Tech Lead / Solutions Architect

IQbusiness; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 1 200 000 - 1 600 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading consulting tech firm in South Africa is seeking a highly experienced Tech Lead / Solutions Architect. The role involves defining and owning solution architectures aligned with business strategy and performance. Candidates should have at least 8 years in software engineering, with strong technical leadership experience. Responsibilities include leading complex systems design, ensuring architecture compliance with standards, and engaging with stakeholders. Strong capabilities in AI-assisted development tools are essential. Join a diverse team committed to sustainable growth and transformation.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software engineering.
• 5+ years in technical leadership and/or solution architecture roles.
• Proven experience in delivering complex, multi-system solutions.

Responsibilities

• Define and own solution architectures aligned to business strategy.
• Lead design and implementation of complex, distributed systems.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor to stakeholders.

Skills

Enterprise solution design

Modern software engineering

Technical leadership

Architectural patterns

AI-assisted development tools

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Software Engineering or related field

Tools

AI coding tools and environments (e.g. Lovable, Trae.ai, Copilot, Claude Code, ChatGPT)

Job description

Overview

iqx the Technology Division of iqbusiness seeking a highly experienced Tech Lead / Solutions Architect with a strong background in enterprise solution design, modern software engineering, and technical leadership within consulting and product-driven environments. The successful candidate will operate at the intersection of architecture, hands-on engineering, and strategic technology decision-making, with the ability to rapidly prototype, define technology standards, and guide teams toward scalable, secure, and future-ready solutions.

The role requires comfort with AI-assisted development tools to accelerate solution exploration and proof-of-concepts, alongside responsibility for defining and governing technology stack standards across teams and projects.

Minimum Qualifications & Experience

• 8+ years in software engineering, with 5+ years in technical leadership and/or solution architecture roles.
• Proven experience in enterprise or consulting environments delivering complex, multi-system solutions.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Software Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).

Key Responsibilities

Solution Architecture & Technical Strategy

• Define and own end-to-end solution architectures aligned to business strategy, scalability, performance, and security requirements.
• Establish and maintain technology stack standards, architectural patterns, and reference architectures across the organization.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and platforms, including cloud services, frameworks, and AI-assisted development tooling, and drive informed adoption.

Technical Leadership & Delivery

• Lead design and implementation of complex, distributed systems using modern architectures (microservices, event-driven, cloud-native).
• Set engineering best practices across code quality, testing, CI/CD, observability, and DevOps.
• Perform architecture and code reviews to ensure consistency with defined standards and long-term maintainability.

Rapid Prototyping & Innovation

• Rapidly prototype solutions and validate architectural approaches using AI coding tools and environments (e.g. Lovable, Trae.ai, Copilot, Claude Code, ChatGPT, similar platforms).
• Use AI-assisted development to explore solution options, accelerate proof-of-concepts, and de-risk architectural decisions.
• Translate prototypes into production-ready designs and delivery roadmaps.

Consulting & Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a trusted technical advisor to business and delivery stakeholders.
• Translate complex business requirements into clear, implementable technical architectures.
• Support pre-sales, solutioning, and technical due-diligence activities where required.

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Lead and mentor engineers, senior developers, and technical leads.
• Build architectural capability across teams through coaching, documentation, and knowledge sharing.
• Drive alignment between delivery teams and architectural governance.

Governance, Security & Compliance

• Ensure solutions comply with security, regulatory, and operational standards.
• Embed security-by-design, resilience, and scalability into all architectural decisions.

Please note: As all iqbusiness roles require honesty in the handling of or access to cash, finances, financial systems, or confidential information, our recruitment process requires that the following background checks be completed: credit, criminal, ID, and qualification verification.

iqbusiness is committed to sustainable growth and transformation, we embrace diversity and employ previously disadvantaged individuals.