Senior Backend Developer (AI)

Clickatell; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Aid contribution

Pension fund contribution

Quarterly performance incentive bonus

Risk benefit company contributions

Home office setup

Job summary

Clickatell is seeking a backend engineer who embraces AI-enabled development. You will own backend services end-to-end, design scalable, reliable systems, and leverage AI tools to accelerate delivery.

The role focuses on building robust architectures while maintaining high standards for quality and performance. You will work with Java/Spring Boot and Python, ensure low-latency operations, and integrate AI capabilities into backend workflows.

Qualifications

• Strong experience with Java (Spring Boot) and Python backends.
• Experience building high-scale, low-latency distributed systems.
• Solid understanding of APIs, databases, caching and event-driven systems.

Responsibilities

• Build and own backend services using Java, Spring Boot, and Python for scale and reliability.

Skills

Java (Spring Boot)

Python backend

Distributed systems

APIs & databases

Cloud AWS

Containerization

LLM integrations

Tools

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

Kafka

Job description

We Are Innovators & Category Creators

Clickatell, founded in Cape Town in 2000, was the first company to connect businesses with consumers via SMS using just four lines of code. Today, it powers AI-driven chat commerce for leading global brands across industries like banking, retail, telecoms, and healthcare — including Visa, ABSA, MTN, Toyota, and Pick n Pay. Over 25 years, Clickatell has led multiple industry firsts, such as tokenized WhatsApp payments, KYC chat banking, and Chat-2-Pay, through its award-winning AI Chat Commerce Platform that enables brands to interact and transact with customers seamlessly.

The Role

We're looking for a backend engineer who believes the way software is built has fundamentally changed. You don't write everything from scratch, you use AI to move faster, think better, and focus on what matters. Boilerplate is not your job; building scalable, reliable systems is. In this role, you will own backend services end-to-end and use AI as a force multiplier to ship faster than traditional development teams. If you're still coding the same way you were two years ago, this role isn't for you.

We Do The Right Things

Responsibilities Of The Role

• Build and own backend services using Java, Spring Boot, and Python—designed for scale, reliability, and real-time use


• Use AI tools (Amazon Q, Cursor, Copilot, Claude, GPT) to accelerate development, refactoring, and problem-solving


• Turn product ideas into production-ready systems quickly, without compromising quality


• Integrate AI capabilities (LLMs, RAG, vector search) into backend workflows where they add real value


• Act as the final filter for AI-generated code—identify flaws, inefficiencies, and incorrect assumptions before they ship


• Design clean APIs, handle distributed system challenges, and ensure performance at scale


• Write and validate tests to keep fast-moving systems stable


• Debug production issues and take full ownership of reliability and performance

We Are On A Learning Journey

Requirements Of The Role

Technical Skills & Competencies

• Strong experience with Java (Spring Boot) and Python backend systems


• Experience building high-scale, low-latency distributed systems


• Solid understanding of APIs, databases, caching, and event-driven systems (e.g., Kafka)


• Experience with cloud environments (AWS) and containerized deployments


• Familiarity with LLM APIs, token usage, latency, and response handling

AI-Native Capabilities

• You are already using AI tools (Amazon Q, Cursor, Copilot, Claude, GPT) as part of your daily workflow


• You know how to manage context, structure prompts, and get reliable outputs from AI systems


• You don't trust AI blindly, you verify, refine, and take responsibility for every line shipped

What Makes You a Fit

• You take full ownership "the AI wrote it" is never an excuse


• You optimize for speed and correctness


• You have a tinkerer's mindset, you try new tools early, experiment constantly, and figure out what works


• You constantly look for better, faster ways to build


• You are comfortable operating in ambiguity and turning ideas into working systems

A Bit About You

Behavioral competency requirements of a Highflyer:

• Team Player: Self-directed and dedicated team player who positively engages with the team to solve


• Optimizing Processes: Optimally utilizes the tools and resources available to maximizes output. Conducts day-to-day operations using best practice to achieve effectiveness and accuracy. Continuously reviews and makes recommendations for process improvements


• Expert Thinker: Equipped with specialist knowledge and makes recommendations that are practical, smart and ready to implement. Remains up-to-date in the industry and offers technical advice, and support to own team and others


• Effective Problem-Solver: Resourceful, persistent, and creative when solving problems. Able to be analytical and follow a logical process to make decisions. Finds the balance between a good and quick decision through experience and knowledge. Able to present and explain thinking and the resulting decision


• Connecting Collaboratively: Actively connects to bring cohesion and deliver excellence. Sees the value in working closely with different specialities and teams to ensure all operations are aligned to meet the required objectives


• Maximizing Awareness: Recognizes emotions and how it affects behavior and relationships. Self-aware and picks up on emotional cues in situations. Self-manages and empowered to show initiative, follow through on commitments, and work well in a team. Listens, reflects, and responds effectively to constructive criticism


• Enabling Strategy: Implements the action plans in order to produce practical outputs while considering the implication, and consequences for the organization and our customers


• Action Orientated Mindset: Know-how to skilfully approach technical activities to deliver value. Eager to deliver new or improved solutions to drive the organization forward. Focused on what needs to be done and ensures follow-through on all commitments


• Embracing Change: Invites change and stays focused and resilient and chooses responses that are positive when feeling uncertain. Remains flexible, adaptable, and open to opportunities to be innovative. Uses failure as an opportunity to learn and grows. Thinks ahead, anticipates, and acts


• Driving Delivery: Goal-oriented and monitors processes and systems to ensure tracking towards goals despite challenging and stressful situations. Sets high standards for quality and performance and provides metrics to show improvements as well as real-time variance for effective tracking

Why You Should Join

Working with a world class, award winning, international team with strong values and perspectives on the world. You can expect to become the best version of you in terms of your career and the challenges that will test and grow you. We have a learning culture, we take risks and we are here to make an impact, if that resonates, you will thrive here. Other things you may wonder about that we do also offer:

Perks of the Role

• Medical Aid contribution


• Pension fund contribution


• Quarterly performance incentive bonus


• Risk benefit company contributions


• Reimbursable communications allowance for internet and mobile phone bills


• Half-day off on your birthday


• 5 personal days leave a year, over and above your annual leave + ½ day off on your birthday


• Flexible working conditions (remote & in person) with access to office hubs as required*current policy


• Home office set-up with laptop, monitor and other related items

Stronger Together

At Clickatell, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging is at the core of who we are - from how we build our product platforms to how we build our workforce. We believe that we are stronger together and by leveraging the power of diversity and inclusion, we are able to generate innovative ideas to revolutionize the way the world uses chat technology. We create common ground - Our platform is for all, and so is our workplace. Everyone is welcome at Clickatell and our employees feel psychologically safe and empowered to show up with their authentic selves at work.