Technology is moving fast, we move faster nexwave is a Microsoft-focused technology consultancy specialising in Data, Cloud, AI and intelligent applications. What sets us apart is our team and our mindset: fast, pragmatic, collaborative, curious, deeply technical, AI forward and genuinely passionate about solving complex problems for our clients.

We’re looking for a Principal Consultant AI who combines exceptional technical depth with genuine consulting leadership.

This is not a role for someone who simply knows the latest AI frameworks.

We want someone who can take an ambiguous client problem, understand what actually matters, shape the architecture, build the solution, guide the team and stand in front of senior stakeholders with confidence.

Someone who can go from strategy to architecture to code to production.

You’ll work across Azure AI, Microsoft Foundry, Copilot, agentic architectures and modern software engineering to solve complex problems while helping shape the AI capability, IP and consulting practice we’re building at nexwave.

What you will do

- Lead the architecture and delivery of complex AI and intelligent application solutions on Microsoft Azure
- Translate ambiguous business problems into pragmatic AI strategies and production-ready technical solutions
- Design and build enterprise AI applications, agents and AI-enabled software using modern Microsoft technologies
- Work deeply across Azure AI, Microsoft Foundry, Azure OpenAI, AI Search, Copilot and related services
- Apply strong software engineering principles to AI systems, including architecture, testing, security, observability and production operations
- Design RAG, agentic and tool-using architectures appropriate to the problem rather than forcing a particular pattern
- Lead technical discovery, architecture workshops and solution-shaping sessions with senior client stakeholders
- Own technical outcomes across engagements from discovery through architecture, implementation and production
- Make architectural trade-offs around cost, security, performance, scalability, maintainability and AI risk
- Work hands-on alongside engineers while providing technical direction and removing delivery blockers
- Mentor Senior Consultants and other engineers,



lifting the technical capability of the wider team
- Shape proposals, estimates, statements of work and technical approaches
- Identify opportunities for follow-on work and help grow client relationships
- Develop reusable AI IP, accelerators, patterns and delivery approaches for nexwave
- Help shape nexwave’s AI engineering standards and technical direction

What you’ll bring

- Extensive experience delivering software and technology solutions in complex enterprise environments
- Deep hands-on experience across Azure and modern application development
- Strong software engineering fundamentals, ideally including .NET, C#, Python or comparable pro-code technologies
- Proven experience designing and delivering production AI solutions rather than primarily prototypes or demonstrations
- Strong knowledge of Azure AI, Microsoft Foundry, Azure OpenAI, AI Search, Copilot or equivalent enterprise AI technologies
- Practical understanding of RAG, agents, tool calling, orchestration, evaluation and AI application architecture
- Strong understanding of cloud architecture, APIs, integration, identity, security, DevOps and production operations
- Experience leading technical delivery across the full lifecycle
- Strong consulting experience and the ability to operate confidently with senior technical and business stakeholders
- Demonstrated experience mentoring engineers and raising technical standards
- The ability to communicate complex technical ideas clearly to both engineers and executives

What sets you apart

- You’re still hands-on. Principal doesn’t mean you’ve stopped building.
- You’ve delivered systems into production and understand what happens after the demo
- You can challenge a client’s proposed solution when there is a better way to solve the underlying problem
- You understand that the best AI solution isn’t necessarily the most sophisticated one




- You can explain an architecture to an engineer and the business case to an executive
- You naturally look for the commercial opportunity behind a technical problem
- You generate follow-on work because clients trust your judgement
- You create reusable approaches rather than solving the same problem from scratch
- You actively develop the people around you
- You’re comfortable operating without a playbook and creating one when it doesn’t exist
- You’re curious about what’s next, but disciplined enough to know what is production-ready today

Nice to have

- Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert or Azure AI Engineer Associate
- Experience with Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Search and Microsoft Copilot
- Experience with Copilot Studio, MCP, agent-to-agent patterns or modern agent orchestration frameworks
- Infrastructure as Code using Bicep or Terraform
- Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions
- Experience with LangGraph or comparable orchestration frameworks
- Experience with evaluation, observability, governance and responsible AI
- Experience contributing to technical thought leadership, open source or the Microsoft community

Why join nexwave

- Work alongside genuinely senior Microsoft and AI specialists
- Solve complex problems where the answer isn’t already in the playbook
- Build AI that ships into production, not just PowerPoint
- Have a direct influence on our technical direction and AI capability
- Work closely with senior client stakeholders and technology leaders
- Build reusable IP and approaches that become part of how nexwave delivers
- Join an AI-first consultancy that values technical craft, commercial thinking and low-ego collaboration
- Receive professional development and certification support
- Enjoy a flexible hybrid work model and annual BYOD tech allowance

Employment type: Full time, permanent

Location: Australia — Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane or Perth

Working model: Hybrid

Apply

If you’re already operating at Principal level — or you’re the person everyone turns to when the problem is genuinely hard — we’d like to hear from you.

Email your cover letter and CV to [email protected].

📌 Principal Consultant AI | Azure, AI & Intelligent Applications (Melbourne)
🏢 nexwave
📍 Melbourne