Platform Manager (ML) - Hawthorn East

We’ve been proudly serving Australian communities since 1914 and have grown to become a top 30-listed company on the ASX with a portfolio of iconic homegrown brands. At the heart of our continued success is over 115,000 team members working across the country, all contributing to bringing our customers smiles. You’ll not only get to see your work make a difference, you’ll be part of a team working together to help Australians eat and live better every day.

About the team

As the way Australians shop continues to evolve, our Data and AI Team keep Coles at the forefront of modern retail. We combine data, artificial intelligence, and applied engineering to reimagine how our stores, supply chain, and digital channels operate — creating smarter, more connected, and seamless experiences for our customers and team members.

Operating as a centralised development and enablement function within Coles Technology, the team unites product, engineering, and platform capabilities to deliver the intelligence layer of the enterprise. We serve every part of Coles — from computer vision applications that enhance in-store experiences and reduce loss, to forecasting, optimisation, and decision-support solutions that drive efficiency, accuracy, and agility across our supply chain, retail operations, and corporate functions.

The scale and impact of this work are significant. Coles serves millions of customers each week across more than a thousand stores nationwide, and our AI and data capabilities provide the intelligence that underpins how we plan, move, sell, and serve. By combining deep data capability with applied AI and modern engineering, we’re enabling Coles to become a truly AI-enabled enterprise, transforming how we operate and how Australia shops every day.

About the role

We are currently recruiting for a Platform Manager ML (Machine Learning) who will lead the design, development, and delivery of AI platform capabilities focused on Generative AI, LLMs, and agentic systems, including model access layers, orchestration frameworks, prompt management, and tool integrations.

Key responsibilities of the role will include:

• Manage end-to-end delivery of AI/ML platform enhancements, ensuring scalability, availability, and performance.
• Collaborate closely with data scientists, ML engineers, software developers, and platform teams to understand requirements and translate them into platform capabilities.
• Implement and enforce best practices for MLOps, model versioning, lifecycle management, and platform security.
• Drive continuous improvement by integrating new tools, frameworks, and automation to streamline AI/ML workflows.
• Oversee platform reliability, incident management, and capacity planning to maintain high availability and operational excellence.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of platform engineers, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and high performance.
• Set clear objectives and provide coaching to ensure delivery excellence and professional growth.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with AI/ML product teams, data engineering, security, and architecture stakeholders to align platform initiatives with broader enterprise goals.

About you and your skills

• Proven years’ experience in AI/ML platform engineering, software engineering, or data infrastructure roles, with a minimum of 3 years in team leadership or management positions.
• Proven ability to lead and deliver complex AI/ML platform solutions in large-scale enterprise environments.
• Strong technical expertise in cloud platforms (Azure, Snowflake, Databricks), MLOps tooling, container orchestration (Kubernetes/Docker), CI/CD pipelines, and automation.
• Deep understanding of the AI/ML model lifecycle, feature stores, model registries, and model deployment best practices.
• Experience managing platform reliability, performance tuning, and incident response.
• Familiarity with data governance, security, and compliance in AI/ML contexts.
• Demonstrated success in building and scaling high-performing engineering teams.
• Hands-on coding experience in Python, Java, or similar languages.
• Experience working in Agile delivery environments.

Qualifications

• Expertise in AI/ML platform architecture, MLOps practices, cloud-native technologies, and infrastructure automation.
• Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to translate complex technical challenges into actionable solutions.

Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or related field.
• Relevant certifications in cloud platforms, AI/ML engineering, or DevOps are a plus.

What’s in it for you?

• Flexible working options: We know that work is only one part of your life, so we actively encourage a positive work-life balance and provide hybrid working options to help you achieve it.
• Office perks: Take advantage of our gym facility and fitness classes, free parking, BBQ area, mini-Coles supermarket, fooderie hub where you can sample new products before they hit the shelves, school holiday program and so much more when you come in.
• Discounts: Eligible team members receive 5% discount all year round on your Supermarket and Liquor online and in-store purchases. We also offer additional periods of double discount (10%) at various times throughout the year. As well as hotdeals exclusive to team members that translate into additional savings.
• Reward through recognition: Give and receive recognition, linked to our Coles values, through our digital recognition platform ‘mythanks’. You can accumulate points to redeem in the online shop for exciting gifts and electronic gift cards from an extensive range of retailers.
• Opportunities for learning and development: No matter where you start within our diverse business, you’ll have experiences, exposure, and education to satisfy you. Discover and explore a variety of career development programs and job-specific training.
• Paid parental leave: We understand how important your life outside work is and offer permanent team members paid parental leave to support you in balancing work and family.
• Investment in your future: Our annual team member share plan offer allows eligible team members to make regular pre-tax salary sacrifice deductions to purchase Coles Group shares.

About the recruitment process

We’re continuing to build a gender equitable team, and a culture that is just as diverse, inclusive and welcoming as the communities we serve. We are committed to creating a workplace that is safe and respectful for our team. We encourage applications from people of all ages, cultures (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples), abilities, sexual orientation and gender identities.

We’re happy to adjust our recruitment process to support candidates with disability. For further information and additional contact details visit the ‘Our Recruitment Process’ section of our careers site or email inclusionrecruitment@coles.com.au

Job ID: 166719

Employment Type: Full time

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