Head of AI / Director of AI
LeadershipPermanent package (Syd, Large)
$230k to $290k (package incl super + bonus)
Contract day rate
$1,680 to $2,280
GALILESEARCH
Australia's AI leadership search firm.
We find the AI leader, then build their team. Head of AI, Chief AI Officer and AI Transformation search, plus the engineers, architects and governance leads they hire next. Permanent and contract.
Galileo P1 salary dataset, July 2026. Explore every role, city and company size in the free salary tool.
Galileo Reviewed talent
Brief us. We interview. You hire.
Screened pools of AI leaders, engineers, architects and governance leads, verified before you ever see a CV. Shortlists within 48 hours.
What we recruit
The leader first. Then the team they build.
Flagship
The leadership hire
Head of AI & CAIO Searchpackages $230-350k
Heads of AI, GMs of AI and Chief AI Officers who own the mandate from board to build.
#Permanent#Retained
Explore the market Fastest-rising
The governance wave
AI Governance & Risk$180K-272K package
Governance, risk and responsible-AI leads who keep the programme audit-ready.
#Permanent#Sprint
Explore the market Active
The operating leader
AI Transformation Leadstypically $120-180k+
Transformation and adoption leads who move AI from pilot to P&L across the business.
#Adopt#Enable#Transform
Explore the market Largest market
The build team
AI Engineers & Architectssenior $150-200k, leads $200-270k
The build team the leader hires next: engineers, architects and ML specialists.
#Permanent#Contract
Explore the market Packages are Sydney, large company figures from the Galileo rate card, July 2026. Full bands and sources in the AI salary guide.
How we work
Three steps. One accountable partner.
- 01
Brief
One structured conversation to define the mandate, the reporting line and the package.
- 02
Shortlist
Drawn from screened talent pools we already know, not job-board scraping.
- 03
Placement
The hire, plus the 12-month team plan for the roles they hire next.
Salary intelligence
We publish the salary data the market hides.
9 in 10 Australian AI job ads hide pay. Every band below traces to live postings, published guides and our own placement data.
| Role | Permanent package (Syd, Large) | Contract day rate |
|---|---|---|
Head of AI / Director of AILeadership | $230k to $290k (package incl super + bonus) | $1,680 to $2,280 |
Chief AI OfficerStrategy | $262K to $518K | $1,500 to $3,200 |
AI Transformation / Adoption LeadLeadership | $120k to $180k+ | $1,560 to $2,110 |
Gen AI EngineerPlatforms | $176K to $225K | $1,000 to $1,600 |
AI Solutions ArchitectPlatforms | $190K to $264K | $1,100 to $1,900 |
AI Governance ManagerGovernance | $180K to $272K | $1,000 to $1,700 |
Chief AI Officer
StrategyPermanent package (Syd, Large)
$262K to $518K
Contract day rate
$1,500 to $3,200
AI Transformation / Adoption Lead
LeadershipPermanent package (Syd, Large)
$120k to $180k+
Contract day rate
$1,560 to $2,110
Gen AI Engineer
PlatformsPermanent package (Syd, Large)
$176K to $225K
Contract day rate
$1,000 to $1,600
AI Solutions Architect
PlatformsPermanent package (Syd, Large)
$190K to $264K
Contract day rate
$1,100 to $1,900
AI Governance Manager
GovernancePermanent package (Syd, Large)
$180K to $272K
Contract day rate
$1,000 to $1,700
Total package incl. super. Sydney, large company, principal and senior manager level. Galileo rate card, reconciled against the P1 dataset. July 2026. Leadership day rates are interim and fractional engagement rates; advertised day-rate markets for those seats are thin. Full bands and methodology in the AI salary guide.
Proprietary data, published free
Benchmark any AI seat, in any Australian city.
The live salary tool holds 22,000+ data points across 74 AI roles, 6 cities, 7 company types and 7 seniority levels. Permanent packages and contract day rates. Free, no sign-up, no paywall.
Gen AI Engineer · median package by city
- Sydney$207k$1,090/day
- Melbourne$197k$1,040/day
- Brisbane$182k$960/day
- Perth$186k$980/day
- Adelaide$176k$930/day
- Canberra$218k$1,150/day
Median total package incl. super, senior level, large company. Galileo P1 salary dataset, July 2026. Every seniority, company size and city breakdown lives in the tool.
Why the leadership hire matters
42%
abandoned most AI initiatives in 2025
S&P Global
95%
of GenAI pilots show no P&L impact
MIT
76%
now have a chief AI officer, up from 26%
IBM, 2026
The difference is who owns it. The leadership hire decides which statistic you become.
Trusted by leading Australian organisations
- Harvey Norman
- GWF
- Smart Group
- CHG Meridian
- Blackmores
- Temple & Webster
- ACS
- NFS
- Shopback
- Vestone Capital
Advisory
Before you hire: our advisory arm runs fixed-fee AI Discovery.
Galileo Logic maps where AI pays off in your business before you commit to a leadership hire. And the Galileo Avatar shows you working AI trained on a business like yours.
Permanent and contract. Australia-wide.
Brief a role today.
Tell us the mandate. We come back with the market view, the salary band and a shortlist plan.