Port Elizabeth: Senior AI & Automation Specialist posted by Top Vitae

About the Role

The primary purpose of this Senior AI & Automation Specialist role is to create, implement and support automated business processes under the direction of the AI & Automation Lead. The successful candidate will work towards providing automated solutions to satisfy business needs, utilizing new technologies through thorough research, conceptual implementations, and proof of concepts.

Key Responsibilities

• Translate business requirements into robust technical implementations, including workflow orchestration, data handling and integrations.
• Implement advanced Power Platform solutions, including Power Automate cloud flows, Dataverse data structures, Power Apps, and Copilot Studio, using SOLID engineering patterns.
• Develop and support custom connectors where required, including secure authentication and data handling.
• Apply engineering best practices such as reusable components, consistent naming, clear documentation, and adherence to established solution design standards.
• Use Quality Assurance techniques, including structured testing of automations and AI-driven processes, to identify and prevent potential issues.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and enhance deployed automations, performing root-cause analysis and implementing long-term fixes to improve reliability and reduce operational impact.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to refine requirements, validate early solutions, and iterate effectively.
• Assist with researching new technologies, performing proof-of-concepts, and documenting findings to support future adoption.
• Provide technical support to junior team members, helping them improve troubleshooting skills, solution structures, and adherence to best practices.
• Follow existing governance standards, including security, scalability, DLP policies, and environment usage guidelines, ensuring all solutions meet compliance expectations.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Advanced hands-on experience with the Microsoft Power Platform:
• Power Automate: Complex orchestration, integrations, parent-child flows, exception handling, and performance considerations.
• Dataverse: data modelling, including table structures, relationships, and security roles.
• Power Apps (canvas and model-driven) for building functional business applications.
• Copilot Studio for creating conversational or AI-assisted business experiences.
• Custom connector development, including REST API interaction and authentication handling.

• Artificial Intelligence implementation skills:
• Experience integrating LLM-based capabilities into business processes.
• Ability to design prompts, evaluate output quality, and apply basic grounding or retrieval patterns.
• Understanding of risks, safeguards, and responsible use of AI.
• MCP Servers, AI Orchestration, Agentic AI Implementation.

• Software development abilities in languages such as .NET/C# or JavaScript/TypeScript, with an emphasis on writing clean and maintainable code.
• Strong understanding of REST APIs, JSON, authentication methods, and general integration concepts, including troubleshooting integration failures.
• Experience with Microsoft Azure in support of automation solutions, such as Azure Functions or Logic Apps, and familiarity with Azure DevOps for work management and CI/CD processes.

Qualifications

No formal education/certifications mentioned.