Senior Full-Stack Engineer Needed for Operations Platform Build

We're an Australian advisory firm scoping the technical delivery of a 6-month operations platform build for an established manufacturing client (an industrial water treatment business, ~$30M revenue, ~50 staff, 20 deployed sites across Australia). The platform: a custom-built operations system replacing scattered spreadsheets, Salesforce, and manual workflows. SQL database, web server, Vue frontend, AI agent layer for document parsing and anomaly detection. Five priority modules built in sequence over 24 weeks: service operations dashboard with AI lab-results review, task request automation, inventory and serial-number tracking with offshore unit reconciliation, workshop manufacturing execution (big-screen build progress + per-station tablets), and a sales/quotes module replacing Salesforce. The setup: the client has an in-house developer who built the platform foundation (SQL data model, Vue scaffolding, basic CRUD, timesheet module) starting in February. He's competent and continues as the platform owner. We're hiring you to accelerate the priority module delivery and lead the AI agent work, working alongside him with weekly architecture syncs. What we're looking for in this round: senior engineers willing to review this brief, propose a delivery approach, and (for the strongest 3–5 applicants) join a Zoom to discuss. From those calls we'll select 1–2 to engage for the build. We're testing fit, technical opinion, and timeline realism before committing. Tech stack you'll work in: Backend: SQL (Postgres preferred), Node.js or similar Frontend: Vue 3, ideally with experience on dashboard-heavy enterprise UIs AI: hands-on with Claude or OpenAI APIs, ideally with production agent deployments behind you (not just prototypes) Cloud: AWS Sydney (data sovereignty matters — client heading into PE diligence) Bonus: any manufacturing, industrial, or B2B operations platform experience Engagement shape we're considering: Either dedicated hourly (20–40 hrs/wk) or fixed-price per priority module. Open to your view. AU-friendly hours preferred — at least 4 hours of overlap with Brisbane time (UTC+10) for sync sessions. To apply, answer the screening questions below. Generic proposals will be rejected without reading. We're looking for engineers who actually engaged with the brief.