Remote Senior Software Engineer (Backend)

Placements24; Mbombela (Nelspruit); Hybrid; ZAR 850,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote salary

Flexible hours

Annual leave

Home office allowance

Professional development

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Remote Senior Backend Engineer to design and maintain scalable backend services for a leading SaaS product. This fully remote role is based in South Africa and requires 5+ years in backend development, strong API design, and experience with databases and cloud/container tech.

You will collaborate across teams in a remote-first environment. Join a fast-growing company that values clean code, scalable architectures, and mentorship while enjoying flexible hours and a

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of professional backend experience.
• Proven expertise in one or more backend languages (Node.js, Python, Go, Java).
• Strong understanding of API design principles (REST/GraphQL).
• Experience with relational and/or NoSQL databases.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and Docker.
• Experience with CI/CD tools and practices.
• Strong problem-solving and collaboration skills.
• Excellent communication for a remote role.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy scalable backend services and APIs.
• Write clean, maintainable, well-documented code.
• Collaborate with frontend, product, and stakeholders to implement features.
• Optimize performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Manage databases (SQL/NoSQL) and CI/CD pipelines.
• Participate in code reviews and mentor juniors.
• Troubleshoot production issues and contribute to roadmap planning.

Skills

Backend development

API design

Distributed systems

Code reviews

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

Node.js

Python

Go

Java

Docker

CI/CD

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a rapidly growing SaaS company, is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Remote Senior Software Engineer (Backend) to join their dynamic engineering team. This role is fully remote, allowing you to work from anywhere within South Africa. You will be responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining scalable and robust backend services that power our innovative platform. We are looking for engineers who are passionate about clean code, elegant solutions, and have a strong understanding of distributed systems and API design. This is an exceptional opportunity to contribute to a cutting-edge product in a collaborative, remote-first environment, making a significant impact from your home office.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy scalable backend services and APIs using modern languages and frameworks (e.g., Node.js, Python/Django/Flask, Go, Java/Spring).
• Write clean, maintainable, efficient, and well-documented code.
• Collaborate with frontend engineers, product managers, and other stakeholders to define and implement new features.
• Optimize application performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Implement and maintain database solutions (SQL and NoSQL).
• Develop and manage CI/CD pipelines for automated testing and deployment.
• Participate in code reviews, provide constructive feedback, and mentor junior engineers.
• Troubleshoot, debug, and resolve production issues.
• Contribute to architectural decisions and technical roadmap planning.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of professional experience in backend software development.
• Proven expertise in one or more backend programming languages (e.g., Node.js, Python, Go, Java).
• Strong understanding of API design principles (RESTful, GraphQL).
• Experience with relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL) and/or NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB, Redis).
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization technologies (Docker).
• Experience with CI/CD tools and practices.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, and debugging skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, essential for a remote role.

Benefits

• Our client offers a highly competitive remote salary, flexible working hours, generous annual leave, and a home office setup allowance.
• You will benefit from professional development opportunities, including online courses, certifications, and virtual team-building events.