AI Specialist - Associate Director

Join to apply for the AI Specialist - Associate Director role at PwC New Zealand

It’s an incredibly exciting time to join PwC New Zealand. We’re investing in the digital upskilling of all our staff, putting technology at the forefront of our solutions. Put your skills to work in new and unexpected ways, powered by the latest technology.

As AI continues to transform the business landscape, PwC is committed to remaining at the forefront of technological innovation, ensuring our clients and our people continue to benefit from forward-thinking, cutting-edge solutions.

PwC New Zealand is seeking an AI expert to join our innovative Customer Transformation team in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland. If you thrive at the intersection of cutting-edge AI and real-world business transformation, this is your moment.

Bring your hands-on experience leading complex, large-scale system developments, not just AI theory. We want someone who’s worn many hats : architect, engineer, strategist who understands the full system development lifecycle and agile ways of working. Here, you won’t just build AI solutions, you’ll translate them into game-changing strategies that solve our clients’ biggest challenges and drive growth.

As well as client-facing work, you’ll act as tech lead in designing and productising AI solutions, ensuring they are scalable, secure, and aligned to global standards.

Key responsibilities of this role include :

• Lead the development and delivery of AI strategies for the team and clients, translating complex business challenges into scalable AI-driven solutions with clear value propositions.
• Advise clients on leveraging AI technologies, including generative AI, machine learning, and NLP to drive operational improvements and innovation.
• Act as tech lead for AI solution delivery, ensuring sound architectural and engineering practices and translating prototypes into repeatable, production-ready products.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams (data scientists, engineers, industry experts) to deliver high-quality, impactful outcomes.
• Embed AI governance, compliance, and assurance standards throughout the design and build lifecycle, maintaining a strong focus on managing risks related to AI deployment.
• Champion responsible and ethical AI use by addressing bias, fairness, transparency, and data privacy.
• Mentor teams on best practices in engineering, MLOps, and AI lifecycle management.
• Build and nurture long-lasting relationships with clients and team members, fostering collaboration and trust.
• Contribute to AI thought leadership through publications, presentations, and representing PwC’s perspective.
• Stay ahead of AI trends, emerging technologies, and regulatory developments to ensure solutions remain cutting-edge.
• Proven experience designing, building, and scaling AI / ML solutions particularly in generative AI, with a strong track record in product development, not just advisory work.
• Relevant qualifications or certifications in AI / ML or related fields are advantageous.
• Solid knowledge of machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and experience with tools and models like Cursor.ai, ChatGPT, Claude, and others.
• Deep understanding of AI architecture, context engineering, and spec-driven development methodologies, with expertise in background processing techniques.
• Proficient in the full ML lifecycle, including data preprocessing, feature engineering, model selection, training, tuning, and validation.
• Strong grasp of DevOps / MLOps practices, cloud infrastructure, and automation to support scalable, production-grade AI systems.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong client focus and relationship management skills, with a collaborative, proactive approach to continuous improvement.
• Willingness and ability to travel within New Zealand as required.
• Unrivalled level of access to industry expertise, both locally and through our wider global network of member firms, where you’ll be enabled by cutting-edge technology.
• PwC shows care to employees by providing life and income protection as part of our total remuneration package.
• PwC's paid parental leave applies to all parents regardless of gender, so all our employees can be involved with raising their children
• Enhanced leave capabilities - an opportunity to purchase additional leave and two staff recognition days available each year.
• Digital upskilling through our Digital Academy.

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