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Senior AI Engineer

Summary

Senior AI Engineer builds Java microservices and Kafka platform tools, including AI-powered developer assistants and automation, within a large South African financial services institution.

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.

See also

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