Solution Architect

Exaze; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Exaze is seeking a highly experienced Java Architect to lead the architecture, design, and delivery of enterprise-grade backend systems for a financial technology platform. This senior, hands-on leadership role focuses on scalable solutions and technical excellence.

You will mentor engineering teams, define technical direction, drive architectural reviews, and collaborate with stakeholders to deliver high-performance results.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of software development experience with strong expertise in Java.
• Deep experience with Java 8/11/17 and Spring Boot in enterprise contexts.
• Proficient in designing microservices architectures and RESTful APIs.
• Strong knowledge of distributed systems, scalability, and high availability.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the overall backend architecture for enterprise applications.
• Design scalable, secure Java-based solutions.
• Architect and build enterprise microservices using Java and Spring Boot.
• Lead architectural reviews and solution design sessions.
• Collaborate with Enterprise Architects, Infrastructure, Product Owners, and business stakeholders.
• Establish architecture standards, design patterns, and engineering best practices.
• Review application designs and code to ensure scalability, maintainability, and quality.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to development teams.
• Drive performance optimization, application reliability, and system resilience.
• Evaluate and recommend new technologies and architectural improvements.
• Take ownership of technical decisions and ensure successful delivery of strategic initiatives.

Skills

Java expertise

Enterprise backend

Distributed systems

Microservices architecture

RESTful APIs

Leadership & mentoring

Architecture direction

Code reviews

Performance optimization

Stakeholder collaboration

Tools

Spring Boot

SQL Databases

Docker

Kubernetes

Kafka

RabbitMQ

CI/CD

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Job description

Job Description:

At Exaze, we’re passionate about growing teams of dreamers, innovators, and driven achievers who want to push the boundaries of the software industry. As an organization that values curiosity, ownership, and collaboration, we offer an environment where you can expand your horizons and make an impact. If you thrive on solving challenging problems, working closely with talented peers, and delivering high-quality solutions, we want to hear from you.

About the Role

We are seeking a highly experienced Java Architect to lead the architecture, design, and implementation of enterprise-grade backend systems for a complex financial technology platform. This is a senior, hands-on leadership role for someone passionate about designing scalable solutions, driving technical excellence, and mentoring engineering teams.

The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in Java-based enterprise application development, distributed systems, microservices architecture, and modern software design principles. They will be responsible for defining technical direction, ensuring architectural consistency, and enabling delivery of robust, high-performance solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and drive the overall backend architecture for enterprise applications.
• Design scalable, secure, and high-performance Java-based solutions.
• Architect and build enterprise microservices using Java and Spring Boot.
• Lead technical discussions, architectural reviews, and solution design sessions.
• Collaborate with Enterprise Architects, Infrastructure teams, Product Owners, and business stakeholders.
• Establish architecture standards, design patterns, and engineering best practices.
• Review application designs and code to ensure scalability, maintainability, and quality.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to development teams.
• Drive performance optimization, application reliability, and system resilience.
• Evaluate and recommend new technologies and architectural improvements.
• Take ownership of technical decisions and ensure successful delivery of strategic initiatives.

Technical Skills & Experience

• 15+ years of software development experience with strong expertise in Java.
• Extensive hands-on experience with Java 8/11/17 and Spring Boot.
• Strong experience designing and implementing Microservices Architecture.
• Expertise in RESTful APIs and enterprise integration patterns.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, scalability, and high-availability architectures.
• Solid experience with SQL databases and data modelling.
• Experience with messaging technologies such as Kafka, RabbitMQ, or JMS is advantageous.
• Strong knowledge of design patterns, object-oriented programming, and clean architecture principles.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud-native development is desirable.
• Familiarity with performance tuning, application monitoring, and troubleshooting.

Domain Experience

• Experience working within product-based technology organizations.
• Exposure to financial services, investment management, wealth management, banking, or asset management platforms.
• Understanding of financial data processing, reporting, and transaction-heavy applications.
• Experience designing solutions for complex business domains is highly desirable.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Proven experience leading technical teams and driving architectural decisions.
• Strong stakeholder management and collaboration skills.
• Ability to influence technical direction across multiple teams.
• Excellent mentoring and coaching capabilities.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a proactive approach.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as a Java Architect, Technical Architect, Principal Engineer, or Lead Architect.
• Experience modernizing monolithic applications into microservices.
• Knowledge of cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP is an advantage.
• Experience within DFM, Asset Management, Investment Platforms, or Financial Technology organizations will be highly regarded.

Personal Attributes

• Strong ownership and accountability.
• Strategic thinker with a pragmatic approach to solution design.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Passion for mentoring and developing engineering talent.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, complex enterprise environment.

Experience - 15+ Years

Location - Johannesburg, South Africa