Senior Product Engineer

Jem; Johannesburg; Hybrid; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading startup as a Senior Product Engineer to build AI-assisted HR tools for South Africa's deskless workers. This role involves driving product features, engaging with customers, and optimizing technical solutions while being part of an innovative team committed to real-world impact.

Benefits

Continuous Learning

Career Growth

Flexible Work Culture

Competitive Package

Qualifications

• Proficiency in TypeScript and at least one other programming language.
• Experience with enterprise system integration.
• Track record of AI tooling and automation in workflows.

Responsibilities

• Master the deployment and supervision of AI coding agents.
• Drive features from roadmap prioritisation through launch.
• Design and implement robust integrations with enterprise systems.

Skills

TypeScript

Java

Python

C#

Go

Rust

AI tooling

Job description

Join Jem as a Senior Product Engineer

Jem is looking for our next 10x engineer - someone who’s hungry to build, smart enough to figure things out fast, and bold enough to ship AI-assisted features that genuinely move the needle.

Jem is one of the fastest-growing startups in South Africa. We’re backed by top investors, and our product is redefining HR, payroll, and benefits for deskless teams across the continent. If you’re curious, ambitious, and want to be part of a world-class team that’s building for impact, this could be the role that changes everything.

About Jem:

We’re building the HR and financial wellness platform for South Africa’s 18 million deskless workers - think retail staff, security guards, call centre agents. These are the people who keep the country running, but they’ve been left behind by traditional systems. We’re changing that.

We build tools that give them access, dignity, and control - starting with payslips, medical aid, financial education, and employer benefits.

We’re proudly AI-first: we use AI to build faster, work smarter, and help humans do what they do best.

Role Overview:

You’ll use AI coding agents to accelerate delivery - and step in with serious engineering firepower when they hit their limits. You’ll own your work end-to-end, from first problem statement to post-launch iteration, working closely with our product team to deliver exceptional value to our customers.

️ About the Role:

AI-First Development

• Master the deployment and supervision of AI coding agents (e.g. Claude Code, Windsurf, Devin) for routine development tasks
• Intervene with direct engineering work only when AI capabilities reach their limits
• Continuously improve AI agent effectiveness through prompt engineering and workflow optimisation

Product Development & Ownership

• Drive features from roadmap prioritisation through launch and post-launch optimisation
• Own and improve key business metrics for your features
• Collaborate with the product team on continuous discovery and roadmap refinement

Customer & Stakeholder Engagement

• Conduct customer interviews and usability testing to validate solutions
• Lead beta trials and gather user feedback to shape technical priorities
• Present technical solutions and progress to stakeholders

Enterprise Integration

• Design and implement robust integrations with enterprise systems (CRM, ERP, payroll)
• Develop and maintain integrations using Flowgear

Requirements:

Technical Skills

• Strong proficiency in TypeScript
• Expertise in at least one of: Java, Python, C#, Go, or Rust
• Experience with AI tooling and automation in development workflows
• Proven track record of enterprise system integration

Product Engineering Skills

• Experience taking features from concept through post-launch optimisation
• Strong track record of improving business metrics through technical solutions
• Demonstrated ability to balance technical debt with business needs

Soft Skills

• Excellent communication skills for customer interviews and stakeholder management
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities
• Ability to mentor others in AI-assisted development practices

️ What We Offer:

Continuous Learning:Work at the frontier of AI-assisted development, solving real-world problems in HR tech. You’ll learn fast, build fast, and work alongside some of the smartest engineers in SA.

Career Growth:We move quickly and reward impact. You’ll have the opportunity to take on big ownership, grow with the team, and shape your path as Jem scales.

Flexible Work Culture:We’re hybrid, with a minimum of two in-office days a week in either Cape Town or Johannesburg.

Competitive Package:You’ll get a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, 22 days leave

Who is This For:

You’re probably not right for this role if you just want a steady 9–5 and some tickets on Jira. You might be right if:

• You write clean, thoughtful code in TypeScript and at least one other language (Java, Go, Python, etc.)
• You’ve worked with enterprise integrations before and don’t get overwhelmed by complexity
• You’ve shipped real products — and optimised them after launch.
• You’re excited (not intimidated) by AI tools and want to be at the frontier of how they reshape engineering
• You care about code quality, business impact, and your own growth — in that order.
• You’re based in Cape Town or Johannesburg, and happy to work in-office 2+ days/week.

If this excites and scares you in equal measure, you’re probably our kind of engineer.