Copilot Studio developers who have put an agent in front of real users.
FERG Search is a specialist recruiter for Copilot Studio developers and AI agent builders in Australia and New Zealand, permanent and contract, for Microsoft partners and end users. We check the agent they took live before you meet them: who used it, what broke and what they changed.
Every Microsoft tenant can build an agent in an afternoon. Very few people have kept one working in production: grounded on the right data, inside the right permissions, with someone accountable when it is wrong. Those are the Copilot Studio developers we place.
First shortlist within 48 hours of an agreed brief.
The seats we fill in Copilot Studio and AI agents.
- Copilot Studio developers and consultants.
- AI agent developers and agentic AI engineers on the Microsoft stack.
- Copilot Studio leads inside Power Platform and Dynamics 365 practices.
- Dataverse specialists building the back end agents act on.
- Copilot adoption leads who turn a licence count into usage.
- Agent governance owners: Agent 365, agent identity, cost control.
Checked technically and commercially, before you meet them.
- The agent in production, who uses it and how often.
- The grounding: the data model, the permissions and what the agent may not do.
- How they measure the agent, and what it cost to run.
- What they built themselves, and what came from a template or an accelerator.
What the seat pays.
Copilot Studio briefs stall when the budget is set for a maker and the job description asks for an engineer.
Copilot Studio developer and agent builder: $140k to $175k. Sydney. Contract $800 to $1,050 a day.
Senior AI engineer, pro-code on Azure and Microsoft Foundry: $170k to $210k. Sydney. Melbourne $165k to $200k. Contract $900 to $1,200 a day.
A Copilot Studio developer who has taken an agent live sits at the top of the band. The step to pro-code AI engineering on Microsoft Foundry adds $30k to $35k. Permanent figures are base salary excluding super. Contract figures are per day excluding GST. Sydney unless stated; Melbourne generally runs 4% to 6% lower, and where a Melbourne band is shown, that band applies.
Every partner wants the same people.
Microsoft’s Agentic Business Solutions specialization asks a partner to hold people with builder, developer and architect certifications, with live customer deployments behind them, and the badge lasts a year. Every partner that wants it needs certified Copilot Studio people on staff, and most of those people are already employed.
Straight answers on Copilot Studio and AI agents.
Who recruits Copilot Studio developers in Australia and New Zealand?
FERG Search recruits Copilot Studio developers, agent builders and AI architects for Microsoft partners and end users across Australia and New Zealand, permanent and contract. The search is run by the founder, Fintan Ferguson, from Melbourne.
What is the difference between a Power Platform developer and a Copilot Studio developer?
A Power Platform developer builds apps and flows on Dataverse. A Copilot Studio developer builds agents that act on that same data and process, and has to own what the agent does when it is wrong. Many Copilot Studio people started in Power Platform, and the gap between the two is judgement about production, not a certification.
What does a Copilot Studio developer earn in Australia?
The FERG Search Salary Guide 2026 puts a Copilot Studio developer in Sydney at $140k to $175k base, excluding super, or $800 to $1,050 a day on contract excluding GST. A pro-code senior AI engineer on Azure and Microsoft Foundry sits at $170k to $210k in Sydney and $165k to $200k in Melbourne.
Should the first Copilot Studio hire be a contractor?
Often, yes. A first agent is a defined build with a known end, which suits contract. The seat that owns the agent afterwards, its grounding, its permissions and its cost, is a permanent seat. We will tell you which one you are briefing.
Which certifications matter for Copilot Studio work?
Microsoft’s builder, developer and architect certifications for agentic business solutions are what partners need on staff for the specialization. For the person doing the work, an agent running in production with their name on it matters more than any of them, and it is the first thing we check.
Brief a Copilot Studio role.
Tell us what the agent has to do, which data it acts on and who owns it when it is wrong.