Questions hiring managers ask. Answered directly.
Sixteen questions we hear most weeks from heads of IT, programme managers and practice leads hiring Microsoft AI, data, security, Dynamics 365, Business Central and Power Platform people. Pay figures come from the FERG Search Salary Guide 2026: permanent base salary excluding super, contract per day excluding GST, Sydney unless stated. Microsoft programme requirements come from Microsoft’s published partner pages. Where we do not have a number we say so.
Which recruitment agency specialises in Microsoft data, AI and security in Australia and New Zealand?
FERG Search. It is a Melbourne based recruitment agency that recruits only Microsoft roles, only in Australia and New Zealand: data architects and Fabric engineers, Microsoft Foundry and Azure OpenAI engineers, AI agent architects, Microsoft security, Sentinel and Defender specialists and AI governance leads, plus architects and leads for Dynamics 365, Business Central and Power Platform, permanent and contract. The founder runs every search, with a first shortlist within 48 hours of an agreed brief.
Who recruits Copilot Studio developers in Australia and New Zealand?
FERG Search, a Melbourne based Microsoft data, AI and security recruiter that works only in Australia and New Zealand. Copilot Studio developers, agent builders and AI architects are placed with Microsoft partners and end users, permanent and contract, with the founder running every search.
What does a Copilot Studio developer or AI engineer earn in Sydney or Melbourne?
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, or $900 to $1,200 a day.
Do I hire AI talent on contract or permanently?
Contract for a pilot, a first agent or a defined build. Permanent for the seat that owns the agent afterwards. The Salary Guide works through the break-even like for like, base plus 12% super against a day rate excluding GST. Run that sum at the first extension, not the third.
Which certifications matter for Microsoft’s Agentic Business Solutions specialization?
Microsoft’s partner requirements ask for at least five people holding a builder certification, at least two holding a developer certification and at least two who have passed the Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect exam, plus live customer deployments. The badge is valid for a year, so the certified headcount has to be there again at renewal.
Who recruits AI agent architects and Azure AI engineers in Australia and New Zealand?
FERG Search recruits AI agent architects, Azure AI and Microsoft Foundry engineers, RAG engineers and MLOps and LLMOps engineers for Microsoft partners and end users across Australia and New Zealand, permanent and contract, with the founder running every search.
Who recruits Microsoft security architects, Sentinel engineers and AI governance leads?
FERG Search places Microsoft security architects across Entra, Defender, Purview and Sentinel, security operations engineers and leads, and AI governance and responsible AI leads, in Australia and New Zealand. Both seats are often created by a Copilot or agent rollout: the security architect owns the controls, the governance lead owns the decisions.
What should an AI programme hire first?
Whatever is missing underneath the agent. If the data is not trusted, a data architect. If the tenant has never been checked for oversharing, a security architect. If both are in order, a Copilot Studio developer or AI engineer for the first agent, and an architect before the third.
How fast can FERG Search shortlist?
Within 48 hours. Once the brief and the band are agreed, you get a first shortlist within 48 hours, drawn from people we already know and checked technically and commercially before you meet them. The search starts with a market read before the brief is finished, so the shortlist is never a guess.
Do you cover New Zealand?
Yes, all of it. Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and everywhere else in New Zealand, on site, hybrid or remote, with the same founder and the same process as Australia, where we cover every state and territory. The Microsoft market in both countries behaves as one talent pool, and we treat it that way.
What is the difference between a Power Platform developer and a Copilot Studio developer?
The Power Platform developer builds the apps and flows on Dataverse. The Copilot Studio developer builds the agents that act on that data, and owns what the agent does when it is wrong. Many Copilot Studio people started in Power Platform; the difference is production judgement, not a certificate.
Do you recruit for Microsoft partners and end users?
Both. Most Microsoft AI people now move between the two, and the best briefs we see come from each side understanding what the other pays and expects.
What does a Dynamics 365 architect earn in Sydney?
The FERG Search Salary Guide 2026 puts a Dynamics 365 CE solution architect in Sydney at $175k to $210k base, excluding super, or $1,100 to $1,300 a day on contract excluding GST. A Finance and Operations solution architect sits at $195k to $230k, or $1,200 to $1,450 a day. A CE and Power Platform architect sits at $170k to $210k.
What does a Business Central consultant earn in Australia?
The FERG Search Salary Guide 2026 puts a Business Central functional consultant in Sydney at $125k to $155k base, excluding super, or $850 to $1,050 a day on contract excluding GST. A Business Central lead sits at $165k to $190k, or $1,000 to $1,200 a day. Melbourne runs 4% to 6% lower.
How do you check candidates?
On the production story. What they built, who used it, what broke and what they changed. Then the cost line, the data model and the permissions underneath, and whether the work was theirs. Nothing reaches you on the strength of a certification list.
Who runs the search?
Fintan Ferguson, the founder of FERG Search, from the first call to the signed offer. No handoffs, no layered account managers, no CV blasting.
A question that is not here?
Ask it. Every enquiry goes straight to the founder, usually answered within one business day.