AI Engineering Lead (Contract)

The Focus Group; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

The Focus Group is seeking an Engineering Lead to drive technical leadership and engineering readiness across Digitization and Automation. You will own engineering standards, deployment architectures, and secure, scalable solution delivery, while guiding cross‑functional teams through complex challenges.

You will design, review, and implement infrastructure models, code reviews, and governance‑driven artefacts.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years' experience in software engineering, automation, systems development, or solution delivery.
• Experience across traditional software development and low-code/automation technologies.
• Demonstrated experience in .NET and/or Java development.
• Experience producing technical design and infrastructure artefacts.
• Experience conducting code reviews and providing technical leadership.
• Preferred: Banking or financial-services experience.
• Experience with AI, Azure, and enterprise integration solutions.
• Experience supporting governance and production-readiness processes.
• Relevant Microsoft, Azure, Power Platform, Blue Prism, or architecture certifications.

Responsibilities

• Act as the senior engineering authority across DnA.
• Define and maintain engineering standards, frameworks, patterns, and best practices.
• Provide technical leadership across automation, AI, low‑code, integration, and software engineering initiatives.
• Serve as the technical escalation point for complex engineering challenges.
• Drive engineering quality, consistency, scalability, security, and maintainability across all DnA solutions.
• Translate solution designs into implementable engineering approaches.
• Produce and review technical designs, infrastructure designs, deployment models, and integration architectures.
• Ensure solutions align to enterprise architecture, security, infrastructure, and operational standards.
• Identify technical risks, dependencies, and implementation challenges early.
• Validate engineering readiness before governance and production deployment.
• Support GT, architecture, security, infrastructure, and production‑readiness forums.
• Ensure engineering artefacts are complete, accurate, and governance‑ready.
• Present and defend engineering designs when required.
• Review technical assumptions, non‑functional requirements, and deployment approaches.
• Ensure that approved solutions can be successfully implemented and supported.
• Develop proof‑of‑concepts, technical spikes, and reference implementations.
• Build reusable frameworks, components, and solution skeletons.
• Conduct detailed code reviews across relevant technology stacks.
• Guide developers on coding standards, design patterns, testing, security, and engineering best practices.
• Support teams in resolving complex technical and integration challenges.
• Maintain practical development capability to validate designs and implementation approaches.
• Mentor developers, automation specialists, and engineers.
• Promote reusable engineering patterns and assets.
• Drive adoption of DevOps, DevSecOps, and modern engineering practices.
• Improve engineering maturity across all DnA streams.
• The successful candidate must demonstrate strong practical engineering capability across multiple technologies, including:
• RPA (Blue Prism or equivalent)
• Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio)
• .NET and/or Java Development
• API and Integration Development
• Azure Cloud Services
• AI and Intelligent Automation Solutions
• DevOps and CI/CD Practices
• Infrastructure and Deployment Design
• Application Security and Engineering Governance
• The role requires a hands‑on engineer who can both build and review solutions, not solely a manager or architect.

Skills

Technical leadership

Engineering quality

Automation & AI

DevOps practices

Education

Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field

Tools

Power Platform

Azure Cloud Services

Blue Prism

Job description

Job Purpose

To provide engineering leadership across Digitization and Automation by owning the technical implementation quality engineering standards, infrastructure planning, development practices, and engineering governance of DnA solutions. The Engineering Lead works across RPA, Power Platform, Intelligent Solutions, AI, integrations, and custom development initiatives to ensure that approved solution

designs are engineered, implemented, deployed, and supported in accordance with enterprise standards. This is a hands‑on leadership role. The incumbent must be capable of designing technical solutions, creating engineering artefacts, building proof‑of‑concepts and solution skeletons, reviewing code, guiding development teams, and supporting governance forums. Working alongside the Intelligent Solutions Lead, who owns solution architecture and solution design, the Engineering Lead serves as the DnA engineering authority responsible for how solutions are built, implemented, deployed, secured, and maintained.

Engineering Leadership

• Act as the senior engineering authority across DnA.

• Define and maintain engineering standards, frameworks, patterns, and best practices.

• Provide technical leadership across automation, AI, low‑code, integration, and software engineering initiatives.

• Serve as the technical escalation point for complex engineering challenges.

• Drive engineering quality, consistency, scalability, security, and maintainability across all DnA solutions.

Engineering Design and Technical Assurance

• Translate solution designs into implementable engineering approaches.

• Produce and review technical designs, infrastructure designs, deployment models, and integration architectures.

• Ensure solutions align to enterprise architecture, security, infrastructure, and operational standards.

• Identify technical risks, dependencies, and implementation challenges early.

• Validate engineering readiness before governance and production deployment.

Governance and Engineering Readiness

• Support GT, architecture, security, infrastructure, and production‑readiness forums.

• Ensure engineering artefacts are complete, accurate, and governance‑ready.

• Present and defend engineering designs when required.

• Review technical assumptions, non‑functional requirements, and deployment approaches.

• Ensure that approved solutions can be successfully implemented and supported.

Hands‑On Development and Code Review

• Develop proof‑of‑concepts, technical spikes, and reference implementations.

• Build reusable frameworks, components, and solution skeletons.

• Conduct detailed code reviews across relevant technology stacks.

• Guide developers on coding standards, design patterns, testing, security, and engineering best practices.

• Support teams in resolving complex technical and integration challenges.

• Maintain practical development capability to validate designs and implementation approaches.

Engineering Capability and Continuous Improvement

• Mentor developers, automation specialists, and engineers.

• Promote reusable engineering patterns and assets.

• Drive adoption of DevOps, DevSecOps, and modern engineering practices.

• Improve engineering maturity across all DnA streams.

Technical Knowledge and Experience

The successful candidate must demonstrate strong practical engineering capability across multiple technologies, including:

• RPA (Blue Prism or equivalent)

• Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio)

• .NET and/or Java Development

• API and Integration Development

• Azure Cloud Services

• AI and Intelligent Automation Solutions

• DevOps and CI/CD Practices

• Infrastructure and Deployment Design

• Application Security and Engineering Governance

The role requires a hands‑on engineer who can both build and review solutions, not solely a manager or architect.

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.

• 8+ years' experience in software engineering, automation, systems development, or solution delivery.

• Experience across traditional software development and low‑code/automation technologies.

• Demonstrated experience in .NET and/or Java development.

• Experience producing technical design and infrastructure artefacts.

• Experience conducting code reviews and providing technical leadership.

Preferred

• Banking or financial‑services experience.

• Experience with AI, Azure, and enterprise integration solutions.

• Experience supporting governance and production‑readiness processes.

• Relevant Microsoft, Azure, Power Platform, Blue Prism, or architecture certifications.

Behavioural Competencies

• Technical Leadership

• Problem Solving

• Strategic Thinking

• Decision Making

• Innovation

• Stakeholder Management

• Coaching and Mentoring

• Collaboration

• Continuous Improvement

• Delivery Focus

Key Success Measures

• Improved engineering quality across DnA solutions.

• Improved readiness of solutions submitted to GT and governance forums.

• Reduction in technical defects, rework, and technical debt.

• Increased adoption of engineering standards and reusable patterns.

• Improved developer capability through technical leadership and coaching.

• Delivery of secure, scalable, maintainable, and supportable solutions.

Role Positioning within DnA

The Intelligent Solutions Lead owns solution architecture, solution design, technology selection, and overall solution governance. The Engineering Lead owns engineering execution, technical implementation, infrastructure planning, engineering standards, deployment architecture, code quality, technical assurance, and engineering readiness. Together, these roles provide the end‑to‑end capability required to take solutions from concept through architecture, engineering, governance, implementation, and production support. In practical terms, the Engineering Lead should be equally comfortable reviewing a Blue Prism design, conducting a Power Apps code review, designing a deployment architecture, building a .NET or Java integration service, creating infrastructure diagrams, or guiding teams through complex engineering challenges. This role effectively serves as the Principal Engineer for the Digitization and Automation function.