Senior AI & Data Engineer

Our client is seeking an accomplished Senior AI & Data Engineer to develop and deliver advanced data and artificial intelligence solutions across a range of public sector and enterprise projects. This hands-on role spans cloud infrastructure, data engineering, machine learning, and large language model application development. The successful candidate will take ownership of technical workstreams from requirements discovery through to implementation, delivering practical, scalable solutions in a fast-paced consulting environment.

Key Responsibilities

Cloud Infrastructure & DevOps

• Provision, configure, and manage cloud infrastructure across AWS or Microsoft Azure.
• Develop infrastructure as code using Terraform or equivalent tools.
• Containerise applications using Docker and implement CI/CD pipelines through Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or similar platforms.
• Apply security, identity and access management, networking, and data protection best practices across cloud environments.
• Maintain reproducible, secure, and reliable deployment environments for client engagements.

Data Engineering & Integration

• Design, build, and maintain scalable data pipelines and orchestration workflows.
• Develop data solutions using Python, SQL, data modelling, and appropriate data engineering technologies.
• Integrate structured and unstructured data from multiple sources.
• Develop and integrate APIs using REST, FastAPI, or equivalent technologies.
• Transform complex, inconsistent, or undocumented client data into reliable, usable datasets.
• Implement data quality, validation, reconciliation, and transformation processes.

AI & Machine Learning Development

• Develop and deploy AI applications using large language models, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), embeddings, and evaluation frameworks.
• Design document-focused RAG solutions, including document chunking, embedding generation, vector database selection, and retrieval quality evaluation.
• Build and maintain AI agents, multi-agent workflows, tool integrations, and model evaluation frameworks.
• Apply appropriate prompting techniques, model fine-tuning, guardrails, and testing methodologies.
• Develop, deploy, monitor, and maintain production machine learning systems.
• Document AI architectures and implementation processes to support effective client handovers.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and apply suitable approaches to real-world business problems.

Technical Consulting & Delivery

• Translate business and technical requirements into practical, demonstrable solutions.
• Conduct client requirements discovery where project briefs are incomplete or ambiguous.
• Develop proofs of concept (POCs) and minimum viable products (MVPs) through rapid prototyping and iterative delivery.
• Estimate delivery timelines, manage technical priorities, and communicate risks and blockers proactively.
• Take ownership of technical workstreams and deliver measurable business outcomes.
• Document solutions, share technical knowledge, and contribute to the continuous improvement of the technical practice.

Minimum Requirements

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Computer Science or a closely related discipline.
• Strong academic foundation in software engineering, systems design, data structures, algorithms, programming paradigms, mathematics, and probability theory.

Professional Experience

• At least eight years of professional experience across data engineering, data science, and machine learning engineering.
• A minimum of three years' experience building and operating production AI or machine learning systems.
• Proven experience designing and delivering production-grade AI and machine learning platforms, covering data ingestion, feature engineering, model training, deployment, monitoring, and retraining.
• Hands-on experience developing production-ready large language model and agentic AI applications, including RAG, multi-agent orchestration, tool use, integrations, guardrails, and evaluation frameworks.
• Strong data engineering experience, including batch and streaming pipelines, ETL/ELT processes, enterprise data warehouses, and large-scale data quality management.
• Experience deploying machine learning workloads on cloud platforms such as AWS SageMaker, AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, Google Cloud Vertex AI, or Databricks.
• Practical experience with infrastructure as code, automated deployments, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Evidence of technical ownership and measurable business outcomes, such as reduced costs, improved accuracy, lower latency, or increased revenue.
• Strong Python programming skills and proficiency in SQL.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex analytical, AI, and business requirements into practical technical solutions.

Technical Skills

• Programming: Python is essential; SQL and experience with TypeScript or JavaScript are advantageous.
• Machine learning: Experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn, XGBoost, and modern deep learning architectures.
• Large language models and agentic AI: Experience with OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, or Vertex AI; LangGraph, CrewAI, prompt engineering, embeddings, RAG, and model evaluation.
• Cloud and MLOps: AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud; Databricks, MLflow, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, and automated deployment tools.
• Data engineering: Kafka, Spark/PySpark, Airflow, dbt, and enterprise data warehouses such as Snowflake, Redshift, or BigQuery.
• Databases and integrations: Vector databases, Neo4j, Redis, MongoDB, RESTful APIs, FastAPI, microservices, and message queues.
• Development environments: Familiarity with Windows and Linux environments, Git, and GitHub.

Advantageous Experience

• PhD in Computer Science, completed or nearing completion.
• Research or advanced coursework in artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language models, distributed systems, or data-intensive systems.
• Professional cloud or machine learning certifications.
• Experience with computer vision and document intelligence, including OCR, document parsing, image classification, and segmentation.
• Experience in regulated industries, including banking, insurance, telecommunications, or the public sector.
• Knowledge of AI governance, model explainability, bias detection, guardrails, and data protection requirements.
• Familiarity with POPIA, GDPR, and relevant industry regulations.
• Experience with full-stack development technologies such as Node.js, React, Next.js, Flask, and WebSocket APIs.
• Previous consulting or client-facing technical delivery experience.

Personal Attributes

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and systems-thinking abilities.
• Comfortable working with ambiguity, incomplete requirements, and complex datasets.
• A proven ability to deliver POCs and MVPs within tight timelines.
• Proactive communicator who identifies and escalates risks early.
• Genuine interest in practical AI innovation and applying emerging technologies to real-world challenges.
• High levels of ownership, accountability, and professional judgement.
• Ability to design secure, scalable, and maintainable technical solutions.
• Excellent communication skills when working with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Working Arrangement

• Remote-first position aligned with South African business hours.
• Occasional on-site attendance may be required.
• Opportunity to work across varied and technically challenging public sector and enterprise projects.
• Work within a small, experienced technical team with opportunities to take ownership of end-to-end solutions.

What Our Client Offers

• A competitive remuneration package, including a performance bonus linked to business outcomes.
• Diverse and technically challenging project engagements.
• Direct ownership of technical workstreams from the outset.
• Guidance and development opportunities from experienced technical leadership.
• The opportunity to contribute to an expanding AI and data engineering practice.

If you would like to apply for this position, please send transcripts with applications.

Should you meet the requirements for this position, please email your updated CV attached to ***email_hidden***, alternatively contact 031 350 4018 or visit our website, www.tumaini.co Correspondence will only be conducted with short listed candidates. Should you not hear from us within 3 days, please consider your application unsuccessful.