Lead Natural Language Processing Engineer

Placements24; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully remote work

Competitive compensation

Professional development

Global team collaboration

Job summary

An AI-focused global leader in communication solutions is hiring a Lead Natural Language Processing Engineer to drive NLP strategy from Cape Town. You will lead a team of engineers and researchers, define technical roadmaps, and supervise end-to-end model development from data collection to deployment for scalable applications.

The role requires a Ph.D./Master’s in CS or AI, 7+ years in NLP with leadership experience, plus strong Python, Transformer-based frameworks, and cloud deployment

Qualifications

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, AI, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of advanced NLP models (sentiment analysis, NER, topic modeling, MT, text generation).
• Mentor a team of NLP engineers and researchers.
• Define technical roadmap for NLP initiatives and ensure alignment with business goals.
• Oversee end-to-end model lifecycle from data collection to deployment.
• Collaborate with product, data science, and software engineering teams.
• Stay current with NLP research and industry trends.
• Ensure scalable, robust NLP systems in production.

Skills

NLP leadership

Team leadership

Python

TensorFlow

PyTorch

spaCy

GPT/Transformers

Distributed computing

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/AI

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

scikit-learn

spaCy

NLTK

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a global leader in AI-driven communication solutions, is seeking a talented and experienced Lead Natural Language Processing Engineer to spearhead their NLP initiatives from their state-of-the-art facility in Cape Town, Western Cape . This pivotal role involves leading a team of talented engineers and researchers in designing, developing, and deploying advanced NLP models that power intelligent applications. You will be responsible for defining the technical vision for NLP projects, driving innovation, and ensuring the successful delivery of high-impact solutions. The ideal candidate is passionate about language technology, possesses strong leadership skills, and has a deep understanding of cutting-edge NLP techniques. Joining our client means becoming part of a forward-thinking organization committed to revolutionizing how people interact with technology.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of advanced NLP models, including but not limited to sentiment analysis, named entity recognition, topic modeling, machine translation, and text generation.
• Manage and mentor a team of NLP engineers and researchers, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture.
• Define the technical roadmap and strategy for NLP development, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Oversee the entire lifecycle of NLP models, from data collection and preprocessing to model training, evaluation, and deployment.
• Collaborate closely with product managers, data scientists, and software engineers to integrate NLP capabilities into various products and services.
• Stay current with the latest research and industry trends in NLP, identifying opportunities for innovation and application.
• Ensure the scalability, efficiency, and robustness of NLP systems in production environments.
• Conduct code reviews and provide technical guidance to the team.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in NLP development, with at least 2 years in a leadership or senior role.
• Expertise in modern NLP techniques and frameworks (e.g., Transformers, BERT, GPT, spaCy, NLTK).
• Proficiency in Python and relevant ML/NLP libraries (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn).
• Strong experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) for model training and deployment.
• Proven ability to lead technical teams and manage complex projects.
• Excellent understanding of linguistic principles and their application in computational models.
• Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Experience with large-scale data processing and distributed computing is a plus.

Benefits

• This is a fully remote position, offering flexibility and work-life balance.
• Our client provides a highly competitive salary, comprehensive medical and dental benefits, and a generous performance-based bonus structure.
• Opportunities for continuous learning and professional growth are abundant, including access to online courses, workshops, and conference attendance.
• You'll work with a talented, globally distributed team on exciting, impactful projects.
• Join us in shaping the future of intelligent communication from the beautiful landscape of Cape Town, Western Cape , even while working remotely.