Lead NLP Engineer - Conversational AI

Placements24; Kempton Park; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Medical coverage

Retirement fund

Leave allowances

Training & conferences

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Lead NLP Engineer in Gauteng to spearhead conversational AI initiatives. You will lead a team of NLP engineers, shape architecture for dialogue management, intent recognition, and sentiment analysis, and drive production deployments from model training to inference.

Based in Tembisa, the role requires hands-on problem solving and close collaboration with product managers to translate requirements into technical specs, ensure performance, and stay at the forefront of NLP

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, or a related field.
• 5+ years hands-on NLP engineering, with a focus on conversational AI development.
• Proven experience leading engineering teams and managing complex projects.
• Deep understanding of NLP concepts: tokenization, embeddings, sequence modeling, transformers.
• Proficiency in Python and NLP libraries such as Hugging Face Transformers, spaCy, NLTK.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and deployment of NLP models for conversational AI.
• Architect robust data pipelines for training and inference.
• Mentor NLP engineers and guide their professional development.
• Collaborate with product managers to define requirements and translate to specs.
• Evaluate NLP models for performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Stay at the forefront of NLP research (LLMs, transformers, dialogue systems).
• Drive best practices in software engineering, including version control and CI/CD.

Skills

NLP engineering

Team leadership

Python

Hugging Face Transformers

spaCy / NLTK

Cloud deployment

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/Computational Linguistics

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a dynamic force in the AI & Emerging Technologies landscape, is seeking an exceptional Lead NLP Engineer to spearhead our conversational AI initiatives. This senior role is based in Tembisa, Gauteng, and is crucial for developing and deploying sophisticated natural language processing systems that power our innovative products. You will lead a team of talented engineers, driving the architecture and implementation of cutting‑edge solutions for dialogue management, intent recognition, and sentiment analysis. This position offers a challenging yet rewarding environment for an individual passionate about shaping the future of human‑computer interaction through advanced AI. This role requires your presence in the office, fostering close collaboration and hands‑on problem‑solving.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, and deployment of natural language processing (NLP) models and systems, with a focus on conversational AI applications. Architect and implement robust pipelines for data processing, model training, and inference. Manage and mentor a team of NLP engineers, providing technical guidance and fostering their professional development. Collaborate with product managers and stakeholders to define requirements and translate them into technical specifications. Conduct rigorous evaluation of NLP models, ensuring performance, scalability, and reliability. Stay at the forefront of NLP research, including areas like large language models (LLMs), transformers, and dialogue systems. Drive best practices in software engineering for NLP development, including version control, testing, and CI/CD.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of hands‑on experience in NLP engineering, with a significant portion focused on conversational AI development.
• Proven experience leading engineering teams and managing complex projects.
• Deep understanding of NLP concepts, algorithms, and techniques, including tokenization, embedding, sequence modeling, and transformer architectures.
• Proficiency in Python and experience with NLP libraries such as Hugging Face Transformers, spaCy, NLTK, or similar.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and deploying machine learning models in production environments.
• Strong understanding of machine learning principles and statistical methods.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Benefits

Our client provides an attractive remuneration package, including a substantial annual salary and performance incentives. Benefits include comprehensive medical coverage, a retirement fund, and generous leave allowances. We are committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning and provide ample opportunities for professional development, including access to training programs and industry conferences. Working on‑site in Tembisa, Gauteng allows for direct engagement with cutting‑edge projects and fosters strong team synergy. Join our client to make a significant impact in the exciting field of conversational AI.