporting AI-driven tools that enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and solve complex challenges. This team will work closely with IT and Security to ensure that AI solutions are seamlessly integrated into our infrastructure, secure by design, and aligned with organisational needs.

Key responsibilities for this role include establishing the foundation for DroneShield's AI Enablement function, including shaping the strategic direction of AI initiatives, identifying high-impact opportunities, and ensuring alignment with organisational goals. Building tools, workflows, and infrastructure is critical for the success of this role.

AI Enablement serves as a bridge between technology and business operations, enabling all teams to leverage the power of AI while ensuring alignment with IT and Security standards. IT provides the foundational infrastructure and services, Security ensures robust protection and compliance, and AI Enablement delivers intelligent, user-friendly solutions that empower staff to work smarter and more effectively.

The ideal candidate will have a strong foundation programming, and automation, with a strategic mindset for applying AI across teams and workflows. They should be experienced with web application development, system integrations and infrastructure as code. Familiarity with integrating with LLMs, agentic workflows is highly desirable. A passion for innovation and improving organisational efficiency through intelligent systems is essential.

Strong communication skills, a collaborative mindset, and a hands-on approach to engineering are essential for success in this role. This is an exciting opportunity to shape how AI is adopted

and utilised across DroneShield, driving innovation and enabling teams to achieve their best work.

Responsibilities, Duties and Expectations 

• Identify opportunities for AI adoption for staff
• Navigate the balance between quick wins vs long term strategy
• Design and implement cost effective solutions
• Design and implement APIs to integrate between different systems.
• Engage stakeholders across the company to validate business needs and strategies
• Work with IT and Security teams to ensure security and compliance requirements
• Build, deploy, maintain, and own tools and processes
• Communicate important metrics to leadership
• Manage multiple concurrent projects and solve cross-product problems

Qualifications, Experience and Skills 

• BS degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or similar technical field of study, or equivalent practical experience 
• Demonstrated experience working in programming and infrastructure as code 
• Demonstrated experience with cloud infrastructure 
• On-the-tools engineering experience – must be hands-on 
• Excellent communication skills to explain complex technical concepts 
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills 
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in related roles. Roles could include: 
• • Software Engineer 
  • AI Enablement engineer 
• Knowledge of the following is essential: 
• • Strong programming experience with Go or Python 
  • Modern app security and application architectures
  • Experience with infrastructure as code and containers 
  • Experience with AWS Bedrock and deployment of apps leveraging it
  • Experience with no-code automation tools 
• Knowledge of the following is desirable: 
• • Strong grasp of AI tools and platforms 
  • Experience with RAG frameworks to enhance AI model outputs. 
  • Proficiency in designing or implementing MCPs for collaborative AI systems 
  • Experience with agentic frameworks for building autonomous AI agents 
  • Experience with hybrid cloud environments 
  • Experience with hosting AI models as a service 
  • Systems thinking: focus on design solutions that improve the system 

Note for recruitment agencies: We do not accept unsolicited candidates from external recruiters unless specifically instructed.