Lead Machine Learning Engineer - Natural Language Processing

Placements24; George; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive remuneration

Medical aid coverage

Retirement fund contributions

Generous annual leave

Learning & development

Job summary

Placements24's client in George, Western Cape seeks a Lead ML Engineer to drive NLP initiatives and lead a team of engineers and scientists in building and deploying advanced NLP solutions that understand and generate human language.

The role combines leadership with hands-on development, collaborating with product managers to define NLP roadmaps, and focusing on model accuracy, scalability, and production readiness. On-site in George, full-time position.

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in CS, AI, or related field.
• Proven leadership of ML/NLP projects.
• Expertise in sentiment analysis, named entity recognition, topic modeling, machine translation, and QA.
• Proficiency in Python and DL frameworks PyTorch/TensorFlow.
• Experience with transformer models (BERT, GPT) and other NLP architectures.
• Strong CI/CD and MLOps understanding.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• On-site in George, Western Cape, full-time.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and deployment of advanced NLP models and applications.
• Mentor ML engineers and data scientists focused on NLP.
• Oversee the ML lifecycle from data acquisition to production deployment.
• Collaborate with product managers and stakeholders to define NLP requirements and roadmaps.
• Develop strategies for improving model accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.
• Research new NLP techniques to maintain a competitive edge.
• Ensure quality and reliability through rigorous testing and monitoring.
• Contribute to internal tools and frameworks to streamline NLP workflows.
• Present technical strategies and project outcomes to senior management.
• Foster a culture of innovation and technical excellence within the NLP team.

Skills

NLP leadership

Python

PyTorch

Transformers

TensorFlow

MLOps

CI/CD

Mentoring

Stakeholder mgmt

Data visualization

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/AI

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Jupyter

MLflow

Job description

About the Role

Our client is at the forefront of AI innovation and is seeking a talented and experienced Lead Machine Learning Engineer to spearhead their Natural Language Processing (NLP) initiatives. This pivotal role, based in George, Western Cape , involves leading a team of engineers and scientists in the development and deployment of cutting-edge NLP solutions. You will be responsible for architecting robust ML systems that can understand, interpret, and generate human language, impacting a wide range of applications. This position offers a unique opportunity to shape the direction of NLP research and development within the company, driving significant business value through intelligent language understanding. The ideal candidate will have a strong blend of technical expertise, leadership qualities, and a passion for solving complex linguistic challenges.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of advanced NLP models and applications.
• Manage and mentor a team of machine learning engineers and data scientists focused on NLP.
• Oversee the entire ML lifecycle, from data acquisition and preprocessing to model training, evaluation, and production deployment.
• Collaborate with product managers and stakeholders to define NLP requirements and roadmaps.
• Develop and implement strategies for improving model accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.
• Conduct research into new NLP techniques and technologies to maintain a competitive edge.
• Ensure the quality and reliability of NLP systems through rigorous testing and monitoring.
• Contribute to the development of internal tools and frameworks to streamline NLP workflows.
• Present technical strategies and project outcomes to senior management and cross-functional teams.
• Foster a culture of innovation and technical excellence within the NLP team.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence, or a related quantitative field.
• Demonstrated experience leading ML projects, particularly in the NLP domain.
• Expertise in core NLP concepts such as sentiment analysis, named entity recognition, topic modeling, machine translation, and question answering.
• Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Experience with transformer models (e.g., BERT, GPT) and other state-of-the-art NLP architectures.
• Strong understanding of software engineering principles and best practices, including CI/CD and MLOps.
• Proven ability to manage and mentor technical teams effectively.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience with data visualization and analysis tools.
• Willingness to work on-site in George, Western Cape , in a full-time capacity.

Benefits

Our client provides a highly competitive remuneration package, including an attractive base salary, performance bonuses, and comprehensive benefits. This includes extensive medical aid coverage, retirement fund contributions, and ample annual leave. You will have access to continuous learning opportunities, including workshops, conferences, and advanced training programs. The role offers the chance to work on impactful projects with a team of brilliant minds. The position is based in the scenic city of George, Western Cape , providing a high quality of life and access to natural beauty.