Job Description
We Are Innovators & Category Creators
Clickatell, founded in Cape Town in 2000, was the first company to connect businesses with consumers via SMS using just four lines of code. Today, it powers AI-driven chat commerce for leading global brands across industries like banking, retail, telecoms, and healthcare — including Visa, ABSA, MTN, Toyota, and Pick n Pay. Over 25 years, Clickatell has led multiple industry firsts, such as tokenized WhatsApp payments, KYC chat banking, and Chat-2-Pay, through its award-winning AI Chat Commerce Platform that enables brands to interact and transact with customers seamlessly.
The Role:
We’re looking for a Tech Lead who thrives at the intersection of product and engineering excellence. You exist to turn ambitious ideas into real, scalable systems that our users rely on every day. This role is your playground to shape architecture, mentor engineers, and deliver high-quality solutions across our platform—whether it’s core features, integrations, or new innovations. You’ll collaborate across product, design, and operations, influencing both the “what” and the “how” of our tech direction. If you’re energized by complexity, enjoy guiding talented engineers, and want your work to make a tangible impact on our products, this is the role for you.
We Do The Right Things
Responsibilities of the Role
o Contribute to end-to-end technical architecture and system design across product and AI-driven initiatives. Work closely with Product and User Experience teams to translate business requirements into scalable, secure, and maintainable solutions that align with overall platform direction.
o Drive requirement clarity and technical discovery by working closely with Product and User Experience teams to refine user stories, identify edge cases, evaluate trade-offs, and define implementation strategies. Ensure features are well-defined, technically feasible, and aligned with business priorities before development begins.
o Lead and facilitate agile ceremonies including backlog grooming, estimation sessions, technical design discussions, stand-ups. Ensure the team has clear priorities, well-scoped work, and realistic delivery commitments.
o Lead development using Java, Spring Boot, and Python, delivering high-performance, secure, and reliable systems that handle high transaction volumes and real-time workflows.
o Drive AI-integrated development by guiding the integration of large language models, retrieval-augmented generation architectures, and vector search systems into production applications. Collaborate with engineers and product stakeholders to ensure safe and effective deployment.
o Own engineering standards and code quality across services, ensuring clean architecture, strong testing practices, clear documentation, and consistent design patterns.
o Mentor and guide engineers through requirement analysis, design discussions, code reviews, debugging, and production readiness. Foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
o Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Infrastructure, Database, DevOps, and Customer Support teams to resolve complex technical issues and ensure smooth releases.
o Ensure production stability and operational excellence by leading root cause analysis, and driving improvements in monitoring and observability.
W e Are On A Learning Journey
Requirements of the Role
Required Qualifications
o Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
o 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, including experience in a technical leadership role.
Work Experience
Essential:
o Strong hands-on experience with Java and Spring Boot in building microservices.
o Strong hands-on experience with Python backend development.
o Demonstrated experience working closely with Product Managers and Design teams to shape, refine, and drive technical requirements.
o Experience translating business requirements into technical design documents, implementation plans, and delivery estimates.
o Experience designing and building high-volume, low-latency distributed systems.
o Experience integrating AI capabilities into production systems
o Experience with RESTful API design and integration.
o Experience deploying applications in cloud environments such as Amazon Web Services.
o Experience leading technical discussions, mentoring engineering teams, and facilitating agile ceremonies.
o Experience working with event-driven systems and message brokers such as Kafka or similar platforms.
Preferred:
o Experience with Kotlin or modern JVM-based technologies.
o Experience integrating with enterprise third-party systems, or large-scale platforms.
o Experience contributing to AI-enabled products, including large language model integrations or retrieval-based systems.
Knowledge and Abilities (Proficiencies)
Essential:
o Strong development skills in Java, Spring Boot, and Python.
o Experience with Hibernate or Spring Data JPA.
o Experience with FastAPI or similar Python frameworks.
o Solid understanding of asynchronous programming and concurrency models.
o Strong API design skills including versioning, backward compatibility, and contract documentation.
o Strong SQL knowledge (PostgreSQL or MySQL), including schema design, indexing, and query optimization.
o Experience with Redis or similar caching technologies.
o Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker and orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes.
o Understanding of API security including authentication, authorization, token-based security, and rate limiting.
o Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and debugging skills.
o Strong ability to break down complex product requirements into structured engineering tasks.
o Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to engineers, product stakeholders, and leadership.
Preferred:
o Experience with OpenSearch or Elasticsearch.
o Familiarity with workflow orchestration platforms.
o Exposure to modern frontend frameworks.
In-Depth Knowledge and Abilities (Mastery)
Essential Advanced Expertise:
o Deep expertise in designing scalable microservices using Spring Boot and Python-based service frameworks.
o Strong ability to convert ambiguous product ideas into well-structured, scalable technical solutions without over-engineering.
o Strong understanding of distributed systems concepts
o Advanced knowledge of large language model fundamentals
o Strong expertise in prompt engineering patterns, structured prompt payload design, guardrails, and response validation.
o Proven ability to deploy, monitor, and operate AI-powered backend systems in production environments.
o Strong architectural leadership skills including separation of concerns, layered architecture, and service-oriented design.
o Demonstrated ability to refactor legacy systems into maintainable, extensible, and scalable services.
A Bit About You
o Team Player: Self-directed and dedicated team player who positively engages with the team to solve.
o Optimizing Processes: Optimally utilizes the tools and resources available to maximizes output. Conducts day-to-day operations using best practice to achieve effectiveness and accuracy. Continuously reviews and makes recommendations for process improvements.
o Expert Thinker: Equipped with specialist knowledge and makes recommendations that are practical, smart and ready to implement. Remains up-to-date in the industry and offers technical advice, and support to own team and others.
o Effective Problem-Solver: Resourceful, persistent, and creative when solving problems. Able to be analytical and follow a logical process to make decisions. Finds the balance between a good and quick decision through experience and knowledge. Able to present and explain thinking and the resulting decision.
o Connecting Collaboratively: Actively connects to bring cohesion and deliver excellence. Sees the value in working closely with different specialities and teams to ensure all operations are aligned to meet the required objectives.
o Maximizing Awareness: Recognizes emotions and how it affects behavior and relationships. Self-aware and picks up on emotional cues in situations. Self-manages and empowered to show initiative, follow through on commitments, and work well in a team. Listens, reflects, and responds effectively to constructive criticism.
o Enabling Strategy: Implements the action plans in order to produce practical outputs while considering the implication, and consequences for the organization and our customers.
o Action Orientated Mindset: Know-how to skilfully approach technical activities to deliver value. Eager to deliver new or improved solutions to drive the organization forward. Focused on what needs to be done and ensures follow-through on all commitments.
o Embracing Change: Invites change and stays focused and resilient, and chooses responses that are positive when feeling uncertain. Remains flexible, adaptable, and open to opportunities to be innovative. Uses failure as an opportunity to learn and grows. Thinks ahead, anticipates, and acts.
o Driving Delivery: Goal-oriented and monitors processes and systems to ensure tracking towards goals despite challenging and stressful situations. Sets high standards for quality and performance and provides metrics to show improvements as well as real-time variance for effective tracking.
Why You Should Join
Perks of the Role
Working with a world class, award winning, international team with strong values and perspectives on the world. You can expect to become the best version of you in terms of your career and the challenges that will test and grow you. We have a learning culture, we take risks and we are here to make an impact, if that resonates, you will thrive here. Other things you may wonder about that we do also offer:
o Medical Aid contribution
o Pension fund contribution
o Quarterly performance incentive bonus
o Risk benefit company contributions
o Reimbursable communications allowance for internet and mobile phone bills
o Half-day off on your birthday
o 5 personal days leave a year, over and above your annual leave + ½ day off on your birthday
o Flexible working conditions (remote & in person) with access to office hubs as required *current policy
o Home office set-up with laptop, monitor and other related items.
Stronger Together
At Clickatell, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging is at the core of who we are - from how we build our product platforms to how we build our workforce. We believe that we are stronger together and by leveraging the power of diversity and inclusion, we are able to generate innovative ideas to revolutionize the way the world uses chat technology. We create common ground - Our platform is for all, and so is our workplace. Everyone is welcome at Clickatell and our employees feel psychologically safe and empowered to show up with their authentic selves at work.
