Senior Front Arena Engineer

1001 Absa Bank; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Absa Bank in South Africa is seeking an experienced Front Arena engineer to own and advance the Front Arena platform within Global Markets. The role requires a hands-on engineer who can take ownership of complex Front Arena development and technical problem solving across the full delivery lifecycle, from understanding a business problem to production support.

You will collaborate with business stakeholders and product teams to ensure Front Arena continues to meet evolving Global Markets

Qualifications

• 8+ years engineering experience, including 5+ years Front Arena development and Python experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering or related discipline.
• Experience deploying Front Arena in cloud-hosted environments (AWS or Azure).
• Advanced: Front Arena APIs / ACM / AEL / ADFL.
• Strong: Front Arena core scripts, production troubleshooting, solution design, version control (Git/GitHub) and CI/CD.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, enhance and support Front Arena solutions.
• Develop and maintain Front Arena core scripts, including FValidation.
• Develop solutions using Python, ACM/AEL, ADFL, ATS, ADS, AMBA/AMB and relevant Front Arena APIs.
• Troubleshoot complex production issues across batch and process functionality, perform root‑cause analysis, and implement fixes.
• Participate in Front Arena upgrades and migrations (e.g. Cloud).
• Ensure Front Arena solutions are performant and aligned with platform standards.

Skills

Front Arena development

Python engineering

Production troubleshooting

Cloud deployment

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering or related

Tools

Front Arena APIs (ACM / AEL / ADFL)

Git / GitHub

CI/CD

AWS / Azure

Job description

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time. With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Belonging at Absa Absa is committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from suitably qualified individuals from diverse backgrounds. In support of our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) commitments and Employment Equity objectives, preference may be given to candidates from underrepresented designated groups, including persons with disabilities. We encourage applicants who may require reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process to let us know so that appropriate support can be provided.

Job Summary

Provide engineering capability for the CIB Front Arena platform. The role requires a hands‑on engineer who can take ownership of complex Front Arena development and technical problem solving across the full delivery lifecycle, from understanding a business problem and designing the solution through to development, testing, implementation and production support. The successful candidate must have strong development experience within Front Arena, combined with Python engineering skills and an understanding of Corporate and Investment Banking. The role will work closely with business stakeholders and product teams to ensure the Front Arena platform continues to meet evolving Global Markets requirements.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

• Front Arena Engineering Design, develop, enhance and support solutions within Front Arena.
• Develop and maintain Front Arena core scripts, including components such as FValidation.
• Develop solutions using Python, ACM/AEL, ADFL, ATS, ADS, AMBA/AMB and relevant Front Arena APIs.
• Troubleshoot complex business‑raised production issues across batch and process functionality, perform root‑cause analysis, and implement sustainable fixes.
• Participate in Front Arena upgrades and migrations (e.g. Cloud).
• Ensure Front Arena solutions are performant, maintainable and aligned with platform standards.

Solution Design and Technical Ownership

• Translate business requirements into robust Front Arena technical solutions.
• Provide technical direction for complex enhancements and platform changes.
• Assess whether requirements should be addressed through standard Front Arena capabilities, configuration, scripting, integration or custom development.
• Challenge designs that introduce unnecessary customisation, performance issues or long‑term support risk.
• Review technical designs, solution approaches and code before production implementation.
• Own complex problems through to resolution rather than relying on detailed technical direction from others.
• Engage with the Front Arena vendor where product expertise or vendor intervention is required.
• Working with version control, branching, merging, pull requests, and team‑based development workflows.

Technical Leadership

• Act as a senior technical authority for Front Arena engineering.
• Review technical designs, solution approaches and code before production implementation.
• Establish and reinforce development standards and engineering practices.
• Mentor engineers with less Front Arena experience.
• Support technical analysis of high‑severity incidents.
• Identify systemic problems rather than repeatedly implementing tactical fixes.
• Improve documentation and reduce dependency on individual technical SMEs.
• Work effectively with Product, Business, Support, Infrastructure, Data and other engineering teams.

Critical Skills and Experience required

• 8+ years relevant engineering experience, including 5+ years hands‑on Front Arena development and Python experience
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience supporting Front Arena deployments within cloud‑hosted environments (AWS or Azure).
• Advanced: Front Arena APIs / ACM / AEL / ADFL
• Strong: Front Arena core scripts / Production troubleshooting / Solution design / Version control (preferably Git and GitHub) / CI/CD and automated deployment
• Experience supporting Front Arena within Global Markets environments, including exposure to Fixed Income, FX, Derivatives or Treasury products.
• A hands‑on engineer first, rather than purely an architect or manager.
• Comfortable taking ownership of ambiguous technical problems.
• Strong at debugging existing Front Arena implementations.
• Able to understand both business context and technical consequences.
• Pragmatic about when to configure, customise, integrate or elevate to the vendor.
• Comfortable working in a production‑critical banking environment.
• Able to communicate clearly with both engineers and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Comfortable providing technical leadership while continuing to write and review code.

Advantageous

• Experience Power BI and data visualization
• Data analysis and reporting
• AI‑assisted development tools and automation
• Microsoft Power Platform

Education

• Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology

At Absa, our story is not a single narrative. It’s thousands of individual journeys unfolding across Africa and beyond. From colleagues serving customers in local communities to teams shaping financial solutions across borders, Absa is built on people who bring their lived experiences, ambitions and perspectives into the workplace every day. Whether you’re starting your career, a seasoned leader or somewhere in between, your contribution is seen, valued and connected to something bigger. Our presence across Africa – which spans personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management, and insurance – exists because of the people who show up in their roles with purpose. Across Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, our colleagues are shaping what Absa becomes in each market. Beyond the continent, teams in global offices and a technology hub support and extend the stories that prove that African talent can lead, influence and innovate on the global stage. At Absa, your story matters because progress is driven by human experience, not hierarchy. When people are enabled to bring their whole selves to work, they don’t just build careers. They help shape the future of Africa’s financial services landscape.