AI & Automation Lead

About Us 

Since 1969, Pacific Automation has supplied industrial electrical and automation products across Australia, with three locations nationwide. We combine application knowledge, reliable supply and compliance depth so engineering, maintenance and procurement teams can specify with certainty.

We are a technical partner for Australian resources and manufacturing, not a catalogue.

Our brand promise: Right product — on time..  

About the Role 

As our AI & Automation Lead, you will make AI-assisted work the default way this business operates.

Your focus is embedding AI into our revenue-facing workflows — quoting and RFQ handling, technical enquiry handling, and customer support — and automating repetitive work across every function of the business — sales, customer support, marketing, eCommerce, purchasing, fulfilment and finance. Underpinning all of it, you will build the knowledge layer that makes accurate AI answers possible in the first place.

Every initiative is anchored in one question: how does this make the customer experience better? Efficiency gains matter, but they are the supporting outcome, not the goal.

Key Responsibilities 

Own system integration and data flow between our platforms. This is foundational to everything else in the role. Our CRM, helpdesk, ERP, PIM, storefront and shipping systems were never designed to talk to each other, and AI is only as good as its access to accurate data. Work against documented APIs and webhooks so data is read at source rather than copied, reconcile records that use different identifiers across systems, and design each integration so any one platform can be replaced without rebuilding everything around it.

Ship things that work. Identify, validate and deploy AI and automation initiatives that deliver verified time savings, faster customer response times and measurable operational improvement. Sustain their quality and reliability so they still deliver value 90+ days after launch.

Build and own the knowledge layer. Turn application knowledge, product content, certification data and past specifications into a structured, queryable asset. Much of our most valuable knowledge sits with experienced people rather than in any system; working alongside them to capture it is central to this role.

Keep us portable. Prompts, logic and knowledge live in version control and open formats. No platform, automation tool, AI vendor or otherwise — becomes a dependency we cannot leave within a quarter.

Build capability, not just systems. Support champions in each function so AI adoption spreads through the business rather than routing through you. Translate technical work into plain language — the people who use your tools are the customers of your work.

What We’re Looking For 

Hands-on experience deploying AI and automation in production environments. A proactive builder with disciplined documentation habits, who identifies what works, writes down how it works, and explains it to non-technical colleagues without condescension.

Essential

• Demonstrated experience deploying AI or automation solutions in production

• Proficient in Python or JavaScript

• Strong REST API integration experience — authentication, pagination, rate limits, error handling and retries

• Experience moving data between business systems: webhooks and event-driven flows rather than scheduled exports, and reconciling records that use different identifiers

• Hands-on experience with LLM APIs (Anthropic, OpenAI or similar)

• Experience building retrieval-based (RAG) systems that ground answers in an organisation's own content, including vector databases (pgvector, Pinecone, Weaviate or similar)

• Experience with workflow automation platforms (Make, n8n, Zapier or equivalent)

• Strong communication and relationship-building skills across departments and non-technical stakeholders

• A working understanding of data privacy and security fundamentals

• Comfortable in a B2B environment with technical, industrial buyer audiences

Highly regarded

• Agentic AI systems

• Zoho Desk / Zoho CRM, SAP Business One or other ERP, Plytix or other PIM, BigCommerce

• Hands-on experience with eCommerce or ERP APIs, and with middleware or integration platforms

• SQL or database querying

• Experience in industrial, electrical or automation distribution

• A tertiary qualification in computer science, software engineering, data science or a related field 

Our Core Values 

Our people are central to Pacific Automation. We are looking for someone who fits our team and can live and breathe our five core values: 

• Help People 

• Trust Matters 

• Build Community 

• Be Better 

• Keep Growing 

Why Join Us? 

• A genuine mandate to ship, with a board-endorsed strategy, a live AI integration and enriched product data already in place

• Flexible working arrangements, onsite parking and easy office access

• Employee Assistance Program for you and your family

• Competitive salary, in a team where effort and performance are recognised

Apply Today 

If you are more interested in shipping than theorising, we would like to hear from you.

Please submit your CV and a brief cover letter outlining a specific automation or AI solution you have built and deployed — the problem it solved, and the outcome it delivered.

Please also address the following in your cover letter:

1.      How many years' experience do you have deploying AI or automation solutions in a production environment?

2.      Are you proficient in Python or JavaScript, with experience integrating REST APIs?

3.      Do you have hands-on experience with LLM APIs such as Anthropic (Claude) or OpenAI?

4.      Which workflow automation platforms have you used? (Make, n8n, Zapier or equivalent)

5.     Which of the following systems do you have experience with? (Zoho Desk / Zoho CRM, SAP Business One, Plytix, BigCommerce)