Senior Product Engineer *

Johannesburg-Based | Scale-Up | Full-time Role | Tech Machine | Hiring Manager: Thamsanqa Moyo , Kaeleigh Stroud , Richard O'Brien

Jem is hiring two Product Engineers to build AI-native systems, lead technical workstreams with enterprise customers, and ship production features that directly impact our platform and customers.

Jem is a fast-growing HR and financial wellness scale-up building tools for frontline teams. We support deskless workers across South Africa with payroll, HR, and benefits products, delivered through modern platforms and AI-powered conversational systems.

This is a forward-deployed product engineering role. You will build AI agents and platform systems, while also working directly with enterprise customers during technical discovery and implementation. This role combines product engineering, platform ownership, and client-facing technical leadership.

⭐️ Your Mission

Build and operate AI-native product systems that work reliably at scale.

Lead technical implementation with enterprise customers and turn real-world problems into shipped product.

⭐️ What Success Looks Like

AI agents and conversational systems are live, reliable, and improving over time

Enterprise implementations run smoothly and convert into long-term customer partnerships

Features you own move core product and customer success metrics

Platform systems are stable, observable, and secure

Junior engineers grow through your technical mentorship

⭐️ What You’ll Do

AI-Native Product Development

Build and orchestrate multi-agent systems using modern agent frameworks

Develop conversational and voice-based AI agents for WhatsApp and related channels

Implement MCP and agent-to-agent communication patterns

Use AI coding agents to accelerate delivery and experimentation

Continuously improve agent performance through prompt design and workflow optimisation

Platform Engineering

Design and maintain PostgreSQL schemas and production data models

Build and operate event-driven systems and integrations

Develop secure, enterprise-grade backend services

Own system reliability, performance, and observability

Build and maintain integrations with enterprise platforms and middleware tools

Forward-Deployed Client Engineering

Lead technical discovery and implementation sprints with enterprise customers

Run technical scoping sessions with client IT teams

Design integration architectures across payroll, ERP, and internal systems

Present technical solutions, timelines, and progress to client stakeholders

Build long-term technical relationships with customer teams

Product Ownership & Team Contribution

Drive features from problem definition through release and iteration

Own performance and business outcomes for your features

Conduct customer interviews and validation sessions

Mentor interns and junior engineers in AI-native development practices

⭐️ You’ll Thrive Here If You

Have built AI agents or conversational systems in production environments

Are comfortable owning backend systems and product features end to end

Enjoy working directly with enterprise customers and their technical teams

Care about system quality, reliability, and real-world impact

Are excited by fast-moving, high-ownership environments

Enjoy mentoring others and raising the technical bar

⭐️ Requirements

Hands-on experience with agent frameworks and AI-native systems

Experience building conversational or voice-based AI products

Strong prompt engineering and LLM integration patterns

Strong PostgreSQL experience and backend development skills

Experience with event-driven architectures and system integrations

Ability to lead technical discussions with enterprise IT teams

Professional experience in Python and/or TypeScript

Comfort travelling to client sites for implementation work

⭐️ What You Can Expect from Us

Hybrid work environment with a 3-day office policy in the Cape Town/Johannesburg office.

Frontline exposure to building real AI products at scale

Direct work with enterprise customers and complex real-world systems

High ownership, fast learning, and visible impact

Competitive salary

Great Benefits (lunch 4 times a week, medical aid contribution, retirement annuity contribution, etc.) and 22 days of annual leave.

We respond to all applications. You can expect feedback on your application, even if we decide not to move forward.

To learn more about what Jem looks for beyond the CV, please check out our People Notes on the Jem Ideal Employee Profile here