Principal AI Engineer: NLP & Generative AI (Remote)

Placements24; Paarl; Remote; ZAR 2,962,000 - 4,937,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonuses

Health, dental, vision insurance

Stock options

Fully remote with flexible hours

Professional growth opportunities

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Principal AI Engineer with deep NLP and Generative AI expertise for a fully remote, leadership-focused role. You will architect, develop, and deploy scalable AI systems, mentor engineers, and shape technical strategy in a remote-first environment.

You will work on cutting-edge NLP, transformer models, distributed training, and cloud-based MLOps across AWS/Azure/GCP, ensuring high-impact AI capabilities that transform business interactions with technology.

Qualifications

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field is required.
• Extensive NLP experience with modern deep learning techniques (Transformers, LLMs).
• Proven track record architecting and deploying complex AI systems in production.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and implementation of advanced NLP and generative AI solutions.
• Develop and optimize large language models (LLMs) and related technologies.
• Architect scalable, robust, production-ready AI systems.
• Mentor and guide a team of AI/ML engineers.
• Define technical standards and best practices for AI development.
• Collaborate with product management to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Stay at the forefront of NLP and Generative AI research and development.
• Perform performance analysis and optimization of AI models and systems.

Skills

NLP

Deep learning

Python

PyTorch

Transformers

LLMs

Cloud platforms

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/AI

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

MLOps tooling

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Principal AI Engineer with deep NLP and Generative AI expertise for a fully remote, leadership-focused role. You will architect, develop, and deploy scalable AI systems, mentor engineers, and shape technical strategy in a remote-first environment.

You will work on cutting-edge NLP, transformer models, distributed training, and cloud-based MLOps across AWS/Azure/GCP, ensuring high-impact AI capabilities that transform business interactions with technology.