Principal Software Engineer - Cloud Infrastructure

Placements24; Pretoria; Hybrid; ZAR 1,800,000 - 3,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

High salary & incentives

Executive health benefits

Stock options / equity grants

Professional development budget

Flexible work arrangements

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the Cloud Infrastructure team in Pretoria. You will architect scalable, secure cloud platforms, drive technical strategy, and mentor engineers.

In this senior role, you will own infrastructure design, champion automation with Terraform/CloudFormation, and ensure reliability and performance while supporting rapid growth. You will collaborate with product teams, oversee CI/CD pipelines, and codify engineering best practices.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience with cloud infrastructure
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in CS or Engineering
• Expertise in AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Strong Python/Go/Java coding skills
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes
• Proven CI/CD and automation experience

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement highly available, scalable, and secure cloud infrastructure solutions.
• Develop and maintain infrastructure-as-code using Terraform or CloudFormation.
• Automate deployment, monitoring, and management of cloud resources.
• Troubleshoot complex system issues and performance bottlenecks in production environments.
• Define and enforce engineering best practices for cloud development and operations.
• Lead technical design reviews and mentor junior and senior engineers.

Skills

Cloud architecture

Automation

Mentoring

CI/CD

Python

Go

Java

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

Terraform

CloudFormation

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

About the Role

Our client is seeking an experienced and visionary Principal Software Engineer to lead their Cloud Infrastructure team in Pretoria . This senior role is responsible for designing, building, and maintaining the scalable, reliable, and secure cloud platforms that power our client's services. You will architect robust solutions, drive technical strategy, and mentor other engineers, ensuring our infrastructure meets the demands of rapid growth and evolving technological landscapes. The ideal candidate is a deep technical expert in cloud technologies, passionate about automation, reliability, and performance, contributing to a culture of engineering excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and implement highly available, scalable, and secure cloud infrastructure solutions.


• Develop and maintain infrastructure-as-code using tools like Terraform or CloudFormation.


• Automate deployment, monitoring, and management of cloud resources.


• Troubleshoot complex system issues and performance bottlenecks in production environments.


• Define and enforce engineering best practices for cloud development and operations.


• Lead technical design reviews and mentor junior and senior engineers.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.


• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, with a significant focus on cloud infrastructure.


• Expertise in cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.


• Strong programming skills in languages like Python, Go, or Java.


• Deep understanding of containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).


• Proven experience with CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure automation tools.

Benefits

• Exceptional salary and long-term incentive plan.


• Comprehensive executive health benefits package.


• Generous stock options or equity grants.


• Extensive professional development budget and conference attendance.


• Flexible work arrangements and a focus on work-life balance.