Senior Application Support Engineer

DataTech Recruitment; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 469,000 - 670,000; Full time

Job summary

DataTech Recruitment is seeking a Senior Application Support Engineer in Johannesburg to own Tier 2/3 incidents, investigate across application, data and cloud layers, and work with development to resolve production issues. The role emphasizes Python, SQL and cloud-native problem solving within a data-focused insurance technology environment.

You will help migrate from on-prem to Google Cloud Platform, with exposure to Azure, plus tooling like Docker and Terraform.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• 3+ years of experience in Application Support, Technical Solutions Engineering, Cloud Support or similar role.
• 5–8 years of relevant experience will align with level of responsibility.
• Strong Python skills, ideally including Flask, FastAPI or API integration work.
• Strong SQL skills with production data investigation and safety.
• Hands-on experience with major cloud platforms (GCP/AWS/Azure).
• GCP and BigQuery experience is a strong advantage.
• Good understanding of networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, HTTP, DNS, routing, load balancing).
• Understanding of CI/CD, cloud DevOps and Infrastructure as Code; Terraform exposure helpful.
• Experience with Docker and containerised environments.
• Familiarity with distributed systems and microservices.
• Ability to debug issues at code level; not just routing tickets.
• Strong analytical and root-cause problem-solving skills.
• Clear written and verbal communication to non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own Tier 2 and Tier 3 application incidents from investigation through to resolution.
• Escalation point for complex production application issues.
• Diagnose bugs, data anomalies, performance bottlenecks across app, data and cloud layers.
• Debug Python code and potentially React code to identify production issues.
• Make minor code fixes where authorised and appropriate.
• Use SQL to investigate and safely update production data when required.
• Collaborate with core development to fix critical bugs and recurring issues.
• Perform root-cause analysis and recommend preventative measures.
• Write Python scripts to automate support activities and improve deployment processes.
• Troubleshoot APIs, integrations, microservices and distributed environments.
• Support migration to GCP and growing cloud usage.
• Create troubleshooting guides and knowledge-base articles.
• Communicate issues, impact and resolution to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Skills

Python

SQL

GCP

BigQuery

CI/CD

Debugging

Communication

Root-cause analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / Information Technology / Software Engineering

Tools

Docker

Terraform

React

Flask/FastAPI

API integration

AWS

Azure

Job description

Senior Application Support Engineer required in Johannesburg.

If you enjoy solving difficult production problems, getting into the code when necessary, and understanding how applications, data and cloud infrastructure fit together, this role offers plenty of technical depth.

An established business in the insurance sector is expanding its data-focused technology team to provide stronger application support across its production environment. The team is also moving from on-premises infrastructure into Google Cloud Platform, with some previous exposure to Azure.

This is not desktop or hardware support, and it is not a pure software development position. You will take ownership of complex L2 and L3 application incidents, investigate issues across application, data and cloud layers, troubleshoot Python code, and work closely with the development team to resolve production problems properly.

You will suit this role if you have strong application support experience, enjoy root-cause investigation, and are comfortable working directly with SQL, Python and cloud environments.

Core technology: Python, SQL, GCP, BigQuery.

Useful exposure: React, Docker, Terraform, CI/CD, AWS or Azure.

Salary: Up to R60,000 per month.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Own Tier 2 and Tier 3 application incidents from investigation through to resolution
• Act as an escalation point for complex production application issues
• Diagnose bugs, unexpected system behaviour, data anomalies and performance bottlenecks
• Investigate problems across application, database, API, infrastructure and cloud layers
• Debug Python and, where relevant, React code to identify the source of production issues
• Make minor code fixes where authorised and appropriate
• Use SQL to investigate, validate and safely update production data when required
• Work closely with the core development and delivery squad on critical bugs and recurring issues
• Perform root-cause analysis and recommend practical measures to prevent repeat incidents
• Write Python scripts to automate repetitive support activities and improve deployment processes
• Troubleshoot APIs, integrations, microservices and distributed application environments
• Support the organisation's migration to GCP and its growing use of cloud-based services
• Create clear troubleshooting guides, support documentation and knowledge-base articles
• Communicate technical issues, impact and resolution clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering or equivalent practical experience
• At least 3 years of experience in Application Support, Technical Solutions Engineering, Cloud Support or a similar technical production-support role
• Candidates with approximately 5 to 8 years of relevant experience will be particularly well aligned with the level of responsibility
• Strong Python skills, ideally including Flask, FastAPI or API integration work
• Strong SQL skills with the ability to investigate and work carefully with production data
• Hands-on experience with at least one major cloud platform such as GCP, AWS or Azure
• GCP and BigQuery experience will be a strong advantage
• Good understanding of networking fundamentals including TCP/IP, HTTP, DNS, routing and load balancing
• Understanding of CI/CD, cloud DevOps practices and Infrastructure as Code
• Exposure to Terraform is advantageous
• Experience working with containerised environments such as Docker
• Familiarity with distributed systems and microservices
• Ability to debug application issues at code level rather than simply route tickets to another team
• Strong analytical and root-cause problem-solving skills
• Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain technical issues to non-technical stakeholders

This position is best suited to an experienced application support professional who wants to stay technically hands-on and work on meaningful production problems. It will not suit desktop support specialists, ticket-routing analysts, pure software developers with no production support background, or data engineers without application support experience.