Lead Software Engineer

Engineering; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading software development company in Africa seeks a seasoned fullstack engineer to lead complex projects. With over 10 years of experience required, candidates should demonstrate strong technical leadership, architecture skills, and expertise in modern technologies. Join a dynamic team that empowers innovation and leverages cutting-edge AI solutions.

Benefits

Flexible working environment

Annual team events

Personalized mentorship

Health benefits

Commission incentives

Qualifications

• 10+ years in fullstack software development.
• Experience with complex system architecture and deployments.
• Familiarity with AI-focused startups or intelligent automation.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of fullstack systems.
• Provide guidance on technical architecture and project complexities.
• Support quality control and foster team collaboration.

Skills

Quality Control

Delegation

Frontend Development

Backend Development

Cloud Infrastructure

System Design

Security

Tools

AWS

GCP

Firebase

Job description

At Scrums.com (formerly SovTech), we believe the future of software lies in the talent, innovation, and creativity found on the African continent. For over a decade, we have been pioneering world-class software development for a global audience. We are the leading custom software development company from Africa that, like any great tech company, was founded in a garage. Scrums.com has now grown to more than 350 of the best AI-powered software engineering experts, building world-class platforms for growing businesses across four cities on three continents.

Looking ahead, we remain committed to growing Africa's tech ecosystems. Africa is home to the world's youngest population, with over 50% of Africans under the age of 25. Recent estimates indicate there are over 700,000 professional software developers across Africa today. That number is projected to double by 2025. We believe in the future of African tech talent and the impact it will have on scaling global companies.

Accelerating business growth with expert tech talent

Trusted by 400+ companies, Scrums.com helps businesses scale with our cloud-based engineering subscription platform, offering consistent, cost-effective AI-powered experts, teams, and reliable developer analytics.

Our Culture

Our culture is underpinned by 8 core values.

Earth’s leading software company from Africa- that's where we're going.

Why Join Us?

Be part of a dynamic, people-first team that’s showcasing and advancing Africa’s tech landscape on the global scale. At Scrums.com, we celebrate your individuality, empower your decision-making, and create meaningful experiences. Together, we’re driving innovation and building exceptional teams. Take a look at some of the highlights:

Embrace Our African Talent Footprint, Flexibility, and Autonomy

At Scrums.com, we champion an empowered workplace where you shape the culture, influence decisions on tech stacks, and take charge of user testing—all while working from wherever you thrive best across our interconnected Guilds.

Our distributed teams span South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and other parts of the continent, showcasing the diversity and brilliance of African talent.

The Scrums.com Vibes

Annual Foos-Fest: Showcase your skills at our legendary Foosball Festival and take home quirky, sought-after awards.

AI-Powered Hackathons: Collaborate with your team to create innovative, market-ready products in just 24 hours—all while enjoying live music and family-friendly fun.

Year-End Celebrations: Reflect and connect at our unforgettable year-end events, a decade-old tradition we continue to cherish.

Popcorn Fridays, Dev Chats, and Braais: Bond with colleagues over insightful discussions and sizzling good vibes.

Fluid Clubs: Join like-minded peers in activities like hiking, running, and more to foster shared interests beyond work.

Weekly All-Hands: Stay inspired and in the loop with our weekly All-Hands sessions that bring us together as one team.

Explore Week: Our annual tradition encourages you to work from anywhere around the globe for one exciting week—freedom meets inspiration!

Stacos (our company currency): Reward and recognise your peers with Stacos and exchange them for cool vouchers to celebrate accomplishments big and small.

Commission Incentives: Unlock attractive rewards for successful business development leads and employee referrals.

Continued Career Growth & Support

Internal AI Platforms: We empower our teams with access to both closed and open source LLM’s that make work easier and empower your professional growth. We love AI!

High-Performance Culture: Stay aligned and on track with OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and structured annual reviews.

Personalized Mentorship: Receive dedicated guidance from leadership and the Talent Success Team through one-on-one sessions and quarterly check-ins tailored to your career aspirations.

Our teams are powered by AI—Transforming How We Work

Our teams embrace cutting-edge AI platforms, agents, and tools, creating smarter workflows and accelerating career development with AI.

OpenAI, Anthropic, Llama - we use them all so choose what suits you best!

You don’t need your own licenses - we cover the costs and have our own internal AI platforms that give you access to them all in a secure environment.

Outstanding Employee Benefits

Discovery Medical Aid: Prioritizing your health with the best care.

Half-Day Birthday Leave: Celebrate your special day with an afternoon off!

Family responsibility & Parental Benefits: Providing full support for a meaningful work-life balance.

*Please note: Benefits may vary depending on employment type

Join us and be part of a dynamic, supportive team that’s making waves across Africa.

Job requirements

Experience

10+ years building and leading complex, fullstack systems in production

Delivered end-to-end software from product specs to live deployments

Ideally first tech hire or early lead at a startup — comfortable owning and scaling the full stack

Comfortable working with remote management and keeping C levels updated while providing knowledgeable technical architecture, advice

Experienced and sizing complexity and “estimates”

Skills

Ability to quality control and delegate tasks to various team members

Ability to foster continuous improvement while being hands on in the code on frontend and backend

Frontend-focused — pixel-perfect UI, UX-first, ships fast

Backend capable — builds APIs, handles infra, databases, and scalability

Strong in architecture, cloud (AWS / GCP), and system design

Security (JWT, role-based access)

Firebase (nice to have)

Attributes

Solution-architect mindset with attention to detail

Sets a high bar, leads by example, clear and direct communicator

Makes solid technical estimates, holds team accountable without micromanaging

Hands-on — codes daily, solves hard problems, learns by doing

Proactive but collaborative — takes initiative without stepping on toes

Balances perfectionism with pragmatism (“JFDI” when needed)

Cares deeply about product quality, scalability, and team velocity

Real World Impact

Experience on social media or streaming platforms preferred

Contributed to products with 100k+ concurrent users

Understands how to deliver high-volume, real-time content at scale

Shipped high-impact features under pressure — reliable and resilient

Makes thoughtful architectural decisions that hold up in production

Moves fast, but keeps alignment with team and business priorities

Additional Requirements

Experience working in AI-focused startups or products that integrate real-time or intelligent automation features.