Principal Architect for Scalable Systems

Techrepo.co.za; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Techrepo.co.za seeks a seasoned engineering leader to architect and scale highly available distributed systems for the Takealot Group. You will drive 0-to-1 initiatives, mentor senior engineers, and align technical strategy with business goals.

You will champion engineering standards, influence cross-functional teams, and continuously improve reliability, performance, and developer velocity across the platform.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field.
• 10+ years in software engineering and distributed systems.
• 5+ years in technical leadership roles.
• Experience driving greenfield (0-to-1) projects.
• Ability to influence a team of developers to deliver scalable services.
• Deep domain in e-commerce, Supply Chain, Logistics, ML, or SaaS.
• Excellent communication with C-suite and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture design for scalable, secure distributed systems across the Takealot Group.
• Drive 0-to-1 initiatives with rapid prototyping to unlock new capabilities.
• Decompose complex constraints into simple, effective technical solutions.
• Establish and evangelise group-wide technical standards and practices.
• Mentor senior engineers and guide their technical growth.
• Provide data-driven guidance to executives on technology strategy.

Skills

Technical leadership

Distributed systems

E-commerce domain

Architectural design

Stakeholder mgmt

Team mentoring

Cloud platforms

Data structures

Security tuning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

Job description

Techrepo.co.za seeks a seasoned engineering leader to architect and scale highly available distributed systems for the Takealot Group. You will drive 0-to-1 initiatives, mentor senior engineers, and align technical strategy with business goals.

You will champion engineering standards, influence cross-functional teams, and continuously improve reliability, performance, and developer velocity across the platform.