The Role at a Glance
A well-funded, product-led company is going through a major AI transformation, and they need a Lead Mobile Engineer to take the reins of their React Native / Expo mobile application.
This is not a “maintain the app” gig. This is a “rebuild the engine while the plane is flying” kind of role. You will own the mobile experience end to end, from architecture to release, while integrating cutting-edge AI features that are genuinely changing how the product works.
Comp: $200k + super + bonus
Stack: React Native, Expo, TypeScript, AI/ML integration
Location: Sydney (on-site 5 days)
What You Will Actually Be Doing
- Leading the mobile engineering function across iOS and Android via React Native / Expo
- Architecting and shipping AI-powered features that integrate with LLMs, on-device inference, and real-time personalisation
- Owning the full mobile lifecycle: CI/CD, performance, crash-free rates, app store releases
- Collaborating tightly with product, design, and backend teams to deliver features that users genuinely love
- Building and mentoring a small mobile team as the company scales
- Making key technical decisions on architecture, tooling, and third-party integrations
- Driving the migration from legacy patterns to a modern, modular, testable codebase
What We Are Looking For
- 5+ years of production React Native experience (Expo strongly preferred)
- TypeScript fluency (not optional)
- Proven experience leading or architecting a mobile product, not just contributing to one
- Genuine interest in AI/ML and how it reshapes mobile UX
- Strong opinions on state management, navigation patterns, and offline-first architectures
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines (EAS Build, Fastlane, or similar)
- An eye for performance, accessibility, and polish
- Ability to communicate clearly with non-technical stakeholders
Bonus Points
- Experience with on-device ML (Core ML, TensorFlow Lite, ONNX Runtime)
- Familiarity with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Cohere) and prompt engineering
- Background in native iOS or Android development (Swift, Kotlin)
- Open source contributions or a track record of technical writing / speaking
Why This Role Stands Out
This company is not bolting AI onto a legacy product and calling it innovation. They are rethinking the entire mobile experience around what AI makes possible. You will have real ownership, a strong team around you, and the kind of technical challenges that make Monday mornings feel exciting.
The leadership team is sharp, the product has genuine traction, and the culture values craft over speed (while still moving fast).
Interested?
If this sounds like your kind of challenge, reach out. Even if your CV is not up to date, even if you are just exploring. Let’s have a conversation.
Contact: keiran@bigwavedigital.com.au
Big Wave Digital is Sydney’s specialist technology and digital recruitment agency. We connect exceptional talent with companies building the future. Born in Sydney. Built for digital. Obsessed with tech.