  Using spin- and angle- resolved photoemission spectroscopy (spin-ARPES)
together with ${\it ab~initio}$ calculations, we demonstrate the existence of a
type-II Dirac semimetal state in NiTe$_2$. We show that, unlike PtTe$_2$,
PtSe$_2$, and PdTe$_2$, the Dirac node in NiTe$_2$ is located in close vicinity
of the Fermi energy. Additionally, NiTe$_2$ also hosts a pair of band
inversions below the Fermi level along the $\Gamma-A$ high-symmetry direction,
with one of them leading to a Dirac cone in the surface states. The bulk Dirac
nodes and the ladder of band inversions in NiTe$_2$ support unique topological
surface states with chiral spin texture over a wide range of energies. Our work
paves the way for the exploitation of the low-energy type-II Dirac fermions in
NiTe$_2$ in the fields of spintronics, THz plasmonics and ultrafast
optoelectronics.
