---
title: 'Senior Machine Learning Engineer (Platform) at Neara'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-machine-learning-engineer-platform-neara-sydney-8hw5pzkr700p'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Senior Machine Learning Engineer (Platform) at Neara

- **Company:** Neara
- **Location:** Sydney, Australia
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-09-07
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/neara/196f8d8c-6556-4eca-8b03-b34e1946e76a

## 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. The Senior MLOps Engineer builds and runs the pipelines, deployment systems, and observability that keep Neara's ML models training reliably and serving in production.

Neara is conducting cutting edge research, developing multi-modal spatial frontier models. You will help the team run faster, helping overcome challenges that have never been seen before in the world. These models work with a range of less researched data types, including point cloud, geospatial data, and asset data. The lack of research maturity in the geospatial domain and novel nature of the problem presents unique challenges around performance, data unification, and deployment.

The problem and role stretch beyond pure research. These models will be deployed with our global utility and new vertical customers, delivering real value and increased climate resilience for critical infrastructure. Your role will be critical in getting models out of the lab and into customer environments - reliably, repeatably, and economically.

## WHAT YOU'LL DO

- Build and operate ML pipelines - Own the training, evaluation, and deployment pipelines end-to-end, from data ingestion through to models running in customer environments.
- Automate the path to production - Build CI/CD for models, artefact and model registries, reproducible environments, and infrastructure as code that takes an experiment to a deployed service without manual steps.
- Keep production models healthy - Implement monitoring, alerting, and drift and data quality checks, and act as a first responder when something breaks.
- Run distributed training infrastructure - Manage GPU clusters and scheduling, keep jobs efficient and utilisation high, and troubleshoot failures across cloud, on-prem, and neocloud environments.
- Ship reliable serving infrastructure - Deploy and scale inference services that handle spiky load across regions and customers, with attention to latency, cost, and data residency requirements.
- Remove friction for the ML team - Improve the tooling and workflows ML engineers use daily, and document the standards that keep things consistent as the team grows.

## WHAT YOU'LL BRING

- Solid hands-on experience building and operating ML training pipelines, model serving, and monitoring systems in production.
- Strong Python, and working knowledge of PyTorch (or equivalent) - enough to debug a training job, not necessarily to design the model.
- Practical experience with distributed training and GPU infrastructure, including scheduling, resource management, and diagnosing throughput or memory issues.
- Experience in the cloud (AWS, GCP, or Azure), container orchestration (Kubernetes, Docker), and infrastructure as code.
- Experience with production model monitoring, data quality frameworks, and preparing training data for ML readiness.
- Sound engineering judgement - you write maintainable code, think about failure modes, and know when a quick fix is fine and when it isn't.
- Bonus: CUDA or kernel-level optimisation experience, exposure to point cloud or geospatial data, or experience supporting deployments into regulated or air-gapped customer environments.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

- Competitive salary
- Meaningful ESOP
- Fully Flexible Work Environment. We have a fully stocked office (and an impressive snack collection) in Redfern.
- Regular office events
- The real benefit is working on a genuinely complex, innovative and industry-leading product, making a genuine 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. 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

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