Machine Learning Engineer - NLP Specialist

Placements24; South Africa; Remote; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Performance incentives

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Annual leave

Learning opportunities

Advanced computing resources

Vibrant work culture in Tembisa

Retirement fund contributions

Stock options

Job summary

Placements24 in Gauteng (Tembisa) seeks a talented Machine Learning Engineer with NLP focus to develop state-of-the-art NLP models for our next-generation products. You will work on text classification, sentiment analysis, NER, MT, and text generation, deploying models in production and building robust data pipelines.

The ideal candidate has a strong ML background with NLP expertise, hands-on DL experience (PyTorch or TensorFlow), and familiarity with spaCy, NLTK, and Transformers.

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in Computer Science, linguistics, AI or a related field.
• 3+ years of professional ML experience with a focus on NLP.
• Proficiency in Python and NLP libraries such as spaCy, NLTK, Hugging Face Transformers.
• Hands-on experience with DL frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Strong understanding of transformer architectures and embedding techniques.
• Experience with data preprocessing, feature engineering, and NLP evaluation metrics.

Responsibilities

• Develop, train, and deploy NLP models for text classification, sentiment analysis, NER, MT, and text generation.
• Fine-tune and integrate large language models for business applications.
• Build robust data pipelines for textual data processing.
• Collaborate with software engineers and data scientists to deploy models in production.
• Run experiments to evaluate models and identify improvements.
• Stay updated with NLP and ML research and document methods.

Skills

NLP experience

Python programming

Deep learning

Transformer models

Analytical skills

Team collaboration

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/AI/Linguistics

Tools

spaCy

NLTK

Transformers

PyTorch

TensorFlow

HuggingFace

Job description

About the Role

Our client is seeking a talented Machine Learning Engineer with a specialization in Natural Language Processing (NLP) to join their innovative team in Tembisa, Gauteng . This role is critical for developing and deploying advanced NLP models that power our client's next-generation products and services. You will work on challenging problems, leveraging vast datasets to build intelligent systems that understand and generate human language. This is a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of AI, contributing to projects that have a real-world impact. We are looking for a passionate individual eager to contribute their expertise in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. The ideal candidate will have a strong foundation in machine learning and a deep understanding of NLP techniques and algorithms. Join us and help shape the future of conversational AI and text analytics.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, train, and deploy state-of-the-art NLP models for tasks such as text classification, sentiment analysis, named entity recognition, machine translation, and text generation.
• Implement and fine-tune large language models (LLMs) for specific business applications.
• Design and build robust data pipelines for processing and augmenting textual data.
• Collaborate with software engineers and data scientists to integrate NLP models into production systems.
• Conduct experiments to evaluate model performance and identify areas for improvement.
• Stay current with the latest research and advancements in NLP and machine learning.
• Contribute to the documentation of models, algorithms, and processes.
• Participate in code reviews and provide constructive feedback to peers.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Linguistics, AI, or a related field.
• 3+ years of professional experience in Machine Learning, with a significant focus on NLP.
• Proficiency in Python and relevant NLP libraries (e.g., spaCy, NLTK, Hugging Face Transformers).
• Hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Strong understanding of transformer architectures, sequence-to-sequence models, and embedding techniques.
• Experience with data preprocessing, feature engineering, and evaluation metrics for NLP tasks.
• Familiarity with cloud computing platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) is a plus.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a team.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and performance-based incentives.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Generous annual leave allowance.
• Opportunities for continuous learning and professional development.
• Access to advanced computing resources.
• A vibrant and supportive work culture in Tembisa, Gauteng .
• Retirement fund contributions.
• Stock options for eligible employees.