Lead Machine Learning Engineer - NLP

Placements24; George; On-site; ZAR 1,800,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance to George

Medical & dental coverage

Annual leave

Professional development & conferences

Access to advanced computing infra

Employer matched retirement

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Lead Machine Learning Engineer (NLP) to guide the design, development, and deployment of advanced NLP solutions in George, Western Cape. You will lead a team of engineers and researchers, shaping product features and AI strategy in a fast-paced environment.

The role requires deep NLP knowledge, strong Python expertise, and proven leadership to deliver scalable ML systems and robust MLOps pipelines.

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in Computer Science, AI, Computational Linguistics or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in machine learning engineering with a focus on NLP.
• Proven experience leading and managing technical teams.
• Deep expertise in NLP techniques, algorithms and libraries (spaCy, NLTK, Hugging Face).
• Strong programming skills in Python and ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Experience with MLOps tools and best practices (Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD).
• Excellent understanding of data structures, algorithms and software design.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development and deployment of state-of-the-art NLP models.
• Mentor a team of ML engineers and data scientists.
• Oversee data collection, preprocessing, model training, evaluation and deployment.
• Collaborate with product and software teams to define requirements and deliver AI features.
• Evaluate and integrate new NLP technologies and research findings.
• Develop and maintain robust MLOps pipelines for CI/CD and monitoring.
• Ensure scalability, reliability and efficiency of ML systems.
• Contribute to the company's AI strategy and roadmap.

Skills

Leadership

NLP expertise

Python

ML lifecycle

MLOps

Team management

Communication

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/AI/Computational Linguistics

Tools

spaCy

NLTK

Hugging Face Transformers

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Docker

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a rapidly expanding technology enterprise, is seeking a dynamic and experienced Lead Machine Learning Engineer with a specialization in Natural Language Processing (NLP) to join their team in George, Western Cape . This senior role is crucial for leading the design, development, and deployment of advanced NLP solutions that power our next-generation products and services. You will be responsible for guiding a team of talented engineers and researchers, fostering innovation, and ensuring the successful implementation of machine learning models. The position requires a deep understanding of NLP techniques, a strong programming background, and proven leadership capabilities. Working within the beautiful province of the Western Cape , this role offers the chance to make a significant impact in the AI landscape. If you are passionate about leveraging AI to solve complex problems and eager to lead a high-performing team in George , this opportunity is for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of state-of-the‑art NLP models for tasks such as sentiment analysis, text classification, named entity recognition, and machine translation.
• Manage and mentor a team of machine learning engineers and data scientists, providing technical guidance and career development support.
• Oversee the entire machine learning lifecycle, from data collection and preprocessing to model training, evaluation, and deployment in production.
• Collaborate closely with product managers and software engineering teams to define project requirements and deliver impactful AI-driven features.
• Evaluate and integrate new NLP technologies and research findings into our existing systems.
• Develop and maintain robust MLOps pipelines for continuous integration, deployment, and monitoring of NLP models.
• Ensure the scalability, reliability, and efficiency of machine learning systems.
• Contribute to the company's AI strategy and roadmap.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in machine learning engineering, with a significant focus on NLP.
• Proven experience leading and managing technical teams.
• Deep expertise in NLP techniques, algorithms, and libraries (e.g., spaCy, NLTK, Hugging Face Transformers).
• Strong programming skills in Python and experience with ML frameworks like TensorFlow or PyTorch.
• Experience with MLOps tools and best practices (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD).
• Excellent understanding of data structures, algorithms, and software design principles.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
• Strong communication skills for presenting complex technical concepts.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary and performance-based bonuses.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and optical coverage.
• Generous annual leave allowance.
• Professional development opportunities, including access to industry conferences.
• Opportunity to work on challenging and impactful AI projects.
• A collaborative and supportive team culture.
• Access to advanced computing infrastructure.
• Retirement savings plan with employer matching.
• Relocation assistance for candidates moving to George, Western Cape .