--- title: 'AI Product Engineer at Neara' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/ai-product-engineer-neara-sydney-z4z5mgrpx7wx' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-23' --- # AI Product Engineer at Neara - **Company:** Neara - **Location:** Sydney, Australia - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-10-20 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-23 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/neara/5d5bc539-94cc-46dc-b3cb-8336e03e6378 ## Job description Imagine having the power to stress-test an entire power grid against a hurricane or thunderstorm before the clouds even gather. That is the reality we are creating at Neara. We use advanced machine learning to create engineering-grade, physics enabled digital twins of electricity grids across four continents, this helps asset owners understand their biggest challenges and bring the most viable solutions to life across millions of kilometres of infrastructure. By simulating extreme weather and structural stress at a network-wide scale, we empower the world’s largest utilities to pinpoint risks, optimise investments and build a more resilient global energy future. Our team is a collection of brilliant minds who are fanatical about making a tangible difference in the real world, utilising AI and machine learning to accelerate everything from data classification to complex scenario analysis. We have built a special culture where innovation thrives because everyone owns the mission and we need smart, creative people to help us scale this impact to every corner of the globe. ## ABOUT THE ROLE Utilities come to Neara with questions that used to take months of engineering work to answer. Which of our poles can safely stay in service? Where will vegetation contact the line in the next storm season? What happens to this circuit if we add 200MW of solar? Today, getting to those answers means knowing your way around a deep, powerful platform. We are building a layer of AI-powered features on top of that platform so that far more people can get to those answers, far faster — and so that the answer comes back grounded, traceable, and defensible to an engineer who has to sign their name against it. This is a new team. As one of our first AI Product Engineers you will be shipping LLM and agentic features into a product that utilities use to make decisions about critical infrastructure, and helping set how we build with AI across engineering: our evaluation discipline, our guardrails, and our judgement about what these systems should and should not be allowed to do. To be clear about what this role is not: our Digitisation and ML Platform groups already build and run the computer vision and machine learning that turns lidar and imagery into a digital twin. You will work closely with them, but you are not doing that. Your job is the product layer — LLMs, agents, retrieval and tool use, grounded in the twin, the physics engine, and the network data our customers already trust. ## WHAT YOU WILL DO - Design, prototype and ship AI-powered features end to end — from a problem raised by a utility engineer through to something running in production and being used. - Build agentic and retrieval-based systems that are grounded in the Neara digital twin, our simulation outputs and our internal expression language, so that every answer can be traced back to the model it came from. - Own the hard part: making AI output trustworthy in a domain where a confidently wrong answer about clearance or pole loading is a safety problem, not a bad user experience. Design the guardrails, the refusals, the confidence signals and the human-in-the-loop checkpoints. - Build the evaluation discipline behind all of it — eval sets, regression testing when a model or prompt changes, offline and online quality signals, observability, prompt and context versioning, and cost and latency budgets. - Work alongside our power systems and GIS specialists to make sure what we ship is engineering-grade, not just plausible. - Spend real time with customers. Work with Product, Design and our customer-facing teams to decide what we build, kill the ideas that don't hold up, and iterate on what does. - Set the standard for how Neara engineers build with AI, including how we use coding agents in our own workflow. ## WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR Essential - [5]+ years building and shipping production software, with real depth in backend or full-stack product engineering. We need strong software engineers first. - You have shipped AI features to paying customers in a commercial product, and owned them after launch. Not a prototype, a hackathon or a weekend project — something real users depended on, that you watched break and fixed. You can talk about who used it, how many, and why it mattered to them. - Hands-on experience with the things that make LLM products actually work: retrieval, context engineering, tool use and agent orchestration, structured output, and prompt design. - You take evaluation seriously and can describe an eval approach you built, what it caught, and what it missed. - Sound judgement about where AI should and should not be used, and the instinct to design for failure modes rather than for the happy path. - Strong product sense and comfort working directly with users & product teams — including expert users who will tell you bluntly when the software is wrong. ## Nice to have - Experience shipping into regulated or enterprise environments: data residency, auditability, private deployments, security review. - Geospatial, 3D, CAD, simulation or other engineering software backgrounds. - Experience with our stack: TypeScript/React, Python, Java, Dart/Rust - Experience in our exact stack is not required — we care more about how quickly you pick a new one up, and how deeply you already use AI coding tools in your day-to-day work. - Utilities, energy or critical infrastructure domain knowledge. ## WHAT WE OFFER - Competitive salary and meaningful ESOP - Fully flexible working arrangements with a well-stocked office in Redfern - Regular office events - The real benefit: working on a complex, innovative and industry-leading product that makes a real difference in the world around us. To apply, please use the online application link below. Neara values diversity, belonging and equal employment opportunities. We encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply. Please note that you will require current and unrestricted working rights to be considered for the role. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to offer visa sponsorship at this time. No agencies or third-party service providers, please. ## #LI-AP1 ## About Neara ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Neara builds the first physics-enabled digital twin platform that models critical infrastructure networks (power grids, utilities) to simulate real-world conditions, optimize resilience, and accelerate the energy transition. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series D, raised ~AUD 90M in February 2026) - **Headquarters**: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - **Founded**: 2016 - **Founders**: Jack Curtis (Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer) and others (exact list not fully public; co-founder team includes engineering and domain experts) ## Core Business - **Primary industries**: Software Development for Energy & Infrastructure (power transmission, distribution, renewables, grid resilience) - **Target customers**: B2B – utilities (electric, gas, water), network operators, renewable energy developers, and infrastructure owners. Works with ~90% of Australian network utilities and international partners like Southern California Edison, CenterPoint Energy, ESB Networks, Scottish Power. - **Mission statement**: Provide utilities and infrastructure owners with a physics-accurate digital twin that moves them from seeing “what is” to understanding “what if,” enabling safer, more resilient systems and better-informed investment decisions. ## Products & Services - **Neara Platform (Physics-Enabled Digital Twin)**: SaaS platform that creates a geometrically precise, behaviourally accurate 3D model of entire infrastructure networks (poles, lines, vegetation, terrain). It runs network-wide simulations for severe weather, wildfire, flooding, load growth, and asset failure. Modules include: - **Resiliency & Reliability**: Assess and harden networks against storms, heat, and fire. - **Wildfire Mitigation**: Identify high-risk assets and prioritise intervention. - **Vegetation Management**: Automate clearance compliance. - **Design & Construction**: Simulate new feeder builds, pole replacements, and reconfigurations. - **Risk & Value Optimization**: Quantify investment trade-offs and regulator-ready reports. - **Renewable Energy & Decarbonization**: Analyse capacity for new generation connections and grid interconnection. ## Market Standing - **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private company). - **Key Metrics**: - **Total Funding**: ~AUD 180M (~USD 150.8M) as of Feb 2026, including Series D led by TCV. - **Annual Revenue**: ~USD 5.2M (estimated from LinkedIn; likely conservative given headcount and funding stage). - **Global Reach**: Modeled over 15 million assets covering more than 3 million km across four continents. - **Customers**: Partnerships with global utilities including Southern California Edison, CenterPoint Energy, ESB Networks, Scottish Power, Essential Energy, Ausgrid, Powercor, SA Power Networks. - **Notable Investors / Partners**: TCV (lead, Series D), Partners Group, EQT, Square Peg Capital, Skip Capital, Prosus Ventures, OIF Ventures. - **Growth Signals**: - Headcount grew 73.4% YoY (176 employees from 85). - Active job postings: 44 (up 83.3% YoY). - Series D raised AUD 90M in Feb 2026 to accelerate AI/ML talent and global expansion. - Claims customers bring new infrastructure online 85% faster and achieve 8-9 figure cost savings. ## Competitive Advantages - **Physics-first approach**: Unlike typical AI/ML pattern-matching, Neara’s digital twin is built on real-world physics (structural, thermal, loading, clearance) – grounding every simulation in engineering reality. - **Single unified model**: One platform replaces fragmented point solutions (vegetation, inspection, storm, load) – all workflows feed from the same geometrically and behaviourally accurate twin. - **Deep domain expertise**: Years working with large utilities; understands regulatory, safety, and operational constraints. - **High switching costs**: Once a utility builds its entire operations on Neara’s model, replacing it is extremely difficult. - **Global references**: Partnerships with marquee utilities in the US, Europe, and Australia provide credibility. ## Strategic Focus - **Talent pipeline**: Accelerating hiring of ML and AI engineers to further develop the physics-enabled technology. - **International expansion**: Growing commercial teams in the US, UK, Europe (Lithuania), India, and Philippines. - **Addressing infrastructure crisis**: Focusing on data centre load growth, renewable interconnection, and grid hardening under climate stress. - **Product depth**: Adding more solutions on the same platform (e.g., wildfire, flood, capacity, design). ## Why Work Here - **High-stakes impact**: Work directly affects how utilities keep the lights on, prevent wildfires, and prepare for storms – real-world consequences for every line of code. - **Engineering culture**: Deep spatial ML, computational geometry, and physics simulation – not another CRUD app. “We don’t do hypothetical,” says the careers page. - **Global team**: 176 people across 10+ countries (Australia, US, UK, Lithuania, India, Philippines, etc.). Hybrid/remote-friendly roles observed in open postings. - **Growth trajectory**: 73% headcount growth in the last year, 44 open roles – opportunity to shape the company as it scales. - **Values**: “Mission-critical impact,” “engineering-grade reality,” and “high stakes, high support.” They invest in people with talent communities and a structured hiring process. - **Notable perks**: Not explicitly listed, but emphasis on autonomy, solving ambiguous problems, and collaborative deep-dive interviews. Roles include Senior ML Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineer, Customer Success, Product Manager. ## Sources 1. [neara.com – Homepage](https://neara.com/) 2. [neara.com – Careers](https://neara.com/company/careers/) 3. [linkedin.com – Neara Company Page](https://au.linkedin.com/company/neara) 4. [neara.com – Press Release: $90M Series D](https://neara.com/resources/press/neara-raises-90-million-to-solve-the-global-infrastructure-crisis-with-ai/) 5. [neara.com – Talent Community](https://neara.com/company/talent-community/) ## Other roles at Neara - [Senior Software Engineer - Digitisation](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-digitisation-neara-sydney-ym23hg93na26) — Sydney, Australia - [Engineering Team Lead - Experience Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-team-lead-experience-platform-neara-sydney-dw9g4da1e3p4) — Sydney, Australia - [Customer Value Architect - USA (Denver)](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-value-architect-usa-denver-neara-denver-t8q5ny8m1rft) — Denver, CO - [Customer Success Engineer - Sydney](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-success-engineer-sydney-neara-sydney-74fej2a8ha6r) — Sydney, Australia - [Senior Customer Value Architect - Sydney](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-customer-value-architect-sydney-neara-sydney-mkptq565hj78) — Sydney, Australia - [Data Scientist, Geospatial](https://feeny.ai/job/data-scientist-geospatial-neara-houston-wc50yr85sgz3) — Houston, TX - [Data Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/data-engineer-neara-vilnius-d6kf564y9z46) — Vilnius, Lithuania - [Implementation Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/implementation-engineer-neara-vilnius-0c4acgsrjq6r) — Vilnius, Lithuania - [Product Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/product-designer-neara-sydney-63cf6m9k2eh0) — Sydney, Australia - [Customer Value Architect - USA (San Francisco)](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-value-architect-usa-san-francisco-neara-san-francisco-8684yf4d9g4b) — San Francisco, CA