Role details
• Part-time: approximately 2 to 3 days per week (16-24 hours per week)
• Expected start date: 1 October 2026
• Location: Australia; hybrid/on-site preferred in Sydney, remote accepted elsewhere in Australia
• One position available

About the role
Pretian Squared is looking for an early-career software engineer to help build and maintain our AI, automation and internal software platforms.
You will work across web applications, APIs, integrations, automation workflows and AI-enabled tools. This is a practical engineering role where you will work on real systems, investigate problems and ship improvements.
We use AI development tools extensively. We are looking for someone who can use them effectively while still understanding, reviewing, testing and taking responsibility for their work.

Reports to: Lead Engineer / Partner

What you will do
• Build and improve internal web applications and automation tools
• Develop AI-enabled workflows and business-process automation
• Build API and business-system integrations
• Investigate bugs and deliver software features
• Work across frontend, backend and databases
• Write and maintain automated tests
• Support websites, internal platforms and selected client-facing tools
• Prepare pull requests and verify changes before release
• Consider security, permissions and data handling when making changes
• Maintain clear technical documentation

How you will work
The role will initially be part-time, approximately two to three days per week, with potential to move to full-time by mutual agreement.
You will initially work on selected repositories and clearly scoped tasks, with changes reviewed through pull requests. As you become familiar with the systems and demonstrate good engineering judgement, you will gradually take ownership of selected platforms and automation workstreams.
In your cover letter, briefly describe one software or automation project you built, how you have used AI development tools or automation, and how you verified that your work behaved correctly.

What we are looking for
• Good JavaScript or TypeScript fundamentals
• Experience building web applications through employment, freelance work, internships or substantial projects
• Understanding of APIs and basic application architecture
• Working knowledge of Git and GitHub
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills
• Basic automated-testing experience
• Practical interest or experience in AI and automation
• Ability to understand and modify an existing codebase
• Ability to work independently on defined tasks and ask questions when needed

We care more about what you have built, understood and shipped than the number of years you have worked.

AI-assisted engineering
AI tools are part of how we work. You are encouraged to use tools such as Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot or similar tools for development, debugging, testing and research.

You should be able to use AI to move faster while reviewing its output, keeping changes appropriately scoped and verifying everything you submit. Experience building AI-enabled workflows or business-process automation is particularly valuable.

Useful experience
Experience with any of the following is useful but not required: React, Next.js, Angular, Node.js, Python, MongoDB, Playwright, Vitest, GitHub Actions, Vercel, Railway, AWS, Cloudflare, Microsoft 365, SharePoint or AI automation tools.