Application Development Lead (DevOps)

Blue Pearl PTY LTD; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 800 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A technology firm in Cape Town is seeking an experienced Application Development Lead (DevOps) to lead their development teams and drive DevOps best practices. Ideal candidates will possess strong leadership qualities and hands-on technical expertise to ensure the seamless delivery of high-quality applications. Responsibilities include managing the team, enhancing automation processes, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. Strong experience with CI/CD, cloud platforms, and application security principles are required.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Team Lead, Development Manager, or Senior Developer leading teams.
• Strong hands-on experience in DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and automation frameworks.
• Solid background in software development using languages like Java, .NET, Python, or similar.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the application development team.
• Drive DevOps culture, processes, and tools for automation and reliability.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and ensure timely project delivery.

Skills

Leadership

DevOps practices

CI/CD pipelines

Problem solving

Communication

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

AWS

Azure DevOps

Job description

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Application Development Lead (DevOps) to oversee our development teams, drive DevOps best practices, and ensure the seamless delivery of high-quality applications. The ideal candidate is a strong leader with hands‑on technical expertise who can guide, mentor, and elevate a team while remaining deeply involved in the development lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the application development team, ensuring effective collaboration and alignment with business goals.
• Drive DevOps culture, processes, and tools to enhance automation, CI / CD pipelines, and system reliability.
• Oversee application architecture, development standards, coding quality, and best practices.
• Manage, mentor, and upskill developers, ensuring successful project execution and career growth.
• Collaborate closely with cross‑functional teams including QA, Infrastructure, Product, and Business stakeholders.
• Implement and maintain monitoring, alerting, and performance optimization systems.
• Ensure secure coding practices and oversee application security requirements.
• Troubleshoot complex issues and provide advanced technical guidance.
• Contribute to strategic planning, including technology roadmaps and process improvements.
• Ensure timely delivery of projects while maintaining high quality and stability.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• Proven experience as a Team Lead, Development Manager, or Senior Developer leading teams.
• Strong hands‑on experience in DevOps practices, CI / CD pipelines, and automation frameworks.
• Solid background in software development using languages such as Java, .NET, Python, or similar.
• Experience with modern DevOps tool‑sets:
  • CI / CD (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, CircleCI, etc.)
  • Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)
  • Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
  • Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible, etc.)
• Strong understanding of APIs, microservices, and application security principles.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to work in fast‑paced, deadline‑driven environments.
• Immediate availability or short notice period preferred.

Preferred Competencies

• Experience designing complex application architectures.
• Strong stakeholder management and ability to present technical concepts to non‑technical audiences.
• Knowledge of Agile methodologies.
• Strong analytical and decision‑making abilities.

Personal Attributes

• Proactive and solution‑driven.
• Confident leader with the ability to motivate teams.
• Detail‑oriented but able to see the bigger picture.
• Adaptable, resilient, and calm under pressure.