Applied Scientist - AI Products
At a glance
Mid-level AI Research role at Xero. Melbourne · full-time.
Pay not stated AI Research salary
aimlroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Turn loosely defined business questions into experiments, prototypes, evaluations and working product implementations
- Choose between heuristics, traditional machine learning and LLM approaches based on the problem
- Build reusable Python code and robust data pipelines with engineering partners
- Use NLP and computer vision to tackle real product challenges
What you bring
- You write software that is testable and maintainable, with strong engineering fundamentals
- You apply probability, linear algebra and calculus to machine-learning problems
- You have used NLP or computer vision on live product challenges
- You can shape ambiguous business needs into research plans and work with product, design and engineering
Who this fits
This mid-level role suits an applied scientist who combines scientific curiosity with practical product delivery. It is based in Melbourne and uses a hybrid model, with office and team collaboration days.
From the employer
The role and its impact
You'll turn tough, ambiguous problems into elegant, data-driven products and services, moving between experimental design, prototyping, evaluation and more rigorous implementation depending on what the problem calls for. Some days that means a simple heuristic, others a traditional ML model, and others the latest in LLMs, and part of the job is judging which is genuinely right for the problem in front of you.
Working closely with cross-functional peers and holding coding standards high, your work will help ideas move smoothly from theory into real-world deployment. You'll also help lift scientific capability across Xero, contributing to a culture of intellectual rigour, healthy scepticism and mutual respect, Going Further by making evidence-based thinking part of how Xero builds.
The team and how they connect
You'll join AI Products, a close-knit team of seven based in Melbourne, building intelligent services that make a real difference for small businesses. The team balances business priorities with research demands to solve tangible customer problems, and works together to match each one to the right approach rather than reaching for complexity by default.
The team is currently working on
Solving real business problems through experiment-based science, from framing the question through to rigorous implementation
Choosing the right approach for each problem, whether that's a heuristic, a traditional ML model, or an LLM-based solution
Writing testable, maintainable, reusable code in Python, building robust data pipelines alongside engineering peers
Applying techniques such as NLP and computer vision to genuine product challenges at Xero's scale
Where and how you can work
Xero offers a flexible hybrid working model designed to blend the collaboration of office life with the autonomy of remote work. You will have access to our modern office spaces, with expectations around office days and collaborative 'boost days' aligned to help your team connect and ship great code effectively.
Here are some of the things we're looking for, for this role
Scientific curiosity sits alongside solid software engineering fundamentals, so you can write code that's testable, maintainable and built to last.
Probability, linear algebra and calculus aren't just theory to you, they're tools you reach for when applying machine learning to real product problems.
You've genuinely applied techniques like NLP or computer vision to live product challenges, not just studied them.
Data wrangling and pipeline work are familiar ground, and you know what good evaluation, measurement and experimentation look like in practice.
Faced with a loosely defined business problem, you can shape it into a clear research direction, working closely with product, design and engineering partners along the way.
You hold yourself to high standards of integrity and ownership, and you pair confidence in your work with a healthy dose of scepticism about it.
Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team.