Automation Engineer - AI-Driven Process Automation

First Point Group; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 700,000 - 1,100,000; Full time

Job summary

First Point Group is seeking an Intermediate Automation Engineer to join the R&D team. You will map processes with multiple departments, design and deploy automated workflows, and contribute to an internal AI platform.

The role emphasizes governance, security, and scalable reusable services across the organization. You will engage with Sales, HR, Finance, Production and Marketing, translating problems into technical solutions, mentoring engineers, and producing documentation to support adoption

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, information systems, electronic engineering or related field.
• 3–5 years of experience in software development, automation, data engineering or related discipline with production delivery.
• Experience building AI or LLM-based applications including retrieval-augmented generation or agent workflows.
• Proficiency in Python and at least one additional typed language (Java/TypeScript/C#).
• Experience integrating with enterprise systems through APIs (ERP, CRM, ticketing or document mgmt).
• Experience with containerisation, version control, CI/CD and production monitoring.
• Knowledge of Agile/Scrum/DevOps methodologies.
• Experience engaging with non-technical stakeholders to gather requirements and deliver adopted solutions.
• Exposure to Linux, cloud or on-prem infrastructure.
• Understanding of data protection and information security including POPIA; certifications in AI/ML or cloud are advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Engage with multiple departments to map processes, quantify inefficiencies and manage a prioritised automation pipeline.
• Translate process problems into technical solutions with defined scope, data classification, risk and benefit assessments.
• Design, build, deploy and maintain production automation agents and workflows end-to-end.
• Build core components of an internal AI platform including model gateway, routing, agent runtimes and knowledge services.
• Extend platform capabilities to assemble solutions from reusable services and control costs.
• Implement and maintain governance mechanisms including authorisation rules, budgets, guardrails and audit logging.
• Own operational health of platform components including monitoring, capacity, and incident response.
• Ensure automation complies with data classification, privacy and security requirements.
• Define evaluation/regression suites to quantify solution quality and guide improvements.
• Lead adoption activities with training, demos, and documentation to ensure real usage of automations.
• Contribute to technical direction by evaluating models and tools and documenting recommendations.
• Mentor junior engineers and share knowledge through documentation and training.
• Maintain clear technical documentation covering architecture, designs, integrations and procedures.
• Facilitate effective communication between technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Skills

Python

Java

TypeScript

C#

Git

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Software Engineering

Tools

SAP ERP

CRM integration

CI/CD pipelines

Git

Job description

First Point Group is seeking an Intermediate Automation Engineer to join the R&D team. You will map processes with multiple departments, design and deploy automated workflows, and contribute to an internal AI platform.

The role emphasizes governance, security, and scalable reusable services across the organization. You will engage with Sales, HR, Finance, Production and Marketing, translating problems into technical solutions, mentoring engineers, and producing documentation to support adoption