ASX-listed engineering contractor Downer has set up a new internal group with a remit to bring IoT and artificial intelligence - among other technologies - to the major projects it works on.

The company disclosed the “newly formed group” in recruitment advertisements posted overnight.

Downer Digital Data Services - or D3S - will be asked to use “cutting edge technologies such as IoT, machine learning, visualisation, AI, modern applications and augmented reality supported by [a] custom-built state of the art cloud-based platform.”

The company is now recruiting a lead integration and IoT specialist to sit in the group.

They will be “responsible for establishing the frameworks and standards for delivering integration and IoT capability within the team” as well as finding ways to “intercept data from a variety of devices and source systems and translate it in a way our platform can understand and analyse it.”

The company said that it already had “several projects underway” but did not reveal their nature.

However, it did suggest some of the kinds of gains it is looking to achieve.

“How can we improve the customer experience of public transport whilst optimising maintenance and operations cost?” it said in the advertisement.

“How can we optimise the life of mining equipment fleet whilst simultaneously increasing productivity?"

Downer recently tapped Cisco as its new network partner for IoT deployments, forming an alliance to push “joint” solutions for transport and smart cities across Australia.

It is unclear whether the partnership sits within D3S or in another part of the business.