Technical Back-End Lead – Java (SaaS, ML/AI, Scale-Up)

Ikue; South Africa; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Share option scheme

Yearly company trip

Starter kit including Macbook Pro

Frequent team events

Job summary

Ikue, a technology scale-up, is seeking a Technical Back-End Lead – Java to guide their back-end engineering team. This role involves driving architectural decisions, collaborating with various teams, and developing scalable, high-performance services powered by machine learning and AI. The ideal candidate will have significant experience in Java development and a passion for leadership. Join a collaborative and innovative team dedicated to making data-driven decisions accessible for businesses of all sizes.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of hands-on Java back-end development experience.
• 2+ years in a technical leadership role.
• Proven experience in building scalable SaaS platforms.

Responsibilities

• Leading and mentoring a team of Java back-end engineers.
• Driving architecture decisions and hands-on development.
• Collaborating with multiple teams on product development.

Skills

Java

Leadership

Cloud-native architecture

Machine learning

Agile development

Collaboration

Tools

AWS

Docker

Terraform

GitHub

Job description

Technical Back-End Lead – Java (SaaS, ML/AI, Scale-Up)

Join to apply for the Technical Back-End Lead – Java (SaaS, ML/AI, Scale-Up) role at Ikue

Technical Back-End Lead – Java (SaaS, ML/AI, Scale-Up)

Join to apply for the Technical Back-End Lead – Java (SaaS, ML/AI, Scale-Up) role at Ikue

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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, every communication, and every 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 in 2025! There are no typical profiles, each and every 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:

• Leading and mentoring a team of high-performing Java back-end engineers
• Driving architecture decisions and hands-on development for scalable, high-performance services
• Collaborating cross-functionally with Product, Front-End, Data Science & DevOps teams
• Championing best practices in software engineering, CI/CD, and testing
• Helping scale and evolve our SaaS platform to meet growing user and data demands
• Working closely with ML/AI teams to integrate intelligent features and services
• 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,Python for analytical services
• Docker, ECS, SageMaker for analytical services
• GitHub (CI/CD), Terraform and Cloud Formation (IAC)

What We’re Looking For:

• 15+ years of hands-on Java back-end development experience
• 2+ years in a technical leadership or team lead role
• Proven experience building and scaling distributed systems or SaaS platforms
• Strong understanding of cloud-native architecture (AWS preferred)
• Excellent communication and leadership skills
• Passion for mentoring, continuous improvement, and staying ahead of tech trends
• Bonus: Experience working with ML/AI-enabled systems or data platform
• Play a pivotal role in a fast-scaling product with huge market potential
• Work with a smart, passionate, and collaborative team
• 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 that rewards people who are motivated and perform well!
• The chance to attend our yearly 3-day company trip to a secret summer destination all covered by us!
• A starter kit which includes a Macbook Pro and the must-have Ikue outfit including a tote bag, t-shirt, sweater and hoodie.
• Frequent team events, celebrations, weekly incentives and Pizza Friday

Requirements:

You are a confident self-starter, committed to delivering technically excellent code, and looks for innovative approaches to challenges.

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, and a choice 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.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Not Applicable

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Engineering and Information Technology

• Industries

  Software Development

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