Intermediate AI LLM Engineer

e-Merge IT Recruitment; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 720,000 - 880,000; Full time

Job summary

e-Merge IT Recruitment seeks an Intermediate AI Engineer to join a specialist technology environment focused on AI-driven conversational systems in Sandton. You will work hands-on with LLMs, voice agents, automated testing, AI coding tools, and modern software development practices.

The ideal candidate has 4–6 years in software engineering with strong Python skills, APIs, SQL, and CI workflows, plus hands-on LLM experience. Growth in a collaborative, forward-thinking team is offered.

Qualifications

• / Must-have: 4 to 6 years software engineering (or equivalent applied experience).
• / Solid Python; comfortable with APIs, SQL, and modern git/CI workflows.
• / Hands-on LLM application work (prompting, tool use, agents — production preferred).
• / Willingness to learn Azure Functions, messaging, blob storage, and SQL in a production environment.

Responsibilities

• Implement prompt changes, tool handlers, and function/webhook logic for voice agents.
• Build or improve automated QA workers and analysis jobs (queues, artifacts, scoring ingest).
• Write and maintain unit/contract tests and scenario-based eval cases.
• Translate scorecard / conversation requirements into schemas and fixtures.
• Support post-call analytics tasks such as scoring result ingestion, data mapping, and output validation.
• Diagnose and fix production issues with logging/observability support.
• Support early email/WhatsApp bot flows under senior/lead direction.
• Use AI coding tools to accelerate learning and delivery.

Skills

Software engineering

Python

APIs

SQL

Git/CI workflows

LLM prompts

LLM tools

Azure Functions

Messaging

Blob storage

OpenAI SDKs

Speech/Audio exposure

Tools

Cursor

Claude

OpenAI SDKs

Job description

Ready to take your AI engineering career to the next level?

Join a specialist technology environment at the forefront of building and improving AI-driven conversational systems.

This role offers hands-on exposure to exciting technologies, including LLMs, voice agents, automated testing, AI coding tools, and modern software development practices.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for an Intermediate AI Engineer looking to sharpen their technical expertise, work with emerging AI technologies, and continue growing within a collaborative, forward-thinking team.

Must-have skills and experience:

• 4 to 6 years software engineering (or equivalent applied experience)Solid Python; comfortable with APIs, SQL, and modern git/CI workflowsHands-on LLM application work (prompting, tool use, agents — production preferred)Willingness to learn Azure Functions, messaging, blob storage, and SQL in a production environmentStrong advantages:

Strong advantages:

• Experience with Cursor, Claude, or similar AI coding assistantsAzure functions or similar serverlessOpenAI SDKs / structured JSON responsesBasic speech/audio exposureStrong testing and code quality habitsInterest in conversational UX across voice and textResponsibilities:

Responsibilities:

• Implement prompt changes, tool handlers, and function/webhook logic for voice agentsBuild or improve automated QA workers and analysis jobs (queues, artifacts, scoring ingest)Write and maintain unit/contract tests and scenario-based eval casesTranslate scorecard / conversation requirements (with Analyst/Tester) into schemas and fixturesSupport post-call analytics tasks such as scoring result ingestion, data mapping, and output validationDiagnose and fix production issues with logging/observability supportSupport early email/WhatsApp bot flows under senior/lead directionUse AI coding tools (e.g. Cursor, Claude) to accelerate learning and deliveryReference number for this position is GZ61524 which is a permanent position based in Sandton offering a salary of R800k per annum, negotiable based on experience and ability.