AI Principal Engineer — Scale LLMs with RAG & Vector Search

Mco (Mycomplianceoffice); Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 900 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading compliance solutions provider in South Africa is seeking an accomplished AI Principal Engineer to lead the design, development, and optimization of advanced AI and machine learning solutions. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in building LLM applications, deep expertise in RAG, and a strategic mindset to drive innovation. This is a full-time role that involves mentoring teams and ensuring compliance with ethical AI standards.

Qualifications

• Experience developing enterprise-scale systems.
• Proven experience developing and delivering LLM applications.
• Expertise in RAG solutions, vector search, and embedding techniques.
• Advanced proficiency in Python, clean and maintainable coding.
• Solid understanding of database technologies (RDBMS and non-relational).
• Exceptional problem-solving abilities.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain LLM-based applications.
• Optimize AI models for performance and reliability.
• Build data pipelines for AI/ML workflows.
• Lead and mentor AI engineering teams.
• Champion responsible AI practices.

Skills

Python programming

Large Language Model applications

Retrieval-Augmented Generation

Data pipelines

AI ethics and compliance

Collaboration and communication

Tools

Git

Snowflake

Job description

A leading compliance solutions provider in South Africa is seeking an accomplished AI Principal Engineer to lead the design, development, and optimization of advanced AI and machine learning solutions. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in building LLM applications, deep expertise in RAG, and a strategic mindset to drive innovation. This is a full-time role that involves mentoring teams and ensuring compliance with ethical AI standards.