Technical Back-End Lead – Java (Saas, Ml / Ai, S... Product Development • Cape Town, Johannesburg •

Ikue Limited; Johannesburg; Hybrid; ZAR 80 000 - 120 000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative technology scale-up is seeking a Technical Back End Lead to join their dynamic team. This role involves leading a talented group of Java back-end engineers while driving architectural decisions for a cutting-edge data and analytics platform. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in Java development, a passion for mentoring, and a strong understanding of cloud-native architectures. Join a collaborative environment where your ideas will have a real impact, and enjoy the autonomy to shape the technical direction of the product. With a flexible hybrid working culture and a focus on creativity, this is an exciting opportunity to make a difference in the tech landscape.

Benefits

Employee Share option scheme

Yearly company trip

Starter kit including MacBook Pro

Frequent team events

Pizza Fridays

Qualifications

• 10+ years of Java back-end development experience.
• 2+ years in a technical leadership role with a focus on SaaS platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of Java back-end engineers.
• Drive architecture decisions and hands-on development for scalable services.

Skills

Java

Cloud-native architecture

Leadership

Microservices

Agile methodologies

CI/CD

Mentoring

Tools

AWS

Docker

GitHub

Terraform

CloudFormation

Job description

Let's build the future together! Ikue is a technology scale-up with a clear purpose and vision. We know that customer data is at the heart of hyper-personalisation and are looking for the brightest, most inspiring engineers to deliver our product, which enables data to drive every decision, communication, and customer interaction. We are building a diverse team, all unified by a desire to innovate.

Creativity is at the core of Ikue and is something we are looking to further strengthen.

There are no typical profiles; each team member shares our vision and wants to be part of its success. Are you a seasoned Java back-end engineer with a passion for leadership, innovation, and cutting-edge technology?

Do you thrive in fast-paced, collaborative environments where your ideas have a real impact? We're a rapidly growing SaaS scale-up building a next-generation data and analytics platform powered by machine learning and AI.

Our mission is to make complex data accessible, actionable, and intelligent for businesses of all sizes.

Now, we're looking for a Technical Back End Lead to guide our talented back-end engineers and help shape the future of our platform. As the Technical Back End Lead at Ikue, you will be:

1. Leading and mentoring a team of high-performing Java back-end engineers
2. Driving architecture decisions and hands-on development for scalable, high-performance services
3. Collaborating cross-functionally with Product, Front-End, Data Science & DevOps teams
4. Championing best practices in software engineering, CI/CD, and testing
5. Helping scale and evolve our SaaS platform to meet growing user and data demands
6. Working closely with ML/AI teams to integrate intelligent features and services

Our Tech Stack: Agile, test-driven development; Microservices architecture for config-based distributed data processing; Orchestration using AWS API Gateway, Event Bridge, SQS, Lambda, and Step Functions; Java 17+, Spring (Boot / Batch), Docker, ECS for core services; Docker, ECS, SageMaker for analytical services; GitHub (CI/CD), Terraform, and CloudFormation (IAC).

What We're Looking For:

1. 10+ years of hands-on Java back-end development experience
2. 2+ years in a technical leadership or team lead role
3. Proven experience building and scaling distributed systems or SaaS platforms
4. Strong understanding of cloud-native architecture (AWS preferred)
5. Excellent communication and leadership skills
6. Passion for mentoring, continuous improvement, and staying ahead of tech trends

Bonus: Experience working with ML/AI-enabled systems or data platforms.

Why Join Us?

• Play a pivotal role in a fast-scaling product with huge market potential
• Work with a smart, passionate, and collaborative team
• Enjoy real autonomy, ownership, and input on technical direction
• Flexible hybrid working (remote-first culture)

You will be rewarded with:

• A highly competitive salary plus benefits and participation in our Employee Share option scheme
• The chance to attend our yearly 3-day company trip to a secret summer destination
• A starter kit including a MacBook Pro and Ikue apparel
• Frequent team events, celebrations, weekly incentives, and Pizza Friday

Requirements: You are a confident self-starter, committed to delivering technically excellent code, and seek innovative solutions. We value your personality and passion!

For us, personality and passion come before education.

Your difference is your strength, and you will always be supported and looked after by your Ikue family.

You will take responsibility for your own work, with the option to work in the office or remotely. If this sounds like you, then you know what to do. We look forward to receiving your application.

Good luck from your future colleagues! By supercharging the ability to leverage data and advanced analytics in marketing messages, your work will be truly impactful from the very start.