PhD in Engineering (Electrical)
University of the Witwatersrand
July 2022 – present
Submitted for examination
Artificial intelligence techniques for load balancing in power distribution networks in the presence of electric vehicles
Founder
Leloko James Lepolesa
AI-augmented engineer · Founder, Lokonova AI
AI-augmented engineer with strong expertise in artificial intelligence and software engineering — bridging advanced research and practical deployment.
Industries
TelecommunicationsFacilities managementEnergy systemsHealth
Hobbies
ReadingSingingGym workoutsHikingSwimming
Leloko Lepolesa is an AI-augmented engineer with strong expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering. He has working experience in Telecommunications and Facilities Management, research experience in Power Systems and AI, and short-term applied AI work in Geology, Climate research, and Health.
With a solid academic foundation and cross-industry experience, he delivers technically rigorous, scalable, and industry-ready solutions that balance performance, economic feasibility, and real-world constraints.
He is currently leading a team at Lokonova AI, building SaaS AI products and providing consulting services to help businesses leverage AI to grow.
If you are seeking a solution that integrates intelligence with engineering — and brings both creativity and analytical depth to challenging projects — Leloko welcomes the opportunity to contribute.
- →Re-engineers learning algorithms under technical, economic, and human-centred constraints
- →Translates research-grade AI into robust, production-ready systems
- →Develops optimization and control frameworks for complex, interconnected networks
- →Collaborates across disciplines to deliver innovative, high-impact solutions
Education
MSc in Engineering (Electrical)
University of the Witwatersrand
Feb 2021 – June 2022
Distinction
Artificial intelligence strategy for electricity theft detection in smart grids
BEng in Electronics
National University of Lesotho
Aug 2012 – May 2017
First-Class Honours
Awards:
- • Best Student in Electronics Engineering — Vodacom Lesotho
- • Best Student in Electronics — LEWA
- • Best Student in Electronics — Data-deal Security Systems
AI certifications
IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate
- • Machine learning & deep learning with Python
- • Keras, PyTorch, TensorFlow
- • GPT, LLaMA, BERT, and custom models
- • RAG and LangChain for AI agents
IBM Machine Learning Specialization
- • Regression, classification, and unsupervised learning
- • Recommender systems and collaborative filtering
- • Deep learning and reinforcement learning capstone
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
- • Generative AI, NLP, and computer vision on Azure
- • ML fundamentals and AI workload design
Selected projects
Public-facing work and research. Private organisational projects are not listed.
Lokonova AI — live SaaS product
Career Growth AI Copilot
AI career copilot for CV optimization, job applications, interview prep, and salary intelligence — built for job seekers in South Africa and beyond.
View project →AI assistant
leloko.AI
Personal AI clone that answers questions about my work and collaboration opportunities, grounded in portfolio knowledge and powered by Gemini.
View project →Recommender system
CV-to-Job Recommender
Extracts CV keywords, matches roles and locations, and surfaces relevant LinkedIn and Pnet postings in real time.
View project →Research & engineering
Dynamic EV Charging Pricing (DDPG)
Collaborative deep reinforcement learning for load peak-shaving, valley-filling, and balancing across distribution networks with EVs.
View project →MSc research
Electricity Theft Detection
Deep neural network classification with novel time- and frequency-domain features for smart grid theft detection.
View project →Publications
Interested in collaboration, consulting, or a custom AI build?
Get in touch