Lead AI Developer - Reinforcement Learning

Placements24; Polokwane; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,700,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Health & retirement benefits

Professional development budget

Stock options

Polokwane startup environment

Job summary

Placements24 in Polokwane is seeking a Lead AI Developer with strong RL expertise to design and implement advanced RL algorithms for autonomous systems. You will guide a team of developers, architect scalable RL pipelines, and drive innovation in reinforcement learning applications.

The role requires a PhD/masters in CS/AI, 7+ years of AI experience, and hands-on work with Python, PyTorch, TensorFlow Agents, OpenAI Gym, and Stable Baselines.

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in Computer Science, AI, ML or related field.
• 7+ years of AI development experience with RL specialization.
• Proven experience leading AI projects and mentoring teams.
• Strong understanding of RL concepts: Q-learning, Policy Gradients, DQN, Actor-Critic.
• Proficiency in Python and RL libraries such as TensorFlow Agents, PyTorch, OpenAI Gym, Stable Baselines.
• Experience with simulation environments and building custom RL environments.
• Solid software engineering practices and collaboration skills.
• Nice-to-have: cloud/MLOps familiarity and RL research/open-source contributions.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and implementation of state-of-the-art RL algorithms.
• Architect scalable RL solutions for robotics, games, optimization and control.
• Mentor and manage a team of AI developers, ensuring project delivery.
• Collaborate with researchers and product managers to define goals and specs.
• Experiment, analyze, and tune RL agents and environments.
• Optimize RL algorithms for performance and real-world deployment.
• Stay current with RL research and evaluate new tools and libraries.
• Develop robust, well-documented code and present findings to stakeholders.

Skills

Reinforcement Learning

Team leadership

Python

PyTorch

OpenAI Gym

DQN

Actor-Critic

Stable Baselines

Cloud/MLOps

Software engineering

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/AI/ML

Tools

TensorFlow Agents

PyTorch

OpenAI Gym

Stable Baselines

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a dynamic AI startup focused on developing intelligent automation solutions, is seeking an experienced Lead AI Developer with expertise in Reinforcement Learning (RL) to join their team in Polokwane. This leadership role will be instrumental in designing and implementing advanced RL algorithms to solve complex control and decision-making problems. You will guide a team of developers, architecting scalable RL systems and driving innovation in autonomous agents and optimization. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of AI applications in a growing sector. The position is based in Polokwane, a key economic center in the Limpopo province of South Africa.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of state-of-the- art reinforcement learning algorithms and frameworks.
• Architect scalable RL solutions for applications such as robotics, game playing, resource optimization, and control systems.
• Manage and mentor a team of AI developers, fostering technical growth and ensuring project delivery.
• Collaborate with research scientists and product managers to define project goals and translate requirements into technical specifications.
• Conduct thorough experimentation, analysis, and tuning of RL agents and environments.
• Optimize RL algorithms for performance, efficiency, and real-world deployment.
• Stay current with the latest research and advancements in reinforcement learning and related AI fields.
• Develop robust and well-documented code, adhering to high-quality software engineering standards.
• Evaluate and integrate new tools, libraries, and technologies to enhance the RL development process.
• Present technical findings and progress updates to stakeholders.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in AI development, with a strong specialization in Reinforcement Learning.
• Proven experience leading AI projects and mentoring technical teams.
• Deep understanding of RL concepts such as Q-learning, Policy Gradients, Deep Q-Networks (DQN), Actor-Critic methods, etc.
• Expertise in programming languages like Python and ML/RL libraries (e.g., TensorFlow Agents, PyTorch, OpenAI Gym, Stable Baselines).
• Experience with simulation environments and building/managing custom RL environments.
• Strong grasp of software engineering principles and best practices.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and critical thinking skills.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate across teams.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms and MLOps is a plus.
• A track record of contributing to RL research or open-source projects is highly desirable.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary and bonus potential.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and retirement benefits.
• Generous budget for professional development, conferences, and training.
• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge RL applications and influence product strategy.
• Dynamic and innovative startup environment in Polokwane.
• Collaborative team culture focused on pushing AI boundaries.
• Potential for stock options.