Engineering Lead

Colonist; Gauteng; Remote; ZAR 1 355 000 - 1 694 000; Full time

Job summary

A digital board game platform is seeking an Engineering Lead to oversee technical complexity, enhance development processes, and positively impact millions of players. The ideal candidate will have 7+ years of software development experience, deep expertise in TypeScript, React, Node.js, and WebSocket systems. This remote role offers competitive compensation, stock options, and a flexible work environment, prioritizing outcomes over hours worked.

Benefits

Unlimited vacation

Yearly offsite

Work equipment provided

Monthly budget for productivity tools

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional software development experience.
• Proven experience leading or managing engineers.
• Deep expertise in TypeScript, React, Node.js, and WebSocket systems.
• Strong understanding of system architecture, scalability, and maintainability.
• Experience improving CI / CD pipelines, release processes, and team workflows.

Responsibilities

• Architect a unified codebase for multi-platform and multi-game support.
• Expand and scale the codebase to support multiple game titles.
• Shape system design and infrastructure direction.
• Identify and remove bottlenecks in CI / CD.
• Mentor team members and help them reach mastery.

Skills

TypeScript

React

Node.js

WebSocket systems

Team leadership

Job description

Wanted : Colonist Engineering Lead

Working Hours : We work asynchronously and value outcomes over hours

Location : Fully Remote, Anywhere in the world

Compensation :

Competitive salary paid in USD.

Negotiable range based on experience and location

Stock (own a piece of Colonist)

About Colonist

We're building the biggest digital board game platform on the internet.

Last year, our players spent 2, years playing 45 million games on our Settlers of Catan alternative.

We're a fully remote, asynchronous team spread across multiple continents, focused on crafting extremely polished digital board games that people truly love.

About The Role

As a Engineering Lead at Colonist, your mission is to own our increasing technical complexity by making sound architectural decisions, improving development processes, and raising the technical bar across the organization.

This is a high-impact leadership role for someone who thrives on systems thinking, architectural clarity and positively impacting millions of players.

What You'll Do

Architect a unified codebase for multi-platform and multi-game support, ensuring seamless functionality across Web, Mobile, Discord, and Steam

Expand and scale the codebase to support multiple game titles efficiently

Evolve our TypeScript + Node.js + React + WebSocket systems for scalability, maintainability, and performance

Shape our system design and infrastructure direction with long-term clarity in mind

Identify and remove bottlenecks in CI / CD, testing, and deployment reliability

Mentor team members and help them reach mastery

Raise technical standards by ensuring code quality, best practices, and documentation are maintained across projects

Build and maintain a high-performing team

Translate company and product goals into clear engineering plans and deliverables

Strengthen our engineering values, encourage ownership, and scale a culture of continuous learning

Requirements

7+ years of professional software development experience

Proven experience leading or managing engineers

Deep expertise in TypeScript, React, Node.js, and WebSocket systems

Strong understanding of system architecture, scalability, and maintainability

Experience improving CI / CD pipelines, release processes, and team workflows

Clear, structured written communication (async collaboration is our norm)

Demonstrated ability to mentor and coach others

Proven ability to elevate software development teams' technical standards

Strong judgment and decisiveness under uncertainty

Nice to Have

Experience in real-time multiplayer or game backend systems

Open-source contribution or technical community engagement

Background in remote-first or async teams

Our Values at Colonist

Dependability

We're self-driven players who deliver without needing supervision.

When we commit to something, we make it happen.

Ownership

We take full responsibility and go beyond our roles to improve Colonist.

Each of us acts like we own the company, because through our stock options, we do.

Clear Communication

In our remote environment, written communication is key.

We're direct, structured, and always keep our team in the loop.

Efficient Execution

We move fast and focus on impact.

Instead of getting stuck on perfect solutions, we find practical ways forward and get things done.

Continuous Learning

We're curious problem solvers who love a challenge.

We constantly seek new ideas, embrace feedback, and aren't afraid to change our minds when we're wrong.

Benefits and Compensation

Compensation

Competitive salary paid in USD

Stock (own a piece of Colonist)

Benefits

Fully remote team spread across multiple time zones

Flexible hours, we work asynchronously and value outcomes over hours

Unlimited vacation

Yearly offsite

Work equipment provided

Monthly budget for productivity tools

Growth

Work directly impacts 5M+ yearly active players

Rapid learning opportunities

Work with exceptional colleagues on challenging projects

Freedom to identify and solve problems

Access to all company metrics and discussions

Expect deep work and autonomy with clear expectations and accountability