Software Technical Lead

Wabtec Corporation; Pretoria; On-site; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Wabtec Corporation in South Africa is seeking a seasoned software/firmware leader to define technical direction, own software backlog, and mentor engineers across Python and C++ stacks. You will drive architecture, safety, performance, and reliability for mining and heavy industrial solutions, collaborating with hardware, electronics, production, quality, and product management teams.

You will serve as the primary escalation point for complex software challenges, shape CI/CD processes, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a technical field and 7+ years of software development experience.
• 7+ years of professional software development experience.
• 2+ years in a Technical Lead / Senior Engineer role.

Responsibilities

• Define software architecture, standards, and engineering best practices across software and firmware.
• Own and manage the software backlog, prioritization, estimation, and task assignment.
• Design, develop, and maintain production software using Python and C++.
• Support software/firmware interfacing directly with hardware platforms and sensors.
• Provide leadership for machine vision development, model training, evaluation, and deployment.
• Lead root-cause investigations for complex software/hardware integration issues.
• Improve CI/CD pipelines, build automation, and software quality processes.
• Conduct code reviews and promote high standards for software quality and maintainability.
• Mentor engineers and participate in technical recruiting and interviews.
• Ensure compliance with safety, quality, and regulatory expectations for mining/industrial environments.
• Occasionally travel to customer/mines sites for deployment and troubleshooting.

Skills

Python

C++

Embedded hardware interfaces

Linux on ARM

CI/CD pipelines

Git

Machine vision

OpenCV

PyTorch

TensorFlow / TensorFlow Lite

ONNX

Troubleshooting

Communication

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer/Electronic/CS or related

Equivalent experience

Tools

Yocto

Buildroot

CAN Bus

RS232/485

TCP/IP

MQTT

Job description

Who will you be working with?

You will work as part of the Engineering team, reporting directly to the Engineering Manager and partnering closely with software, electronic, hardware, mechanical, production, quality, field support, and product management teams. In this role, you will act as the technical leader for a team developing collision avoidance, proximity detection, and driver monitoring solutions used in mining and heavy industrial environments. You will collaborate across disciplines to ensure software reliability, safety, performance, and successful product delivery while mentoring engineers and driving engineering best practices.

How will you make a difference?

As a member of the Digital Mine Engineering team, you will be responsible for providing technical leadership across the software and firmware stack supporting safety‑critical mining solutions. You will define technical direction, own architectural decisions, manage the software backlog, and contribute directly to software development activities. The role combines hands‑on engineering with technical leadership, ensuring the delivery of reliable, scalable, and maintainable software products. You will serve as the primary escalation point for complex software challenges, provide mentorship to the engineering team, and help drive continuous improvement in development processes, tooling, and software quality standards. Your contributions will directly support products designed to improve safety, operational performance, and reliability in demanding industrial environments.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline. Equivalent experience will be considered for exceptional candidates.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional software development experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in a Technical Lead, Principal Engineer, Senior Engineer, or similar technical leadership role.
• Must be resident in South Africa and legally authorized to work in South Africa.

Required Technical Skills

• Strong hands‑on programming experience in both Python and C++.
• Experience developing software or firmware that interfaces directly with hardware devices, sensors, and peripherals.
• Experience working with Linux on ARM‑based platforms, including cross‑compilation and deployment.
• Experience debugging hardware‑software integration issues using tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, or protocol analyzers.
• Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines, automated build processes, software quality checks, and release management workflows.
• Strong knowledge of Git and modern software development practices.
• Hands‑on experience with machine vision and deep learning frameworks such as OpenCV, PyTorch, TensorFlow/TensorFlow Lite, and ONNX.
• Understanding of machine vision model lifecycle management including dataset creation, model training, evaluation, and deployment.
• Strong system troubleshooting, problem‑solving, and root cause analysis skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with GitLab CI/CD.
• Familiarity with Jira and Confluence.
• Experience working within Agile or Scrum development environments.
• Knowledge of edge AI deployment, model optimization, and embedded inference.
• Experience with Yocto, Buildroot, or similar embedded Linux build systems.
• Experience with CAN Bus, RS232/485, TCP/IP, MQTT, or related communication protocols.
• Experience with IoT, telemetry, telematics, GPS, Bluetooth, or Wi‑Fi technologies.
• Familiarity with functional safety standards such as IEC 61508 or ISO 26262.
• Experience within mining, heavy industrial, automotive, or other safety‑critical industries.

What will your typical day look like?

• Define and maintain software architecture, technical standards, and engineering best practices across the software and firmware ecosystem.
• Own and manage the software backlog, including work breakdown, prioritization, estimation, and task assignment.
• Design, develop, review, and maintain production software using Python and C++.
• Develop and support software and firmware that interfaces directly with company hardware platforms and sensors.
• Provide technical leadership and oversight for machine vision development, model training, evaluation, and deployment activities.
• Lead troubleshooting and root cause investigations for complex software, firmware, and hardware integration issues.
• Drive improvements to CI/CD pipelines, build automation, software quality processes, and release management.
• Conduct code reviews and promote high standards for software quality, testing, documentation, and maintainability.
• Mentor software engineers through coaching, technical reviews, knowledge sharing, and professional development support.
• Partner with cross‑functional teams including hardware, electronics, production, quality, field support, and product management.
• Support technical recruiting efforts, including candidate assessment and interview participation.
• Ensure software development activities align with safety, quality, traceability, and regulatory expectations for products deployed in mining and industrial environments.
• Occasionally travel to customer and mine sites to support deployment, troubleshooting, and technical discussions.

Additional Information

Legal authorization to work in the European Union is required. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening.

What could you accomplish in a place that puts People First?

At Wabtec, it’s not just about a job - it’s about the impact you make. When our people come together, we’re Expanding the Possible by continuously improving what we do and how we do it - for our clients and each other. If you’re ready to revolutionize how the world moves for future generations, Wabtec is the place for you.

Who are we?

Wabtec is a leading global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions, and value‑added services for the freight and transit rail sectors. Drawing on more than 150 years of experience, we are leading the way in safety, efficiency, reliability, innovation, and productivity. Whether it’s freight, transit, ports, logistics, mining, industrial, or marine, our expertise, technologies, and people together – are accelerating the future of transportation. With roots that date back to George Westinghouse, Thomas Edison, and Louis Faiveley, Wabtec has always built technologies and implemented solutions for a variety of sectors that are critical to meeting the needs of customers and governments alike.

Our global team of about 30,000 employees worldwide delivers performance that moves the world forward. We’re lifelong learners, obsessed with better. Learn more at www.WabtecCorp.com.

Culture powers us and the possibilities.

We believe the best ideas come from a mix of experiences and backgrounds. At Wabtec, we strive every day to create a place where everyone belongs. We’re building a culture where leadership, inclusion and your unique perspective fuel progress.

We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome talent of all backgrounds, experiences, and identities, including race, gender, age, disability, veteran status and more.

Need accommodation? Just let us know - we’ve got you.