Senior AI Solutions Architect - Natural Language Processing

Placements24; Durban; Hybrid; ZAR 1,500,000 - 3,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Medical aid

Retirement fund

Learning opportunities

International travel

Flexible work arrangements

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking an experienced Senior AI Solutions Architect in Durban to design and lead NLP-driven AI solutions for diverse clients. The role focuses on translating business needs into scalable technical designs and guiding cross-functional teams through implementation.

The ideal candidate will have 8+ years in software architecture with 5+ years in AI/NLP, strong leadership, and a track record of delivering enterprise NLP projects using spaCy, Hugging Face, and transformers in cloud

Qualifications

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, or a related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in software architecture or solutions design, with at least 5 years focused on AI/ML and NLP.
• Proven track record of designing and delivering complex NLP-based solutions in an enterprise environment.
• Deep understanding of NLP techniques, algorithms, and frameworks (e.g., spaCy, NLTK, Hugging Face Transformers, BERT, GPT).
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and their AI/ML services.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python and experience with ML libraries (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn).
• Strong knowledge of data processing, feature engineering, and model evaluation for NLP tasks.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and client-facing skills.
• Ability to lead technical discussions and influence decision-making.
• Experience with MLOps principles and practices is a plus.
• Familiarity with the South African market and business context is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Design and architect end-to-end AI solutions incorporating NLP technologies across clients.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate requirements into robust solution designs.
• Evaluate and select AI/ML models and tools for NLP use cases.
• Provide technical leadership to development teams through design and implementation.
• Develop proof-of-concepts and prototypes to demonstrate value.
• Ensure solutions are scalable, secure, and maintainable.
• Stay current with advancements in NLP and related fields.
• Create architecture diagrams, design specs, and implementation guides.
• Present solutions to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Mentor junior engineers and architects on AI/NLP best practices.

Skills

NLP expertise

Architectural leadership

Client-facing skills

Communication

Mentoring

Education

Master's or Ph.D. in CS/AI/Computational Linguistics

Tools

spaCy

NLTK

Hugging Face Transformers

BERT

GPT

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a leading enterprise AI solutions provider, is seeking an experienced Senior AI Solutions Architect with expertise in Natural Language Processing (NLP) to join their innovative team in Durban . This strategic role will involve designing and architecting sophisticated AI solutions that leverage NLP to solve complex business challenges for clients across various industries. You will be responsible for translating client needs into technical designs, guiding development teams, and ensuring the successful implementation of AI-powered applications. This is an excellent opportunity for a seasoned architect to shape the future of AI solutions in South Africa and work with cutting-edge technologies. The role is based in Durban , a major economic center.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and architect end-to-end AI solutions incorporating NLP technologies such as text classification, sentiment analysis, named entity recognition, question answering, and text generation.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders and clients to understand their requirements and translate them into robust AI solution designs.
• Evaluate and select appropriate AI/ML models, algorithms, and tools for specific NLP use cases.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to development teams throughout the solution design and implementation phases.
• Develop proof-of-concepts and prototypes to demonstrate the feasibility and value of proposed NLP solutions.
• Ensure solutions are scalable, performant, secure, and maintainable.
• Stay current with advancements in NLP, machine learning, and related AI fields.
• Create technical documentation, including architecture diagrams, design specifications, and implementation guides.
• Present technical solutions and recommendations to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Mentor junior engineers and architects on best practices in AI and NLP solution design.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, or a related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in software architecture or solutions design, with at least 5 years focused on AI/ML and NLP.
• Proven track record of designing and delivering complex NLP-based solutions in an enterprise environment.
• Deep understanding of NLP techniques, algorithms, and frameworks (e.g., spaCy, NLTK, Hugging Face Transformers, BERT, GPT).
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and their AI/ML services.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python and experience with ML libraries (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn).
• Strong knowledge of data processing, feature engineering, and model evaluation for NLP tasks.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and client-facing skills.
• Ability to lead technical discussions and influence decision-making.
• Experience with MLOps principles and practices is a plus.
• Familiarity with the South African market and business context is advantageous.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary and bonus structure.
• Comprehensive medical aid, retirement fund, and risk benefits.
• Opportunities for continuous learning and professional certifications.
• Access to cutting-edge AI technologies and challenging projects.
• Work in a collaborative and growth-oriented environment in Durban .
• Potential for international travel and client engagement.
• Flexible work arrangements.