Senior AI Engineer in Johannesburg

The Role

We are looking for a Senior AI Engineer to join the Scrums.com talent network. You will design, train, and deploy machine learning models that solve real business problems for international clients. This role sits at the intersection of applied research and production engineering. You need to know the theory and ship the system.

What You Will Work On

• Design and implement ML models for NLP, computer vision, recommendation systems, or forecasting
• Build data pipelines that feed training and inference workloads
• Deploy models to production with proper monitoring, versioning, and rollback capability
• Evaluate model performance, run experiments, and iterate on accuracy and latency
• Collaborate with product and engineering teams to translate business requirements into ML solutions
• Stay current with the research landscape and identify techniques applicable to client problems

What We Look For

• 5+ years of experience in machine learning or AI engineering
• Strong Python skills with deep experience in PyTorch, TensorFlow, or JAX
• Production ML experience, not just notebooks. You have deployed models that serve real traffic.
• Solid understanding of ML fundamentals: bias-variance, regularisation, evaluation metrics, feature engineering
• Experience with cloud ML services (SageMaker, Vertex AI, or Azure ML)
• Strong communication skills. You can explain model trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders.

Why Scrums.com

Scrums.com is not a job board. It is a talent network that connects African engineers with international client projects across the UK, US, and Europe. You join the platform, get vetted, and get matched to real engagements with companies that need your specific skills.

What that looks like in practice:

• Work with global clients from where you are. No relocation required.
• Long-term engagements, not one-off gigs. Some of our engineers have been embedded with the same client for over two years.
• A dedicated talent specialist who knows your skills, matches you to the right projects, and supports you through onboarding and beyond.
• Interview preparation and the ability to pursue multiple opportunities at once.
• No fees, no subscription. The platform is free for engineers.

You bring the engineering. We handle the sourcing, the vetting, the matching, and the client relationship. Apply once, get considered for every relevant project that comes through.

Engineering in Johannesburg

Johannesburg is the commercial centre of South Africa and home to the largest concentration of tech companies on the continent. The city's financial services sector drives constant demand for engineers, with banks, insurers, and fintechs all competing for senior talent. Sandton, Rosebank, and Bryanston have become established tech corridors, and the remote-work infrastructure across Gauteng is strong enough to support timezone-aligned work with UK and European clients.

For engineers, the city offers a deep talent community, regular meetups and conferences, and salaries that reflect the cost of living without the ceiling you hit in smaller markets. Scrums.com has operated from Johannesburg since its founding, and a significant portion of our deployed engineers are based in Gauteng.

This role is open to engineers based in or willing to relocate to the Johannesburg metro area. You will work remotely with international clients during UK or US business hours, with occasional in-person collaboration as needed.