Senior AI Engineer

Deka Minas (Pty) Ltd; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 700,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment

Job summary

Deka Minas (Pty) Ltd in Sandton, South Africa, seeks a Senior AI Engineer to design and build Java-based platform services and microservices. You will develop AI-powered assistants and automation to boost developer productivity and streamline Kafka platform operations.

Joining a mission-critical environment, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams, implement governance, and enhance observability while working in a modern hybrid setup.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of Java development experience.
• Experience with Java frameworks (Spring Boot or Quarkus).
• Experience building REST APIs and working with distributed systems.
• Familiarity with Kafka or similar messaging technologies.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop Java-based platform services and microservices.
• Build self-service portals, APIs, and automation tools for Kafka platform users.
• Develop AI-powered assistants and automation to enhance developer productivity and platform operations.
• Create tools for onboarding, provisioning, and lifecycle management of Kafka resources.
• Implement governance, standards, and policy enforcement across the platform.
• Develop integrations with enterprise identity, security, and CI/CD tooling.
• Improve platform observability, monitoring, and operational automation.
• Troubleshoot complex distributed systems and production issues.
• Collaborate with infrastructure, security, architecture, and application teams to enhance developer experience.

Skills

Java development

Spring Boot

Quarkus

REST APIs

Distributed systems

Apache Kafka

PostgreSQL

Git

Docker

Tools

Docker

Git

PostgreSQL

Kafka

Job description

Join a pioneering team within a leading South African financial services institution that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous growth. As a Senior AI Engineer, you will become a vital part of a mission-critical platform environment, working alongside top-tier engineers in a culture that fosters curiosity and technological excellence.

This role offers a unique opportunity to leverage your expertise in AI, distributed systems, and Java development within a dynamic, modern infrastructure environment, including streaming data and AI-driven developer tools.

Duties:

• Design and develop Java‑based platform services and microservices.
• Build self‑service portals, APIs, and automation tools for Kafka platform users.
• Develop AI‑powered assistants and automation to enhance developer productivity and platform operations.
• Create tools that simplify onboarding, provisioning, and lifecycle management of Kafka resources.
• Implement governance, standards, and policy enforcement across the platform.
• Develop integrations with enterprise identity, security, and CI/CD tooling.
• Improve platform observability, monitoring, and operational automation.
• Troubleshoot complex distributed systems and resolve production issues.
• Collaborate with infrastructure, security, architecture, and application teams to enhance the overall developer experience.

Requirements:

• At least 3+ years of Java development experience.
• Strong knowledge of Java frameworks such as Spring Boot or Quarkus.
• Experience building REST APIs.
• Good understanding of distributed systems.
• Experience with Apache Kafka or similar messaging technologies.
• Proficiency in Java, development, PostgreSQL, Git, and Docker.

Nice to Have:

• Familiarity with AI/machine learning frameworks.
• Experience with platform automation and developer tooling.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary ranging from R700,000 to R1,200,000 per year (Cost to Company), negotiable.
• Hybrid work environment.
• Opportunity to work on innovative, large-scale banking systems.
• Collaborate within a culture that values curiosity and continuous improvement.