Applied AI Engineer

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

Job summary

HENSOLDT South Africa is seeking an Applied AI Engineer to develop, deploy and maintain AI solutions across process automation and product applications. The role blends software engineering with applied ML, LLMs and Edge AI to improve efficiency and product capability.

The ideal candidate has a BEng in Electronic or Computer Engineering with at least 6 years of software engineering experience, including 2 years in ML/DL, and advanced degrees or certifications in ML/AI are advantageous.

Qualifications

• BEng in Electronic Engineering or Computer Engineering.
• Minimum 6 years’ professional software-engineering experience, including at least 2 years in applied machine learning or deep-learning model development.
• Honours or Master’s Degree in Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence is advantageous.
• Certification or formal training in ML/AI tools or platforms is advantageous.
• Experience with large language models, computer vision or Edge AI is advantageous.
• Experience in defence or regulated environments and traceability requirements is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and optimise deployed open-weight AI models, GPU hardware and services in an on-premise AI environment for secure and efficient platform operation.
• Develop and improve AI agents to generate organisational, technical and process documentation within approved templates.
• Extend automated pipelines to generate engineering-design and traceability records from source code.
• Develop and integrate Edge AI modules across product architectures to enhance functionality while respecting constraints.
• Train and advise engineering teams on responsible AI use and maintain specialist knowledge through research and development.

Job description

About The Role

The Applied AI Engineer develops, deploys and maintains artificial-intelligence solutions across process automation and product applications. The role combines professional software engineering with applied machine learning, large language models and Edge AI to improve operational efficiency, automate engineering processes and enhance product capability within a controlled engineering environment.

Qualification and experience

• BEng in Electronic Engineering or Computer Engineering.
• Minimum 6 years’ professional software-engineering experience, including at least 2 years in applied machine learning or deep-learning model development.
• An Honours or Master’s Degree in Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence will be advantageous.
• Recognised certification or formal training in machine learning, AI tools or AI platforms will be advantageous.
• Experience working with large language models, computer vision or Edge AI models will be advantageous.
• Experience within the defence and security industry or a comparable regulated environment, such as aerospace, nuclear, rail or medical devices, will be advantageous.
• Experience working within controlled development processes and technical traceability requirements will be advantageous.

Key technical skills

• Python
• C and C++
• Applied Machine Learning
• Deep Learning
• Large Language Models
• Computer Vision
• Edge AI Development
• AI Agent Development
• Open-Weight Model Deployment and Serving
• Qwen, Llama, Mistral, DeepSeek or Similar Models
• OpenCV
• PyTorch
• TensorFlow
• CUDA
• TensorRT
• NVIDIA Jetson
• On-Premise GPU Infrastructure
• Model Optimisation
• Version Control
• Automated Software Testing
• Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment Pipelines
• Engineering Automation and Traceability Pipelines

Key responsibilities

AI Platform Maintenance and Optimisation

Maintain and optimise deployed open-weight AI models, GPU hardware and supporting services across the on-premise AI environment to sustain secure and efficient platform operation, resulting in reliable availability and alignment with current technical standards.

AI-Assisted Document Generation

Develop and improve AI agents used to generate organisational, technical and process documentation within approved templates and workflows to strengthen the accuracy and consistency of generated content, resulting in improved document quality and reduced manual rework.

Engineering Automation and Traceability

Develop and extend automated pipelines that generate engineering-design and traceability records from source code in accordance with required templates and development processes to maintain alignment between documentation and the software baseline, resulting in efficient and reliable technical traceability.

Edge AI Development and Product Integration

Develop and integrate Edge AI functional modules across existing and future product architectures to introduce relevant intelligent capabilities within operational constraints, resulting in enhanced product functionality and increased technological value.

AI Capability Enablement and Knowledge Development

Train and advise engineering teams on the effective and responsible use of AI capabilities while maintaining specialist knowledge through structured research and professional development to strengthen organisational AI competence, resulting in informed adoption and sustainable application of AI technologies.

Our recruitment values

HENSOLDT South Africa focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion in our organisational strategy. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive corporate culture that benefits our employees and delivers better outcomes for our clients. In line with our commitment to equal employment opportunities and our focus on diversity in the operational environment, we welcome applications from all ethnic groups. In line with HENSOLDT's commitment to equal employment opportunities and our focus on diversity in the operational environment, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups.

Application Deadline

21 October 2026.