Intermediate Automation Engineer

Centurion Systems is proud to be part of the global FAAC Technologies Group.

At FAAC Technologies, working in Research & Development means designing what's next.

You'll work across a diverse range of products and technologies, operating at the intersection of innovation, engineering and business. Our environment encourages continuous learning, knowledge sharing and cross-functional collaboration, giving you the opportunity to develop both technical expertise and commercial understanding.

Every idea matters. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn, grow and contribute to solutions that make a measurable impact.

The Opportunity

An Intermediate Automation Engineer partners with business departments to identify opportunities where AI and automation can improve efficiency, quality and outcomes. The role is responsible for delivering automation solutions from discovery through implementation and adoption, while contributing to the development and maintenance of the company's internal AI platform.

This position requires a balance of strong engineering capability, business engagement skills and the ability to work independently with limited supervision.

Main Responsibilities

• Engage independently with business departments, including Sales, Human Resources, Finance, Technical Support, Production and Marketing, to map processes, quantify inefficiencies and maintain a prioritised pipeline of automation opportunities.
• Translate departmental process problems into well-defined technical solutions, producing scope, data classification, risk and benefit assessments that allow business owners to make informed decisions.
• Design, build, deploy and maintain production automation agents and workflows end to end, owning them through their full lifecycle from discovery through to adoption and ongoing improvement.
• Build and maintain core components of an internal AI platform, including the model gateway and routing policy, agent runtimes and network zones, retrieval and knowledge services, tool and action integration layers, and user access surfaces.
• Extend the platform's shared capabilities so that solutions are composed from reusable services rather than rebuilt for each department, keeping the cost of each additional automation low.
• Implement and maintain the platform's control and governance mechanisms, including agent manifests, authorisation rules, budgets and limits, guardrails, evaluation suites and immutable audit logging.
• Own the operational health of assigned platform components, covering monitoring, capacity, cost, incident response and root cause analysis, implementing durable solutions rather than workarounds.
• Ensure that every automation complies with the company's data classification, privacy and security requirements, and that restricted information does not leave Centurion-controlled infrastructure.
• Define and maintain evaluation and regression suites that quantify solution quality and use measured results rather than impressions to guide improvements.
• Run adoption activities with departments, including training, demonstrations, documentation and post-deployment reviews, so that delivered automations are used and realise the intended benefit.
• Contribute to the technical direction of the AI platform by evaluating models, tools and approaches and making reasoned, documented recommendations to the responsible manager.
• Mentor junior engineers, review their work constructively, and share knowledge across the department through documentation and training sessions.
• Maintain clear, accessible technical documentation covering platform architecture, agent designs, integrations and operating procedures, supporting continuity and hand-over.
• Facilitate effective communication between technical and non-technical stakeholders, ensuring business requirements and technical constraints are clearly understood in both directions.

Key Competencies - Behavioural Attributes

Self-motivated
Takes ownership of work, drives initiatives independently and maintains high standards with minimal supervision.

Learning mindset
Continuously develops knowledge of AI, automation and software engineering technologies and practices.

Business acumen
Understands how departments operate and can identify opportunities that create meaningful business value.

Adaptability
Adjusts effectively to changing requirements, technologies and business environments.

Problem-solving
Applies analytical thinking to identify root causes and deliver practical, sustainable solutions.

Attention to detail
Produces accurate, high-quality work while maintaining performance, security and business requirements.

Team player
Collaborates effectively across technical teams and business departments to achieve shared goals.

Time management
Manages competing priorities and deadlines effectively while maintaining progress on key deliverables.

Communication skills
Communicates clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders and promotes alignment across teams.

Influence without authority
Builds trust and gains buy-in from stakeholders to support process and technology improvements.

Initiative
Identifies opportunities for improvement and contributes proactively to team and organisational success.

Professionalism
Demonstrates accountability, integrity, confidentiality and a commitment to delivering quality work.

Positive attitude
Maintains a constructive, solution-focused approach and responds positively to challenges.


Key Competencies - Functional Skills

Solution design
Designs end-to-end automation solutions that meet business, security and platform requirements.

AI and agent engineering
Builds AI-powered workflows, agent solutions, retrieval systems and tool integrations.

Platform engineering
Deploys, manages and supports AI platform components and supporting infrastructure.

Platform toolchain
Experience with technologies such as LangGraph, LiteLLM, Qdrant, pgvector, Langfuse, n8n, Temporal, Docker, Kubernetes, Hermes, vLLM, or equivalent platforms.

Systems integration
Integrates enterprise systems through secure, scalable and maintainable APIs and services.

Business process analysis
Maps and evaluates business processes to identify and prioritise automation opportunities.

Security and governance
Applies data security, access control and compliance requirements appropriately.

Evaluation and quality
Defines measurable quality standards and maintains testing and regression frameworks.

Root cause analysis
Diagnoses issues across applications, platforms and integrations, implementing long-term solutions.

Documentation
Maintains clear technical documentation that supports operational continuity and collaboration.

Stakeholder engagement
Facilitates discovery sessions, demonstrations, training and ongoing stakeholder communication.

Mentoring
Supports the development of junior engineers through coaching, reviews and knowledge sharing.


Required Qualifications / Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, Electronic Engineering or a related field.
• Minimum 3-5 years' experience in software development, automation, data engineering or a related discipline.
• Practical experience developing AI, large language model or automation-based solutions.
• Proficiency in Python and at least one additional typed programming language (Java, TypeScript, C# or similar).
• Experience integrating enterprise systems such as ERP, CRM, ticketing or document management platforms through APIs.
• Working knowledge of containerisation, version control, CI/CD pipelines and monitoring tools.
• Understanding of Agile, Scrum and DevOps methodologies.
• Experience working directly with business stakeholders to gather requirements and deliver adopted solutions.
• Exposure to Linux, cloud and/or on-premises infrastructure environments.
• Sound understanding of data protection, access control and information security principles, including POPIA.
• Relevant certifications in AI, machine learning, cloud platforms or software development will be advantageous.