Software Engineering Lead

RELX INC; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 800 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology firm in South Africa is seeking a Software Engineering Lead to oversee the modernization and enhancement of its AI product, LexisNexis® Classification. You will lead a team focused on improving the product architecture while integrating feedback from various stakeholders. This role promotes a healthy work/life balance with flexible hours, along with comprehensive benefits such as medical aid and retirement plans. Join us to make a significant impact on legal technology.

Benefits

Medical Aid

Retirement Plan with risk benefits

Family benefits

Study Leave

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of software engineering techniques, adaptable to Scrum and agile frameworks.
• Experience leading software engineering efforts for AI-enabled products is desirable.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute the backlog of product optimization and enhancements.
• Lead backend and frontend maintenance while prioritizing bug fixes.
• Integrate performance and cost-optimization considerations throughout development.

Skills

Software engineering techniques and processes

AWS or similar cloud providers

React

Python

JavaScript

Go

Strong interpersonal skills

Tools

Azure Pipelines

GraphQL

AWS CDK

Job description

About Our Team

We are strengthening our software engineering team to modernize our existing application stack, powering one of LexisNexis Intellectual Property's flagship AI products, LexisNexis® Classification. The team enhances the application with new features and functions to enrich the user experience as well as optimizing existing functionalities. This is an opportunity to lead a team that works on modern, cloud‑native infrastructure and become an essential part of building and maintaining the product architecture.

Core Technologies

• React
• Go
• Python
• JavaScript
• Java
• C#/.NET
• Postgres
• SQL
• AWS

About the Role

We are hiring a Software Engineering Lead to take responsibility for maintaining, modernizing, and enhancing LexisNexis® Classification, our AI product that reads millions of patents and pulls relevant ones into custom categories defined by our users. Your engineering team will be based mainly in South Africa, with additional members across Europe. You will work closely with existing application teams and stakeholders in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, and the USA.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute the backlog of product optimization and enhancements.
• Lead backend and frontend maintenance, ensuring timely prioritization of bug fixes.
• Assist with requirements gathering, decomposition, and implementation of new features, including integration into existing LexisNexis® Intellectual Property products.
• Integrate performance and cost‑optimization considerations throughout the development lifecycle.
• Communicate and take ownership within the team and across boundaries.
• Maintain AWS platform infrastructure with CDK, such as Node.js/Python Lambdas.
• Assist in refactoring the existing application.
• Write and review detailed specifications for complex system components.
• Lead development processes, coding best practices, and code reviews.
• Manage a team of software engineers in a Scrum‑based environment, collaborating with stakeholders.

Requirements

• Strong knowledge of software engineering techniques and processes, particularly adapting Scrum and agile frameworks to meet business needs.
• Experience with AWS or similar cloud providers, including cost‑effective serverless architecture.
• Experience with React.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills applicable to a wide audience.
• Experience with Python, JavaScript, Go, Azure Pipelines, GraphQL (or similar API schemas) or willingness to rapidly learn.
• Experience leading software engineering efforts for AI‑enabled SaaS products is desirable but not essential.

Work Environment & Benefits

We promote a healthy work/life balance with flexible hours, well‑being initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance, and sabbaticals. Additional benefits include:

• Medical Aid
• Retirement Plan with risk benefits (Disability, Critical Illness, Life Cover & Funeral Cover)
• Family benefits, including adoption and surrogacy
• Study Leave

About the Business

LexisNexis Legal & Professional® provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase productivity and improve decision‑making. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online.

Equal Opportunity & Accessibility

We are an equal‑opportunity employer. Qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We are committed to providing a fair and accessible hiring process. If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Applicant Request Support Form or contacting 1‑855‑833‑5120.