Java Developer (IDIT) Team Lead

Pty; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 800 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology company in Johannesburg is seeking a Java Development Team Lead with a minimum of 10 years in Java development, including at least 3 years in a leadership role. The successful candidate will be responsible for guiding a team of developers and ensuring the successful delivery of customer projects, utilizing strong object-oriented design principles, experience with Java EE, and knowledge of microservices architecture. This role requires excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years in Java Enterprise Edition programming, with at least 3 years in leadership.
• Experience with unit testing and mocking frameworks.
• Proven ability to translate business requirements into technical designs.
• Strong understanding of microservices architecture and application servers.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of Java developers.
• Oversee design and delivery of customer projects.
• Implement integrations with third-party systems.
• Review technical designs and code quality.
• Drive process improvements and modern methodologies.

Skills

Java Enterprise Edition programming

Leadership skills

Object-oriented design principles

Spring Boot

Agile/Scrum methodologies

Performance optimization

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Tools

WebLogic

Spring Boot

MSSQL

Hibernate

Oracle

DB2

Job description

Johannesburg, South Africa | Posted on 01/08/2026

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Java developers, providing technical guidance, mentorship, and performance management. Self-starter who takes accountability for the team’s delivery.
• Oversee the design and delivery of end-to-end customer projects, including UI, SQL data models, and business logic implementation.
• Architect and develop integrations with external systems (web services, APIs, and other technologies).
• Collaborate with business analysts, architects, and project managers to translate requirements into robust technical solutions.
• Review and approve technical designs, code quality, and adherence to best practices.
• Drive process improvements and adoption of modern development methodologies.
• Ensure project timelines, quality standards, and budgetary requirements are met.

Application Development

• Develop and maintain Java-based modules for policy, claims, billing, and customer management.
• Customize IDIT metadata, workflows, and UI components to meet business requirements.
• Ensure scalability, performance, and maintainability of all developed components.
• Architect and implement integrations with third‑party systems (e.g., payment gateways, CRM, regulatory platforms).
• Design and manage APIs (REST/SOAP) for seamless data exchange across platforms.

Requirement Analysis & Solution Design

• Collaborate with business analysts, product owners, and stakeholders to gather and refine requirements.
• Translate business needs into technical specifications and actionable development plans.
• Provide strategic input into product roadmap and platform enhancements.

Testing & Quality Assurance

• Oversee unit, integration, and regression testing strategies.
• Ensure automated testing coverage and CI/CD pipeline integration.
• Conduct code reviews and mentor developers on best practices.

Platform Configuration & Customization

• Deeply understand and leverage IDIT’s metadata‑driven architecture.
• Optimize system performance, troubleshoot complex issues, and implement enhancements.
• Stay current with IDIT platform updates and industry trends.

Documentation & Governance

• Maintain comprehensive technical documentation and design artifacts.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory standards (e.g., POPIA, FSCA).
• Support audit and governance processes through traceable development practices.

Performance Tuning & Optimization

• Monitor application performance and identify bottlenecks.
• Optimize database queries, caching strategies, and service calls.
• Implement logging and monitoring tools to ensure system reliability.

Security & Compliance

• Ensure applications adhere to data protection regulations (e.g., POPIA in South Africa).
• Implement authentication, authorization, and encryption mechanisms.
• Support audit and compliance reporting features within the platform.
• Promote a culture of accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Minimum 10 years in Java Enterprise Edition programming, with at least 3 years in a leadership or team‑lead capacity.
• Unit testing and mocking frameworks.
• Proven experience translating complex business requirements into detailed technical designs.
• Strong object‑oriented design principles.
• Hands‑on experience with Spring Boot, Java 11+.
• Solid understanding of microservices architecture.
• Proficiency with application servers (WebLogic, WebSphere, JBoss) – Advantage.
• Experience with MSSQL.
• Strong understanding of software architecture, system integration, and performance optimization.
• End‑to‑end implementation of customer projects, including UI, SQL data model, and business logic implementation.
• Development of interfaces with external systems (web services, other technologies).
• Strong understanding of short‑term insurance products and lifecycle.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and leadership skills.
• EJB, SQL, Hibernate – Must; strong understanding of complex data and domain models with large‑scale DB tables.
• Agile/Scrum, SDLC, CI/CD pipelines.
• Ability to translate functional requirements into technical design and development tasks – Must.
• Analytical thinking, communication, problem‑solving, stakeholder engagement.
• Experience with application servers: WebLogic, WebSphere, JBoss – Advantage.
• Experience working with Oracle, DB2, MSSQL (all or one of them) – Advantage.
• Team player with excellent communication skills.