AI Development Specialist (Azure)
iqbusiness South Africa
Johannesburg, Gauteng
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Posted 03 February 2026

Job Details

Job Description

iqx the Technology Division of iqbusiness seeking a highly experienced AI Development Specialist to Lead the design, build, and deployment of production-grade AI solutions on Microsoft Azure. Own end-to-end delivery—from data pipelines to model deployment, ensuring security, reliability, and compliance.

Required Experience

  • 7+ years in software/ML engineering, with 3+ years delivering production AI solutions on Azure.
  • Proven track record of shipped solutions with architecture diagrams and runbooks.
  • Expertise in RAG system design, prompt engineering, and performance optimization.
  • Strong data engineering skills and secure integration patterns.
  • Applied knowledge of Responsible AI principles and compliance requirements.

Core Tech Stack

  • Azure AI & ML: Azure OpenAI Service, AI Studio, AI Search, Azure Machine Learning.
  • Data & Integration: Data Lake Storage, Synapse/Fabric, Data Factory, Event Hub, API Management.
  • Compute & Hosting: AKS, Azure Functions, App Service; IaC with Bicep/ARM/Terraform.
  • DevOps/MLOps: Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions, MLflow integration, telemetry dashboards.
  • Languages: Python (required), plus C#/.NET or TypeScript/Node; LangChain or Semantic Kernel preferred

Responsibilities

  • Design and implement AI solutions using Azure AI services (OpenAI, AI Search, Machine Learning).
  • Develop secure APIs and integrate with enterprise systems using Azure API Management and Event Hub.
  • Containerize workloads and deploy to AKS, App Service, or Functions with CI/CD pipelines.
  • Ensure observability, performance tuning, and cost optimization for AI workloads.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams and document architecture, runbooks, and best practices.

Please Note:
As all iqbusiness roles require honesty in the handling of or access to cash, finances, financial systems, or confidential information; our recruitment process requires that the following background checks be completed: credit, criminal, ID, and qualification verification.

iqbusiness is committed to sustainable growth and transformation, we embrace diversity and employ previously disadvantaged individuals