Principle Engineer | AI-Augmented Engineering Systems

Communicate Finance; Wes-Kaap; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Communicate Finance seeks a Principal Engineer to design and evolve internal AI engineering platforms, enabling safe, scalable AI-assisted software delivery. You will lead adoption, set standards, and mentor senior engineers while influencing a large cross-functional group.

You will work on AI harnesses, telemetry, and evaluation frameworks, driving architectural decisions across the organisation with a strong engineering mindset.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering with senior/principal level
• Expertise in two or more of Java, .NET, React, Flutter
• Cloud-native architecture, AWS, microservices, CI/CD
• Hands-on AI-powered systems and AI governance
• Strong communication and influence without authority
• Experience in regulated or high-volume consumer environments (advantage)

Responsibilities

• Design and build AI engineering harnesses and developer tooling
• Lead adoption of AI across development teams with reference implementations
• Establish engineering standards for AI-assisted development, security, and provenance
• Create telemetry to measure engineering performance and outcomes
• Evaluate AI platforms and tools to support strategic goals
• Mentor senior engineers and contribute to architectural decisions

Skills

Senior engineering

Java

.NET

React

Flutter

Cloud-native

AWS

Microservices

APIdesign

CI/CD

AI-powered systems

LLMs

AI governance

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science or related field

Job description

Job Description:

As the Principal Engineer, the successful candidate will play a pivotal role in designing, building, and evolving the internal engineering platforms that enable safe, scalable AI‑assisted software delivery.

Responsibilities include:

• Designing and building AI engineering harnesses, developer tooling, evaluation frameworks, guardrails, and workflow automation
• Driving AI adoption across development teams through technical leadership, reference implementations, and enablement initiatives
• Establishing and maintaining engineering standards for AI‑assisted development, code provenance, security, and governance
• Creating telemetry and measurement solutions that provide meaningful insight into engineering performance and delivery outcomes
• Evaluating AI platforms, developer tools, and emerging technologies to support strategic engineering objectives
• Mentoring senior engineers and contributing to architectural and technical decision‑making across the organisation without direct line management responsibilities
• Building prototypes and proof‑of‑concepts that reduce technical risk and accelerate innovation

This role offers the opportunity to influence approximately 150 professionals across engineering, product, delivery, and support functions whilst operating as one of the organisation's most senior individual contributors.

Skills & Experience:

• Minimum 10+ years’ of software engineering experience with a proven track record in senior, staff, principal, or equivalent engineering roles
• Deep expertise in at least two of the following technologies: Java, .NET, React, and Flutter, with working knowledge across multiple stacks
• Strong experience in cloud‑native architecture, AWS, microservices, API design, event‑driven systems, and CI/CD practices
• Hands‑on experience building AI‑powered systems, developer platforms, internal engineering tools, or AI‑assisted development frameworks
• Experience with Large Language Models (LLMs), agentic workflows, retrieval systems, prompt engineering, evaluation frameworks, and AI governance
• A strong engineering mindset with the ability to solve complex, undefined problems and create practical, scalable solutions
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and technical communication skills, with the ability to drive change through influence rather than authority
• Experience within regulated, high‑volume, consumer‑facing environments will be advantageous

Qualification:

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Engineering, or a related field