Emerging AI roles in Tech: What’s hot in the NZ talent market

We’ve pulled together fresh insights on the AI skills most in demand in New Zealand’s tech market (with thanks to Alex from our IT & Digital recruitment team).

More NZ businesses are embedding AI and data into their long-term strategies. They’re using AI to tackle complex forecasting challenges, optimise logistics, create smarter customer experiences, and automate high-impact systems. And that means new roles and new opportunities are popping up fast.

Here’s the inside scoop on the AI talent that’s in hot demand in the tech space. 

While this update focuses on the tech sector, stay tuned as we’ll be sharing more AI insights and talent trends across other industries soon!

Emerging AI Roles to watch in the tech space 

Machine Learning Engineer (ML Engineer): Builds, deploys, and maintains ML models at scale. In hot demand as companies shift from POCs to production.

MLOps Engineer: Focuses on automation and scaling ML pipelines. Still new in NZ but critical for making AI work reliably in the real world.

AI Engineer: Hands-on with NLP, computer vision and GenAI. Demand is growing fast as businesses move from “experiments” to operational use.

Data/AI Product Owner: Sits between business and tech, making sure solutions actually deliver value.

Chief AI Officer / AI Ethics & Governance Specialist: rare in NZ now, but on the rise overseas as AI adoption scales. With AI comes responsibility. Trust, transparency and governance are only going to get bigger.

What clients are saying

• AI isn’t just automation, it’s intelligence at scale. From predictive maintenance in operations to next-best-action recommendations for customers, organisations want AI that makes smarter decisions, not just faster ones.
• It’s about the full data ecosystem. Clients are investing in connected data platforms that enable advanced analytics, reduce bottlenecks and empower teams across the enterprise.
• They’re looking for growth mindsets. Beyond technical skills, employers want people who can adapt, learn fast, and bring a genuine passion for data, AI and sustainability

NZ talent market insights

• Salaries are typically $110K – $160K for permanent, or $90 – $130 p/h for contracting.
• The strongest candidates bring cloud + ML skills (Azure, AWS, GCP).
• The biggest shortage is in hybrid talent – people who can deliver technically and engage with stakeholders.

Advice for candidates

If you’re in or eyeing up this space, here’s how to stand out:

• Upskill in MLOps tools (MLflow, Kubeflow, cloud-native ML).
• Show the real-world impact of your work, not just the tech.
• Get hands-on with GenAI/LLM projects, even small ones.
• Build strong communication and stakeholder skills, hiring managers rate these as highly as the tech itself.

The bigger picture

As revealed in our What the Buck? 2025 New Zealand market survey conducted earlier this year in May, “using AI and automation” is one of the top strategic priorities for New Zealand organisations over the next 24 months. And with that AI & Data roles are on the rise.

If you’d like a copy of our full report and results, register here.

If you’re a candidate ready to explore your next move in this space, or if your organisation is looking to build AI capability – get in touch with us. We’ve got the market insights, networks and expertise to connect the right talent with the right opportunities. 

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