Software Engineer

Xceptor; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 600 000 - 800 000; Full time

Job summary

A data solutions company is seeking a Senior Software Engineer in Cape Town. The role emphasizes designing and implementing robust software in modern C#/.NET while integrating AI to accelerate delivery and ensure high-quality output. Applicants should have significant experience (5+ years) in software engineering, especially in building production systems with strong engineering standards. The position requires collaboration across teams and a focus on delivering production-grade quality within an AI-first environment.

Benefits

Diversity and Inclusion initiatives

Continuous learning opportunities

Qualifications

• Significant experience delivering production systems as a software engineer (typically 5+ years).
• Experience with modern .NET/C# and SQL/No-SQL in production.
• Experience working with strong engineering standards (testing, CI/CD, reviews, observability).

Responsibilities

• Own delivery of features and technical slices end-to-end, including production support.
• Design and implement robust, maintainable software in modern C#/.NET.
• Write effective automated tests and treat test quality as a first-class part of delivery.

Skills

C#/.NET

SQL/No-SQL

API Design

AI integration

Code Review

Education

Degree in STEM

Tools

Git

Azure DevOps

Job description

About Xceptor

Overview

Data is at the heart of everything we do: Xceptor has been designed around data manipulation in its broadest sense. We source data from wherever it flows. We curate, normalise, validate, repair, and enrich that data so it reaches its destination in a reliable and consistent format. Data coming out of Xceptor is data our clients can trust. We are recognised as an expert in the Financial Services vertical, which strongly aligns with Business Users in Middle and Back-Office teams. We enable these users to solve their data challenges by themselves, rather than through a technology-led project.

Our mission is to empower business users within financial institutions to build automated processes that deliver trusted data. Our values are: Client Centricity, One Team, Impactful.

Your role: The Solutions Tribe builds specialised, high-value industry solutions, combining deep domain expertise, engineering, and product thinking to deliver targeted, impactful outcomes for our clients at speed. The tribe is transitioning to an AI-first PDLC: AI agents draft code, tests, docs, and runbooks; engineers set intent and constraints, verify, and approve to a production bar.

As a Senior Software Engineer at Xceptor, you are a key delivery contributor who ships production-grade software at high pace within the tribe’s patterns, guardrails, and standards. You will own meaningful end-to-end slices of work (design, build, test, operate), using AI routinely to accelerate delivery while staying fully accountable for correctness, safety, quality, and control. We’re building the next-gen platform differently. AI-first delivery is the normal way of working: agents accelerate implementation and artefacts; engineers verify, harden, and approve. This role exists to deliver high-quality capability quickly and to help make that AI-first delivery system reliable and repeatable.

What You’ll Be Doing

Mission Delivery

• Own delivery of features and technical slices end-to-end, including production support.
• Break work into small increments, keep PRs tight, and ship frequently with a bias to outcomes.
• Turn ambiguity into clarity by asking the right questions and aligning quickly on scope, constraints, and acceptance.
• Deliver production-grade functionality by default (security, performance, observability, auditability, maintainability).

AI-First Delivery System (How we build)

• Use AI routinely as a delivery partner for first drafts of code, tests, docs, and runbooks, while maintaining full accountability for the result.
• Work effectively in the AI-first PDLC by shaping tasks with intent and constraints, iterating quickly, and validating outputs thoroughly.
• Apply verification discipline to AI-generated output (tests, edge cases, failure modes, security, performance, and operational behaviour).
• Contribute to golden paths and repeatable speed (templates, patterns, “golden prompts”, automated checks) based on real delivery learnings.
• Participate actively in code review as author and reviewer, raising standards through clear, pragmatic feedback.

Technical Delivery

• Design and implement robust, maintainable software in modern C#/.NET aligned to architecture, service boundaries, and contracts.
• Build reliable data flows using SQL/No-SQL with appropriate schema design, indexing, and migration practices.
• Implement APIs and integrations with consistent error handling and resilience patterns suitable for distributed systems.
• Write effective automated tests (unit/integration/contract as appropriate) and treat test quality as a first-class part of delivery.
• Keep documentation current as part of delivery (agents draft; you verify for correctness and usefulness).

Quality, Security & Production Readiness (Speed with Control)

• Meet “speed with control” standards: automated quality gates, security scanning, and production readiness requirements.
• Ensure observability by default in what you build (structured logs, meaningful metrics, traceability, runbook notes for key behaviours).
• Build with safe release practices in mind so changes are reversible, diagnosable, and measurable in production.
• Apply regulated controls where required (traceability, audit-friendly behaviours, sensible access/control considerations).

Collaboration & Culture

• Work effectively across Product, UX, QA, and Engineering to deliver outcomes, not just output.
• Share knowledge, support peers, and contribute to a positive, high-performing culture.
• Maintain a continuous learning mindset and adopt improved practices, helping others do the same.
• Step up to unblock progress, improve reliability, and strengthen the tribe’s delivery system when needed.

Key Competencies

Technical:

• Strong experience building production systems in modern C#/.NET with solid API design and integration fundamentals.
• Strong SQL/No-SQL and data modelling capability, including performance considerations (indexes, query patterns, migrations).
• Sound engineering judgement across correctness, failure modes, and operational behaviour.
• Comfortable reviewing code for quality and risk, and receptive to feedback.
• Clear technical communication, able to explain approaches and trade-offs.

AI-First Engineering (Must Have)

• Uses AI routinely to accelerate delivery outcomes (code, tests, docs, runbooks) and verifies output rather than accepting it blindly.
• Effective in an AI-first team: delegates to agents, iterates quickly, and maintains a high verification bar.
• Contributes to team-level leverage by improving templates, patterns, gates, and delivery playbooks.

Non Technical

• Collaborative, reliable, and accountable; takes ownership and follows through.
• Pragmatic and delivery-focused; balances pace with quality and control.
• Customer-centric mindset for regulated, mission-critical environments.
• Open, curious, and motivated to learn and improve.

Who we\'re looking for

• Significant experience delivering production systems as a software engineer (typically 5+ years, depending on levelling).
• Experience with modern .NET/C# and SQL/No-SQL in production.
• Experience working with strong engineering standards (testing, CI/CD, reviews, observability).
• Degree in a STEM discipline or equivalent experience.

How Success Will Be Measured

Measured on outcomes and how they’re achieved: faster delivery, production-grade quality, and controlled change.

• Flow: DORA metrics (lead time, deploy frequency, change failure rate, MTTR)
• Quality: Quality Health Indicator (defect escape, time to resolve, severity trend, etc)
• DX: Developer Experience Score (shipping friction, golden path usability)
• AI leverage: throughput up without rework/escapes; high adoption of AI workflow & golden paths
• Assurance: automated gates coverage (tests/security/observability/performance) and review effectiveness (low rollback/rework)
• Production & controls: SLO attainment, incident/severity trend, and audit-ready traceability of changes/approvals
• Behaviours: AI-first by default (delegates to agents, sets constraints, verifies and approves); direction over heroics; verification discipline; enablement mindset; fast learning loops; control-aware decisions

Diversity & Inclusion

We believe great ideas come from everywhere — and that the best teams are made up of people with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. At Xceptor, we’re committed to building a workplace where everyone feels welcome, valued, and empowered to be themselves. We know that not everyone ticks every single box in a job description — and that’s okay. If you’re excited about this role and think you could make a difference, we’d love to hear from you. Your unique skills and experiences might be just what we need, even if you don’t meet every requirement. We celebrate diversity and are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for all employees — regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or background.

Please note:

• Xceptor works with clients in financial services and our offers of employment are subject to the satisfactory completion of background checks, which includes criminal record checks, and credit reference checks.
• If you have any employment gaps exceeding three months within the last six years, we will request additional information and evidence to clarify those periods.

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