For employers
Pre-screened Data, AI, Cloud and DevOps professionals, shortlisted by recruiters who understand the work.
- Permanent and contract hiring
- Leadership searches and team builds
- Technical screening before you interview
Specialist recruitment for data, AI and cloud.
Ascend Talent is a boutique Melbourne recruitment agency connecting Australian employers with proven Data, AI, Cloud and DevOps professionals, for permanent, contract and leadership roles.
Hire higher. Climb further.
Placing tech talent across Australian industries
- Financial services
- Government
- Healthcare
- Energy and utilities
- Superannuation
Built for both sides of the hire.
Great placements happen when employers and candidates are both looked after properly. We work for both, with the same honesty.
For candidates
Roles that match your skills and ambitions, and a recruiter who knows the difference between Spark and Snowflake.
- Roles matched to your skills and goals
- Honest salary and market advice
- Interview preparation and real feedback
For contractors
Contract roles with organisations that value specialist skills, on terms that are clear from day one.
- Contract and fixed-term roles
- Rates and terms explained up front
- Help lining up your next contract
Specialisms we recruit.
We focus on six areas of technology and nothing else, so we know the skills, the market and the people.
Data
Data engineering
Data engineers, architects and platform leads across Databricks, Snowflake, Fabric, AWS and Azure.
Learn more AIAI and machine learning
ML engineers, data scientists, GenAI and MLOps specialists who take models into production.
Learn more CloudCloud engineering
Cloud engineers, architects and security specialists across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud.
Learn more DevOpsDevOps and platform
DevOps, site reliability and platform engineers skilled in Terraform, Kubernetes and CI/CD.
Learn more InsightData analytics and BI
Data analysts, BI developers, analytics engineers and data governance specialists.
Learn more LeadersLeadership search
Heads of data and AI, chief data officers, principal architects and engineering managers.
Learn moreFrom brief to placement, in four stages.
A clear, consultative process with no wasted interviews. You'll always know where your search stands.
- 01
Brief
We learn the role, the team and what success looks like in the first year.
- 02
Search
We tap our network and targeted search, and screen every candidate technically.
- 03
Shortlist
A focused shortlist of people who fit the role and the team, with notes on each.
- 04
Place
We manage interviews, offers and onboarding, then check in after the start.
Boutique by design, technical by default.
Recruiters who understand the tech
Founded by a data engineering practitioner, so we can tell a lakehouse from a data swamp, and a strong engineer from a polished CV.
Specialists, not generalists
We only recruit Data, AI, Cloud and DevOps roles. That focus means deeper networks and better matches.
Quality over volume
Short, considered shortlists instead of a pile of CVs. Every candidate is screened against your brief first.
Honest with everyone
Candidates get real feedback. Employers get frank market advice, even when it isn't what they hoped to hear.
Skills and platforms we recruit for.
Microsoft FabricDatabricksSnowflakedbtApache SparkPythonSQLKafkaAirflowPower BIAWSAzureGoogle CloudTerraformKubernetesDockerGitHub ActionsAzure DevOpsAzure OpenAIAmazon BedrockMLflow
Ready for your next ascent?
Hiring for a critical role, or ready for your next move? Talk to a specialist recruiter. We reply within one business day.