Shape the future of digital engineering at Barwon Water. This is a rare opportunity to lead enterprise-wide capability across software, data, analytics, automation and AI, delivering secure, reliable digital services with a visible impact on our customers, organisation and region.

About the role

Reporting to the General Manager Digital and joining the Senior Leadership Team, you’ll set the technical direction for Barwon Water’s transition to a human-agentic operating model. You’ll lead digital engineering across software, integration, data and analytics, automation and AI, establishing the architecture, standards and controls that enable people and AI agents to work safely and effectively.

Partnering across the business to turn complex opportunities into secure, reliable and accessible digital services, while retaining accountability for architecture, engineering quality and technical judgement across internal teams, business led developers and delivery partners.

Responsible for setting engineering, DevSecOps and automated quality standards, you’ll own applications, data and analytics architecture; guide build, buy and configure decisions. You’ll establish assurance and lifecycle controls for AI agents and business-built automation, while overseeing technical debt, vendor performance and cloud and AI consumption costs.

With a strong focus on capability, collaboration and continuous improvement, you’ll shape Barwon Water’s engineering future and build an enduring digital capability that supports operational performance and regional prosperity.

About you

With your ability to build trusted relationships, you’re able to translate complex technical expertise into clear, accessible language and practical direction for non-technical stakeholders and decision makers.

An experienced leader, you build engaged, resilient teams and create technical career pathways that lift practical AI literacy.



Comfortable leading through ambiguity, you balance employees, contractors and managed services, transfer capability from delivery partners and ensure AI strengthens, not replaces, engineering judgement.

You bring deep experience across the software development lifecycle, data management, analytics and integration, with accountability for architecture, DevSecOps, technical governance and secure software delivery. You understand how to design or govern AI agents, intelligent automation and low-code solutions in business processes.

With solid commercial and governance acumen, including vendor performance, FinOps, technology investment cases and build-versus-buy decisions, you exercise sound judgement when automation could affect customers, the environment, regulatory obligations or organisational trust, and provide clear, evidence-based advice to stakeholders.

A relevant tertiary qualification is required, and experience with Microsoft Azure, Fabric, Power Platform and Azure Integration Services will be highly regarded.

Why join us?

We’ve set ambitious goals for regional prosperity and are delivering on them. In this role, your technical leadership will help create secure, reliable and accessible digital services, modernise how work gets done and strengthen a critical regional organisation facing rapid technological change, increasing cyber and regulatory obligations, customer expectations and affordability pressures.

We’re flexible and know the importance of work/life balance. You’re joining Barwon Water’s Digital Senior Leadership Team with the scope to shape enterprise wide digital capability and deliver work with a visible impact across our organisation, customers and region.

Our work requires more than just engineering and scientific solutions. We’re learning from the tens of thousands of years of knowledge and insight from Traditional Custodians. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are encouraged to apply for this position.

📌 Head of Digital Engineering (Geelong)
🏢 Barwon Water
📍 Geelong