Lead Software Engineer - Backend Services

Placements24; Vereeniging; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Competitive salary

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Professional development budget

Job summary

Placements24 in Vereeniging is seeking an experienced Lead Software Engineer to guide a backend services development team in a hybrid role. You will shape architectural decisions, mentor engineers, and drive scalable, high-performance systems while collaborating with product and front-end teams.

The role demands a strong technical leader with expertise across Go/Java/Python/Node.js, microservices, REST APIs, and SQL/NoSQL databases.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 6+ years software development, with at least 2 years in lead/senior backend role.
• Expertise in one or more backend languages (Go/Java/Python/Node.js) and frameworks.
• Strong experience with microservices, RESTful APIs, and SQL/NoSQL databases.
• Proven ability to design and implement highly available, scalable systems.
• Excellent leadership, communication and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and deployment of scalable backend services and APIs.
• Mentor and guide a team of software engineers.
• Define and enforce technical standards and architectural patterns for backend development.
• Collaborate with product managers, frontend developers, and stakeholders.
• Oversee code reviews, performance tuning, and troubleshooting.
• Drive innovation by researching new technologies for backend development.

Skills

Leadership

Backend development

Architectural design

Mentoring

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Go

Java

Python

Node.js

REST APIs

SQL/NoSQL databases

Job description

About the Role

Our client is seeking an experienced and motivated Lead Software Engineer to guide their backend services development team in Vereeniging . This hybrid role offers the chance to shape architectural decisions, mentor engineers, and drive the development of high-performance, scalable backend systems. You will be pivotal in defining technical roadmaps, ensuring code quality, and fostering a collaborative and innovative engineering culture. This is an exceptional opportunity for a technical leader to make a significant impact on the company's core technology stack.

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 their technical growth and ensuring high-quality code delivery.
• Define and enforce technical standards, best practices, and architectural patterns for backend development.
• Collaborate with product managers, front-end developers, and other stakeholders to define project requirements and technical solutions.
• Oversee code reviews, performance tuning, and troubleshooting of backend systems.
• Drive innovation by researching and introducing new technologies and methodologies relevant to backend development.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 6+ years of professional software development experience, with at least 2 years in a lead or senior engineer role focused on backend services .
• Expertise in one or more backend programming languages (e.g., Go, Java, Python, Node.js) and associated frameworks.
• Strong experience with microservices architecture, RESTful APIs, and database technologies (SQL/NoSQL).
• Proven ability to design and implement highly available and scalable systems.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary and executive stock options.
• Hybrid work arrangement supporting work-life integration.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Generous professional development budget for training and conferences.Opportunity to lead and influence the technical direction of a growing company.