Senior Lead Developer (C++, Rust) - Cape Town - Up to R1.6m Per Annum

E-Merge; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 1,440,000 - 1,760,000; Full time

Job summary

E-Merge is seeking a Senior Lead Developer with strong C++ and Rust expertise to join a high-performing technology team in Cape Town. This hands-on leadership role focuses on shaping architecture, mentoring engineers, and delivering high-impact software.

The ideal candidate writes great code, thrives on engineering excellence, and can drive best practices across complex systems. Reference MAT61499 for internal tracking.

Qualifications

• Strong production experience with C++ and Rust.
• Experience mentoring and leading engineers.
• Experience with Linux-based development and performance tuning.
• Ability to work with both modern and legacy codebases.

Skills

C++

Rust

Linux

Memory mgmt

Concurrency

Tools

Git

Job description

A technology-driven team built around innovation and engineering excellence is looking for an exceptional Senior Lead Developer with strong C++ and Rust expertise to join its high-performing technology team and work on sophisticated, high-impact software

This is a hands-on technical leadership opportunity for someone who enjoys writing great code, shaping architecture, mentoring engineers, and driving engineering excellence

If you are a senior C++ engineer with strong Rust expertise-or a systems engineer who thrives at the intersection of both languages-want love to hear from you

Technical Requirements:

• Strong commercial experience developing software in **C++**.
• Strong commercial experience with **Rust**.
• Experience working with both modern and legacy codebases.
• Strong understanding of software architecture and design principles.
• Strong systems programming fundamentals.
• Excellent debugging and problem-solving skills.
• Experience developing production-grade, high-performance software.
• Strong understanding of memory management, concurrency and multi-threading.
• Experience working with Linux-based development environments.
• Strong understanding of software development best practices.
• Experience with Git and modern source-control practices.
• Ability to understand and work within complex existing systems.

Reference Number for this position is MAT61499 which is a permanent position based in Claremont, Cape Town offering a cost to company salary of up to R1.6m per annum depending on experience and ability.