Software Engineer (Machine Learning)

Takealot.com, South Africa’s leading online retailer, is looking for a highly talented Machine Learning Engineer to join our team. We are a young, dynamic, hyper-growth company looking for smart, creative, hard-working people with integrity to join us! 

Think you’ve been challenged before? Think again!

• Scale: 4 million happy shoppers shop online on takealot.com and 2.7 million on Mr D. Show them what you can do.
• Learn: We work with the best of the best, and then some. Work alongside industry leaders and up-skill in record time. 
• Grow: Expand your career in the fast-growing Takealot Group: takealot.com and Mr D. We like to promote from within: Here’s your chance. 

This position reports to the respective Engineering Manager for that team.

We are looking for an experienced Machine Learning Engineer to join one of our versatile and creative development teams.

As a Machine Learning Engineer, your expertise directly translates into the development of robust machine learning models in the e-commerce domain. You come from a development background with an emphasis on applied machine learning. You will have the opportunity to implement best practices to improve the existing machine learning models and participate in the development of new ones. 

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a growing and dynamic team of machine learning engineers working on Takealot.com's ambitious development roadmap.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Work with a firehose of customer data.
• Analyze, build, evaluate, and productionise machine learning models.
• Touch all aspects of the business in your domain.
• Brainstorm new ideas and concepts to solve specific use cases.
• Work with teammates on design and code reviews.
• Keep abreast of developments in the machine learning domain.

The skills and attributes we need: 

• Be creative
• Be flexible
• Be a team player
• Be data-oriented
• Take pride in your work
• Be a good communicator

Qualifications & Preferred Experience:

• Degree in Computer Science or Engineering (alternatively, a degree in a related field with work experience as a software engineer).
• 3 to 7 years of experience applying machine learning to real-world problems for a mid-level role
• 5 to 10+ years of experience applying machine learning to real-world problems for a senior-level role
• 3 to 7 years of commercial software development experience for a mid-level role
• 5 to 10+ years of commercial software development experience for a senior-level role
• Strong understanding of statistical analysis, modeling, and machine learning techniques.
• Strong knowledge of different types of recommendation systems.
• Experience building backend systems at scale with a strong focus on data processing and machine learning.
• Experience working within an agile team that is operationally hands-on and an advocate of that culture.
• Experience with Python
• Experience with Linux
• Experience with BigQuery.
• Experience with TensorFlow, Scikit-learn, PyTorch, and Pandas.
• Experience with deploying machine learning to production environments.
• Data Mining and Big Data experience.

Bonus Skills and Experience:

• MSc (master of science) or PhD (doctorate).
• Experience with cloud-based platforms such as Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or Amazon Web Services (AWS).
• Experience with Elasticsearch.
• Experience with end-to-end machine learning frameworks such as Kubeflow, TensorFlow Extended, or MLflow.
• Experience with serving machine learning models, such as TensorFlow Serving or KServe.

Let’s talk about life @ Takealot Group

• The power is in your hands: We offer a market-related, Total Remuneration Package that allows full flexibility according to your needs. Go on, be the master of your own destiny.
• No doors: We aren’t fans of stuffy offices or siloed work environments. See someone you like? High five, collab, and make something great.
• Remote working: Love water cooler chats and working from home? Takealot.com offers a remote or hybrid working model for the best of both worlds.
• Mentorship programme: We aren’t kidding when we say the people with the best people win. Now’s your chance to be one of the best by learning from the best.
• Naspers Tech Community & Online Learning: Share ideas and grow with global industry leaders who are all just a Slack message away. Love to learn? Upskill with free access to courses on MyAcademy, Udacity, Coursera, and more.
• Good times: Get to know the other extraordinary minds at takealot.com during regular social events and out-of-office activities (think hikes, think mini golf, think good times).
• Staff discount. Millions of products across 28 departments. What more could you ask for?
• Birthday leave: Cake Day all the way. Enjoy your day off - you deserve it. 
• Right tools, right job: Mac or Windows, two monitors or one. Whatever your preference, you’ll work on the latest tech, of the latest tech.
• Help when you need it most: Confidential counselling, legal support, and financial guidance, for free, anytime, anywhere. 
• Tech stack (for days): ReactJS, Python, Scala, Kotlin, Swift, Google Cloud, Kafka, Redis, Kubernetes, and all things machine learning. If you build it, they will come.
• Free parking: No more 5km fun runs to your desk (unless you want to). 

Like what you see? 

If you meet the above, you are an Extraordinary Mind. Apply today!!

Takealot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants from previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities will be given preference.