Job Description

Jem is hiring 6 AI-native software engineer interns to build the future of HR tech for South Africa's deskless workforce.

This is a 6-month full-time contract for recent graduates who want to learn by building production AI systems - not watching tutorials. You'll use AI coding agents daily, build AI-powered features, and be mentored by senior engineers at the frontier of agent development.

About Jem

We're building the HR and financial wellness platform for South Africa's deskless workers - retail staff, security guards, call centre agents. These are the people who keep the country running, but they've been left behind by traditional systems. We're changing that.



We're proudly AI-native: we build AI agents that serve our customers directly through WhatsApp, handling everything from device purchases to leave requests to financial queries.

Role Overview

You'll work alongside senior engineers to build AI-powered features and learn how to develop with AI coding agents. By the end of your internship, you'll have hands-on experience building production conversational AI systems - skills that are in massive demand globally. This is not a "make coffee and watch" internship. You'll ship code to production, work on real customer problems, and be treated as a contributing member of the engineering team from day one.

? What You'll Do

Build with AI Coding Agents

Use

Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or similar

tools daily to accelerate your development Learn effective prompting strategies that multiply your productivity Understand when to rely on AI and when to step in with manual engineering Contribute to improving our team's AI-assisted development workflows

Build AI Features

Develop conversational flows for our

WhatsApp-based AI agents

Work with

LangGraph and LangChain

to build agent logic Write and optimise prompts for production AI systems Build integrations between AI agents and backend services Test and debug agent behaviours across different scenarios

Learn Platform Fundamentals

Write clean, tested

Python

code Understand how production systems work (APIs, databases, queues) Learn secure coding practices for enterprise environments Participate in code reviews and learn from senior feedback

Grow as an Engineer

Receive dedicated mentorship from a senior engineer Participate in team standups, planning, and retrospectives Present your work to the broader team Build a portfolio of production AI work

Requirements

Must Have

Recently completed a degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience) Proficiency in

Python

(academic projects, bootcamp work, or personal projects count) Genuine curiosity about

AI and LLMs

- you've played with ChatGPT, Claude, or similar and wondered "how does this work?" Ability to learn quickly and ask good questions Strong written and verbal communication skills

Nice to Have

Personal projects using AI/LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) Experience with any AI coding tools (Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code) Familiarity with

LangChain, LangGraph

, or similar frameworks Experience with

Git

and collaborative development Any experience with

conversational AI

or chatbots

Mindset

You're comfortable being uncomfortable - learning new things constantly You take ownership and don't wait to be told what to do You're excited (not intimidated) by AI tools reshaping how we build software You want to build things that matter for real people

What We Offer

Real Work:

Ship production code serving real customers - not toy projects

AI-Native Skills:

Learn LangGraph, prompt engineering, and agent development hands-on

Mentorship:

Dedicated senior engineer mentor to guide your growth

Career Launchpad:

Top performers may be offered permanent roles

Competitive Stipend:

Fair compensation for full-time work

Johannesburg Office:

Work from our JHB office 4+ days per week with a collaborative team

Location & Commitment

Location:

Johannesburg (4+ days per week in-office required)

Duration:

6-month full-time contract

Start Date:

TBD

Who Is This For?

You're probably right for this internship if:


You've recently graduated and want to start your career building AI systems You've tinkered with LLMs or AI tools and want to go deeper You learn best by doing, not just reading You want mentorship from engineers working at the frontier You're based in or willing to relocate to Johannesburg




If you've ever built something with an AI API and thought "I want to do this professionally," this is your chance. We'll teach you the rest.