Principal AI Engineer - Natural Language Processing

Placements24; Rustenburg; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical aid

Retirement benefits

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Principal AI Engineer (NLP) in Rustenburg, North West to lead the development of state-of-the-art NLP models. You will architect scalable pipelines, mentor a team, and shape the AI strategy in a cutting-edge tech environment.

You should bring a strong research background and hands-on engineering excellence with Python, Transformers, and DL frameworks to drive impact on real-world AI products.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in CS/Computational Linguistics or related field.
• Extensive production NLP experience.
• Strong ML/DL foundations in NLP.
• Proficiency with Python and NLP libraries (spaCy, NLTK, Hugging Face).
• Experience with TensorFlow or PyTorch.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and deployment of advanced NLP models (transformers, RNNs, LSTMs).
• Architect scalable NLP pipelines for sentiment, generation, translation, and summarization.
• Research new NLP techniques and evaluate integration potential.
• Optimize models for performance, accuracy, and resources.
• Mentor engineers and guide NLP best practices.

Skills

NLP expertise

Python

Transformers

Deep learning

Education

Master's/PhD in CS/Computational Linguistics

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

spaCy

NLTK

Hugging Face Transformers

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a cutting-edge technology firm specializing in advanced AI applications, is looking for a distinguished Principal AI Engineer with deep expertise in Natural Language Processing (NLP) to join their team in **Rustenburg, North West**. This is a critical role focused on developing and optimizing sophisticated NLP models and systems that power innovative products. You will lead challenging projects, mentor a team of talented engineers, and contribute significantly to the company's strategic AI roadmap. The ideal candidate possesses a strong research background combined with practical engineering skills, driving the application of AI in real-world scenarios. This position offers the chance to work on high-impact projects within a collaborative and innovative environment, pushing the boundaries of what's possible with AI.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of advanced NLP models (e.g., transformers, RNNs, LSTMs).
• Architect scalable and efficient NLP pipelines for tasks such as sentiment analysis, text generation, translation, and summarization.
• Conduct research into new NLP techniques and algorithms, and evaluate their potential for integration.
• Optimize NLP models for performance, accuracy, and resource utilization.
• Collaborate closely with product managers, data scientists, and other engineers to define and implement NLP features.
• Mentor junior engineers and provide technical guidance on NLP best practices.
• Stay current with the latest research and industry trends in NLP and artificial intelligence.
• Develop and maintain robust testing and validation frameworks for NLP models.
• Contribute to the overall AI strategy and technology stack.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, or a related field.
• Extensive experience in developing and deploying production-level NLP systems.
• Strong theoretical foundation in NLP, machine learning, and deep learning.
• Proficiency in Python and relevant NLP libraries (e.g., spaCy, NLTK, Hugging Face Transformers).
• Experience with deep learning frameworks like TensorFlow or PyTorch.
• Demonstrated ability to architect complex NLP solutions.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Experience with data preprocessing, feature engineering, and model evaluation for text data.
• Proven leadership capabilities and experience mentoring technical teams.

Benefits

Our client offers a highly competitive salary, comprehensive medical aid, retirement benefits, and opportunities for professional growth and development. You will work in a stimulating environment with access to cutting-edge technology and collaborate with some of the brightest minds in AI. This role is based in our modern facility in **Rustenburg, North West**, providing a central hub for innovation and teamwork. We believe in work-life balance and offer ample opportunities for personal and professional enrichment, including regular training and conference attendance.