Lead Software Engineer (Backend)

Placements24; Richards Bay; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Fully remote work environment

Health, dental, vision insurance

Generous PTO and parental leave

Career development opportunities

Collaborative team culture

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking an experienced Lead Software Engineer (Backend) to drive architectural decisions, mentor a team, and deliver scalable backend systems. This fully remote position requires strategic thinking and strong leadership to guide technical initiatives across the engineering org.

You will design complex features, optimize services, and establish best practices, partnering with product managers to shape roadmaps and technical strategy.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of backend development experience.
• Proven track record leading projects and teams.
• Strong understanding of microservices and distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and deployment of scalable backend services and APIs.
• Mentor engineers and promote best practices.
• Make architectural decisions and ensure coding standards.
• Collaborate with product managers to align roadmaps and technical strategies.
• Optimize performance, databases, and system scalability.
• Conduct thorough code reviews and provide feedback.

Skills

Backend development

Team leadership

Cloud platforms

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Microservices

SQL/NoSQL databases

AWS/Azure/GCP

Docker/Kubernetes

Job description

About the Role

Our client is seeking an experienced and visionary Lead Software Engineer specializing in backend development to spearhead their technical initiatives. This fully remote position requires a strategic thinker who can mentor a team, drive architectural decisions, and ensure the delivery of high-quality, scalable, and performant backend systems. You will be at the forefront of designing and implementing complex features, optimizing existing services, and establishing best practices within the engineering department. This is an exceptional opportunity to influence the technical direction of a growing organization and work on challenging projects from anywhere. Join us and lead the charge in building robust and innovative solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of scalable and resilient backend services and APIs.
• Mentor and guide a team of software engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement.
• Make key architectural decisions and ensure adherence to coding standards and best practices.
• Collaborate with product managers and other engineering leads to define project roadmaps and technical strategies.
• Optimize application performance, database efficiency, and system scalability.
• Conduct thorough code reviews and provide constructive feedback to team members.

Requirements

• Extensive professional experience (7+ years) in backend software development, with a proven track record of leading projects.
• Expertise in at least one major backend programming language (e.g., Java, Python, C#, Go).
• Deep understanding of microservices architecture, distributed systems, and database design (SQL/NoSQL).
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization technologies.
• Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary and performance-based bonus structure.
• Fully remote work environment with flexible scheduling options.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Generous paid time off and parental leave policies.
• Significant opportunities for career advancement and professional development.
• A dynamic and supportive team culture that encourages collaboration and innovation.