{"id":2231690,"url":"https://alion.io/job/network-finance-ai-product-engineering-lead","title":"AI Product Engineering Lead","company":{"id":3827505,"name":"Network Finance","domain":"networkfinanceinternational.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/network-finance","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":"jobmail.co.za","ats_vendor":null,"truth_index":{"grade":"C","score":58,"open_postings":567,"ghost_share":0.587,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0.751,"time_to_fill_p50_days":7,"computed_at":"2026-10-23T05:54:15Z"}},"role":"Management","role_family":"Management","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Johannesburg, South Africa"],"countries":["ZA"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":32000,"max_usd":82000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":21},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Agile","optional":false},{"name":"ASP.NET Core","optional":false},{"name":"Azure","optional":false},{"name":"C#","optional":false},{"name":"Model Context Protocol","optional":false},{"name":"OpenAI","optional":false},{"name":"SQL","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-10T20:29:49Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-14","last_verified_at":"2026-10-14T16:59:26Z","board_verified":false,"closed_at":null,"days_open":12,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":2,"flags":["repost"],"days_open":12},"description":"An innovative technology organisation is seeking an AI Product Engineering Lead to take ownership of the intelligence layer within a rapidly growing product environment. This role combines AI engineering, product strategy, software development, and technical leadership, making it ideal for someone who enjoys balancing hands-on delivery with long-term product vision.The successful candidate will be responsible for designing and delivering AI capabilities that help organisations automate work, improve processes, and make more informed decisions. You will work closely with product owners, engineers, and users to ensure that AI solutions create measurable business value while remaining reliable, governed, and scalable.\nThis is a unique opportunity for an experienced AI professional who wants to influence product direction, mentor teams, and remain actively involved in development and implementation.\nKey Responsibilities\nLead the development and evolution of AI capabilities within a production environment.\nDefine and drive the AI roadmap alongside product stakeholders.\nDesign and implement intelligent solutions that support business processes and operational decision-making.\nEvaluate and improve AI outputs through testing, monitoring, and validation frameworks.\nDevelop AI-powered solutions using .NET and Microsoft AI technologies.\nBuild organisational knowledge systems and intelligent retrieval mechanisms.\nImplement learning loops, feedback frameworks, and continuous improvement processes.\nDrive AI engineering standards, best practices, and technical governance.\nMentor team members and contribute to growing organisational AI capability.\nPartner with users, stakeholders, and product owners to ensure solutions deliver measurable value.\nSupport AI solution deployment, optimisation, and ongoing operational success.\nJob Experience and Skills Required\nRelevant qualification in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or a related field.\nExtensive experience developing commercial software solutions using C# and .NET.\nProven experience building and deploying AI-enabled applications.\nStrong exposure to Microsoft AI technologies and cloud platforms.\nExperience delivering production-grade AI solutions rather than proof-of-concept projects.\nExperience working closely with product teams and business stakeholders.\nBackground in Agile product development environments.\nExperience leading technical direction and mentoring development teams.\nC# and ASP.NET Core development.\nAzure OpenAI and Microsoft AI technologies.\nAzure AI Foundry and modern AI development frameworks.\nAgent-based AI and intelligent workflow solutions.\nModel Context Protocol (MCP).\nAI evaluation, testing, and governance.\nEvent-driven architectures and API-first development.\nAzure cloud services and deployment practices.\nSecurity, auditability, and governed AI solutions.\nStrong product thinking and business process understanding.\nExcellent problem-solving and analytical skills.\nAbility to translate complex business challenges into practical AI solutions.\nStrong communication and stakeholder engagement capabilities.\nLeadership and mentoring abilities.\nOwnership mindset with a focus on delivering measurable outcomes.\nAbility to balance innovation, governance, and operational reliability.\nPassion for emerging AI technologies and their practical application.\nApply Now!\nFor more exciting IT vacancies, visit:\nhttps://www.networkrecruitmentinternational.com/it-jobs\nWe also specialise in recruiting for:\nSoftware Developers (Back-End, Front-End, Full Stack)\nMobile Developers\nBusiness & Systems Analysts\nBI & SQL Experts\nUI/UX Professionals\nData Scientists & Data Analysts\nBig Data Professionals\nCloud Experts\nInfrastructure Specialists\nDevOps & SecOps Engineers\nCybersecurity Specialists\nSEO / Digital Designers\nIf you have not received feedback within two weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful. Your profile will remain in our database for future opportunities.For more information, contact:\nCaitlin Ferley\nRecruitment Consultant\nLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-ferley-b94a80218","description_format":"text","description_chars":4140,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Recruiting & Staffing","Executive Search"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-10T20:29:49Z"},{"event":"close","at":"2026-10-11T09:21:43Z"},{"event":"reopen","at":"2026-10-12T20:10:34Z"},{"event":"close","at":"2026-10-13T00:45:48Z"},{"event":"reopen","at":"2026-10-14T16:59:26Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":17,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.379,"p_room":0.45,"age_days":12,"expected_fill_days":7,"reasons":["seen:8","repost:2","stale_co","wave","velocity","win:tail","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-23T05:54:15Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/network-finance-ai-product-engineering-lead","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/network-finance-ai-product-engineering-lead.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-23T07:03:41Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":11392,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-24T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":3827505},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=3827505"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fnetwork-finance-ai-product-engineering-lead"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fnetwork-finance-ai-product-engineering-lead"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fnetwork-finance-ai-product-engineering-lead"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/network-finance-ai-product-engineering-lead\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fnetwork-finance-ai-product-engineering-lead"}]}