Field notes from the AI hiring market.
Practical observations on AI, ML, MLOps, GenAI and data engineering hiring in Australia — based on live briefs, candidate conversations, salary negotiations and what we are seeing in-market. No generic thought leadership. Just useful hiring intelligence.
Welcome to HeadHunted Insights
Notes from the AI hiring frontline — market trends, salary benchmarks, and what it actually takes to build production AI teams in Australia.
AI engineer salary benchmarks Melbourne 2026
What ML, MLOps, GenAI, and Data engineers are actually getting paid in Melbourne right now. Permanent base salaries, contract day rates, and what drives the spread.
How to hire your first ML engineer (without lighting cash on fire)
The first ML hire shapes every later one. Here's the framework we use with founders making this decision for the first time — what to look for, what to ignore, and how to avoid the three most common failure modes.