Group Senior AI Engineer

Senior AI Engineer

Location:

Cape Town or London :
Hybrid working, global remit, modern tech stack, actual ownership

• Take full technical ownership of AI systems – from prototype to production reliability.
• Make architectural calls that balance speed, stability, and long‑term maintainability.
• Convert loosely defined business questions into clear AI solutions with measurable impact.
• Build everything from classical ML models to LLM‑powered services (RAG, fine‑tuning, adapters, you name it).
• Deeply integrate your models into apps, CRM platforms, workflows, digital journeys, and internal tools.
• Lead experiments, run A/B tests, validate hypotheses, and guide stakeholders through trade‑offs.
• Set up monitoring, drift checks, retraining flows, observability, and proper MLOps hygiene.
• Work hands‑on with data, modelling, pipelines, APIs, orchestration – the full engineering spectrum.
• Mentor juniors, shape engineering standards, and help create reusable blueprints for future AI builds.
• Act as a champion for safe, transparent, responsible AI use.

• Has roughly 8+ years working in ML, data science, or software engineering with real AI ownership.
• Has shipped multiple AI/ML systems into production, not just POCs.
• Has led at least one meaningful end‑to‑end AI initiative (technical direction + stakeholder alignment).
• Is comfortable with Python + SQL and enjoys writing clean, production‑level code.
• Knows ML frameworks (scikit‑learn, XGBoost, PyTorch, Tensor Flow, Light
  
  GBM, etc.).
• Has experience with LLMs and generative AI (APIs, RAG, evaluation, tuning).
• Understands data engineering basics and can work with pipelines, warehouses, and orchestration tools.
• Is familiar with the cloud (Azure, AWS, or GCP all welcome).
• Navigates ambiguity well – shaping scope instead of waiting for it.
• Communicates clearly, especially with non‑technical stakeholders.
• Loves mentoring, pair programming, reviewing code, and raising team standards.
• Understands privacy, safety, and the need for responsible AI.
• Values outcomes over grand ideas.

You don’t need to be a researcher. You don’t need a PhD. You need to be someone who ships.

• Lead high‑impact AI projects from idea to production.
• Own the technical design and operational reality of what you ship.
• Build reusable components that become the backbone of future AI work.
• Work with friendly, curious, low‑ego teammates.
• Play a key role in shaping the AI roadmap across a global market footprint.
• Continue to experiment, learn, and stay ahead of where the field is going.

Salt is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.