Senior Full-Stack Developer (Python, Next.js, AWS)

AES Global; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Architecture ownership

Hybrid work

Modern tooling

Career growth

Job summary

AES Global in Cape Town is seeking a senior engineer to own the platform architecture and set technical direction. You will balance hands‑on coding with leadership, mentoring, and architectural reviews to keep the team aligned.

You’ll primarily work on Python services (FastAPI), front ends (TypeScript/Next.js), and a PostgreSQL data model, deploying on AWS with security best practices. Hybrid, permanent role in Cape Town.

Qualifications

• Degree in computer science, software engineering or related field.
• Seven or more years in full‑stack software development.
• Proficiency with FastAPI or Flask, Next.js or React, TypeScript and PostgreSQL.
• Proficiency with Docker and containerised systems.
• Experience designing and owning scalable cloud‑based architectures.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction and coding standards, and mentor engineers through reviews.
• Lead design of scalable architectures and own planning of system work.
• Build and evolve Python services (FastAPI) and front ends (TypeScript/Next.js).
• Deploy and run platform on AWS with security and compliance best practices.
• Assess new AI/ML tech and drive beneficial adoption.
• Maintain code quality with tests and pre‑release checks; document decisions.
• Collaborate in an agile team and document architecture decisions.

Skills

Senior leadership

Full-stack development

Code reviews

Mentoring engineers

AWS cloud architecture

Docker

FastAPI/Flask

Next.js/React

PostgreSQL

Education

Degree in computer science or software engineering

Tools

FastAPI

Flask

Next.js

React

PostgreSQL

Docker

Job description

A technology business in Cape Town is scaling its platform and needs a senior engineer to take ownership of the architecture behind it. This is the person who sets technical direction, makes the design calls, and carries the standard the rest of the team builds to.

It is a leadership seat that still writes code. Expect your week to run between architectural decisions, code review and mentoring, and the hardest hands‑on problems in Python.

What you’ll do

• Set technical direction and coding standards, and mentor junior and intermediate engineers through review and pairing.
• Lead the design of scalable system architectures, and own the planning of system and deployment work.
• Build and evolve the Python services behind the platform (FastAPI), the TypeScript and Next.js front ends on top of them, and the PostgreSQL data model underneath — taking the hardest problems yourself.
• Deploy and run the platform on AWS, tuning it for scale and performance in the cloud, and holding it to AWS security and compliance best practice.
• Assess new AI and ML technologies and bring in the ones that genuinely extend what the product can do.
• Keep quality honest — unit and integration tests, the pre‑release checks that catch a bad build, and the debugging and upgrading of what is already in production.
• Work in an agile team alongside cross‑functional stakeholders, and document code, process and architectural decisions.

What you’ll need

• A degree in computer science, software engineering or a related field.
• Seven or more years in full‑stack software development.
• Proficiency with FastAPI or Flask, Next.js or React, TypeScript and PostgreSQL.
• Proficiency with Docker and containerised systems.
• Proven experience designing and owning scalable systems and cloud‑based solutions.
• A track record of technical leadership — mentoring engineers, leading code reviews, driving architectural decisions.
• A strong understanding of the whole web development process, from design through to deployment.
• Excellent problem‑solving skills and real attention to detail.

Nice to have

• Event‑driven system design, and NoSQL data modelling on DynamoDB.
• Breadth across the wider AWS service catalogue, and deep relational database knowledge.
• Comfort working inside and evolving an established monolithic codebase, not only greenfield services.
• Open‑source contributions or a substantial GitHub portfolio.

What’s on offer

• The architecture is yours to own, not handed to you.
• Modern tooling, and room to bring new technology in where it earns its place.
• Professional growth as the platform and the team scale.

Cape Town. Hybrid. Permanent.