AI Development Specialist

Indsafri; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,600,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology company in South Africa seeks an experienced AI Solutions Lead to design, build, and deploy production-grade AI solutions on Microsoft Azure. The candidate must have over 7 years in software engineering and a proven track record of delivering production AI solutions. Responsibilities include implementing AI using Azure services, developing secure APIs, and optimizing performance. A degree in a relevant field and expertise in RAG system design and compliance are required.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in software/ML engineering with production AI solutions.
• Proven track record of solutions with architecture diagrams and runbooks.
• Expertise in RAG system design and performance optimization.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement AI solutions using Azure AI services.
• Develop secure APIs and integrate with enterprise systems.
• Containerize workloads and deploy to Azure Kubernetes Service.

Skills

Azure OpenAI Service

Azure Machine Learning

Data Lake Storage

Azure Functions

Machine Learning

RAG system design

Performance Optimization

Data Engineering

Responsible AI principles

Education

Degree in Computer Science/Engineering/Math or equivalent industry experience

Tools

Azure DevOps

GitHub Actions

MLflow

Bicep/ARM/Terraform

Job description

Lead the design, build, and deployment of production-grade AI solutions on Microsoft Azure. Own end-to-end delivery—from data pipelines to model deployment, ensuring security, reliability, and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement AI solutions using Azure AI services (OpenAI, AI Search, Machine Learning).
• Develop secure APIs and integrate with enterprise systems using Azure API Management and Event Hub.
• Containerize workloads and deploy to AKS, App Service, or Functions with CI/CD.
• Ensure observability, performance tuning, and cost optimization for AI workloads.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and document architecture, runbooks, and best practices.

Core Tech Stack

• Data & Integration: Data Lake Storage, Synapse/Fabric, Data Factory, Event Hub, API Management.
• Compute & Hosting: AKS, Azure Functions, App Service; IaC with Bicep/ARM/Terraform.
• DevOps/MLOps: Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions, MLflow integration, telemetry.

Required Experience

• 7+ years in software/ML engineering, with 3+ years delivering production AI solutions on.
• Proven track record of shipped solutions with architecture diagrams and runbooks.
• Expertise in RAG system design, prompt engineering, and performance optimization.
• Strong data engineering skills and secure integration patterns.
• Applied knowledge of Responsible AI principles and compliance requirements.

Core Competencies

• Outcome-oriented with strong problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Collaborative leadership and mentoring capability.
• Adaptability to ambiguity and incremental delivery approaches.

Nice-to-Have

• Experience with Microsoft Fabric and Databricks on Azure.
• Domain experience in financial services.
• Azure AI Engineer Associate certification or equivalent.

Qualifications

Degree in Computer Science/Engineering/Math or equivalent industry experience.

Skills

Azure OpenAI Service AI Studio AI Search Azure Machine Learning Data Lake Storage Synapse Fabric data factory Event Hub API Management AKS Azure Functions App service IaC Bicep ARM Terraform Azure DevOps GitHub Actions MLflow Python C# .Net TypeScript Node.js langchain Semantic Kernel Software Engineering ML Engineering RAG system design prompt engineering Performance Optimization Data Engineering Secure Integration Patterns Responsible AI principles microsoft fabric Databricks financial services