Lead Product Engineer: AI No Code Lead

1001 Absa Bank; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Absa Bank is seeking a senior leader to steer the strategy for responsible AI, generative AI, and low-code/no-code platforms. You will define the operating model, governance, and investment priorities to deliver value across delivery, operations, and customer journeys.

The role reports to the Chief Information Officer: Digital & AI and focuses on translating emerging AI capabilities into governed, reusable delivery components with measurable business impact.

Qualifications

• Senior enterprise leader with proven delivery of AI/low-code capabilities.
• Defines operating models, roadmaps, and governance across delivery and customer journeys.
• Experience implementing privacy, cyber security, data, model risk and regulatory controls.

Responsibilities

• Set and execute strategy for responsible AI, agents, and no-code capabilities.
• Define target operating model, capability roadmap, and investment priorities.
• Drive reusable patterns and ensure production readiness.
• Lead AI engineers and platform owners; oversee budgets and delivery performance.
• Ensure governance, security, and regulatory controls are embedded.
• Deliver high-value outcomes in the first year.

Skills

Leadership

Strategy development

Governance

Enterprise AI delivery

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology

Job description

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

Will be responsible for AI and no-code capabilities into governed, reusable business delivery. The role combines strategy, governance, production delivery and enterprise leadership.

• The leader defines the operating model, roadmap, investment priorities and use-case portfolio across delivery, operations, colleagues and customer journeys.
• The role establishes controls for privacy, cyber security, data, model risk and regulation while preventing shadow delivery and vendor lock-in.
• First-year priorities include publishing the strategy, establishing governance, delivering high-value outcomes and building sustainable capability.

Job Description

Leadership role reporting to the Chief Information Officer: Digital & AI. Sets and executes the strategy for responsible AI agents, generative AI, low-code and no-code capabilities. Converts emerging technology into governed, reusable delivery capabilities with measurable business value. Targets faster time to market, lower build cost, improved productivity and augmentation of scarce skills.

Builds an outcome-focused AI and low-code portfolio rather than supporting isolated experimentation. Defines the target operating model, capability roadmap, investment priorities and transparent use-case portfolio. Prioritises use cases across software delivery, testing, operations, colleague enablement and customer journeys.

Establishes reusable agent, prompt, component, integration and reference implementation patterns. Drives AI-enabled practices across analysis, design, coding, testing, documentation, release and operations. Ensures prototypes can transition into maintainable, observable, supportable production services. Embeds responsible AI, privacy, cyber security, data, model risk, legal, records and regulatory controls.

Defines human-in-the-loop controls, decision rights, testing, monitoring, incident response and retirement requirements. Prevents uncontrolled proliferation, shadow delivery and vendor lock-in through approved platforms and patterns. Maintains evidence of agent and model quality, performance, traceability and control effectiveness.

Leads AI engineers, low-code specialists, platform owners, change practitioners and delivery partners. Owns financial plans, strategic suppliers, talent, delivery performance and executive reporting for the domain. Measures success through adoption, realised benefits, delivery speed, cost reduction, solution reliability and reuse.

Requires senior enterprise leadership and proven transition of AI or low-code solutions into secure production. Needs strong knowledge of generative AI, agents, orchestration, modern SDLC, DevSecOps, APIs and event-driven integration.

First-year priorities include confirming the mandate, publishing the strategy and roadmap, establishing governance, delivering high-value outcomes and building sustainable capability.

Education

Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank. Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised.

About Absa

At Absa, our story is not a single narrative. It’s thousands of individual journeys unfolding across Africa and beyond. From colleagues serving customers in local communities to teams shaping financial solutions across borders, Absa is built on people who bring their lived experiences, ambitions and perspectives into the workplace every day. Whether you’re starting your career, a seasoned leader or somewhere in between, your contribution is seen, valued and connected to something bigger. Our presence across Africa – which spans personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management, and insurance – exists because of the people who show up in their roles with purpose.

Across Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, our colleagues are shaping what Absa becomes in each market. Beyond the continent, teams in global offices and a technology hub support and extend the stories that prove that African talent can lead, influence and innovate on the global stage.

At Absa, your story matters because progress is driven by human experience, not hierarchy. When people are enabled to bring their whole selves to work, they don’t just build careers. They help shape the future of Africa’s financial services landscape.