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A Senior Product Engineer vacancy has opened through Manpower SA (Pty) Ltd. It is a permanent senior position with the salary undisclosed, posted on 29 October 2026 and expiring in 25 days, reference CPT003731. The listing location is given simply as South Africa, while the advert says the client is based in Johannesburg, so readers should confirm the work base on the original advert before applying. This is a separate vacancy from the Senior Product Engineer roles in KwaZulu-Natal (reference CPT003733) and Cape Town (reference CPT003732) published separately, so check the reference number if you are comparing adverts.
Manpower is a global employment and staffing services business with offices in more than 80 countries and territories, and it is recruiting this engineer for a client in Johannesburg. The client is building and scaling an AI-powered platform used by enterprise clients across WhatsApp, voice, webchat and email. The work sits at the point where backend engineering meets real products: reliable systems, intelligent integrations and AI-powered solutions taken into production, with the engineer working directly with clients as well as with the internal engineering team.
The engineer designs, builds and maintains scalable backend systems, APIs and third-party integrations, and develops and optimises AI-powered applications and agent orchestration systems. The role carries ownership of features from initial design through to deployment, monitoring and ongoing improvement, and responsibility for system reliability, performance, security and uptime across production environments. The engineer works with enterprise clients to scope technical requirements, define success criteria and support product work, translating client needs into practical technical solutions and communicating architectural decisions clearly. Deployed AI agents are monitored, their performance evaluated and their business value and outcomes reported. The engineer also mentors junior implementation engineers, contributes to best practices across the engineering team, and feeds client insights and technical learnings back into product development.
Only what the source advert states is listed here. Applicants need at least 5 years’ experience in backend engineering, building and maintaining production systems, with strong programming skills in Python or TypeScript (Node.js). The advert also requires proven experience designing APIs and integrating third-party systems, good knowledge of PostgreSQL or similar relational databases including data modelling and query optimisation, experience with cloud infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, logging and monitoring, demonstrated experience building and deploying LLM-powered features or applications into production, and experience working with queues and event-driven architecture. Applicants must be able to explain technical concepts and trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders, and have previous experience mentoring or leading junior engineers. Experience that counts in the applicant’s favour includes the WhatsApp Business API, voice AI or telephony integrations, practical knowledge of AI agent orchestration, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) or LLM evaluation, familiarity with Supabase or workflow automation tools such as n8n, experience in insurance, telecommunications or financial services, an understanding of POPIA and the responsible handling of personal information within AI systems, and exposure to technical scoping, client consultations or pre-sales activities.
Apply through the original CareerJunction advert using the Apply button on this page, which leads to the recruiter’s listing. Apply only through the original advert and never through a link sent to you by an unknown third party. A genuine recruiter will never ask you to pay a fee to apply, to be shortlisted or to secure an interview, so treat any payment request as a red flag and stop.
Lead with evidence of production backend work rather than a list of tools: one or two examples of APIs or integrations you designed and shipped, a system you kept reliable in production, and an LLM-powered feature you actually deployed will carry more weight than general claims about AI. Name your Python or TypeScript experience plainly, show your database and cloud work, and mention any WhatsApp, voice or agent-orchestration experience up front, since that is the preferred background. If you have mentored juniors or explained technical trade-offs to clients, say so briefly, as both are stated requirements of this role.
Applications are submitted through the original advert. The recruiter assesses applications against the stated requirements and contacts candidates who are shortlisted; the advert states that only suitable candidates will be contacted. If you are shortlisted, expect questions about your backend and AI production experience and how you have scoped solutions with clients, so keep a copy of the original advert and your application so you can refer back to them.
This post is for information only and is not a job offer or a guarantee of employment. The salary is undisclosed in the source advert, the listing location is given as South Africa with the client based in Johannesburg, and the listing expires in 25 days from 29 October 2026, so always confirm the work base, the closing details and the full requirements on the original advert before applying.
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