Principal Software Engineer

WTax is a global leader in foreign withholding tax recovery, using advanced technology to help institutional investors unlock value from cross -border investments. We serve over 900 clients worldwide, including major asset managers, insurers, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds. Our mission is to maximise recoverable returns through automation, AI -driven processes, and compliance excellence. Our secure, scalable platforms deliver real -time visibility, strong cybersecurity, and efficient workflows, making tax recovery faster, smarter, and more transparent. We’re scaling fast, and we need a senior technical voice to match the ambition.

About the role:

We’re hiring a Principal Software Engineer to be the technical authority for our software platform. You’ll report to the Head of Tech and act as the most senior technical voice in the team. You’ll be responsible for the coherence of our technical vision, our architecture, and our implementation across several squads that deliver independently. Your job is to make sure that as the team grows, the platform grows deliberately, with a clear technical direction that supports where we want the business to go. This is a technical role first. You’ll still get into the code where it matters, and you’ll be the person the team leads bring their hardest design problems to. We’re looking for an engineer who has earned the right to lead technically through the quality of their thinking and the depth of their experience, and who wants to keep doing the work.

What you'll own:

• Technical direction and architecture across the team, setting the standards, patterns, and technical guardrails our developers build inside of.
• Implementation style and stack choices, deciding how we build, what we build with, and when to change either. Making those calls stick.
• Platform evolution, making considered, evidence -based decisions about how the platform should grow, and bringing the team along on those decisions.
• Technical coherence across squads, making sure the teams aren't drifting apart architecturally, and that patterns learned in one part of the platform get applied consistently across the rest.
• Quality oversight of the team leads' technical work, acting as a design partner to them and reviewing significant architectural decisions.
• Championing test -driven development, code review culture, and the standard of work we're proud to put our name on.
• Technical breadth, defining standards and giving guidance across the broader stack, not just within a single platform.
• Right -hand to the Head of Tech, trusted to turn business ambition into technical excellence.

What you bring:

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, with a strong academic record.

EXPERIENCE:

• 8+ years of software development experience, with a track record that goes beyond shipping code into shaping how teams build.
• 5+ years of hands -on Java experience at production scale.
• Experience acting as the senior technical voice across multiple teams, setting architecture, reviewing designs, and defending technical decisions under pressure.
• Hands -on experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and deployment workflows on GitHub.
• Experience with test -driven development and modern engineering practice.
• Practical experience introducing AI -assisted engineering into how teams work.

ADDED VALUE:

• Salesforce certifications: Platform Developer I, Platform Developer II, Application Architect, System Architect, or Technical Architect.

BONUS POINTS:

• Experience with penetration testing and security -conscious engineering.
• Front -end development skills.
• Integration architecture and RESTful API design at scale

What success looks like in your first 12 months:

After a year at WTax, the team is visibly stronger technically because of your work.

Architecture decisions across the squads now ladder up to a coherent technical strategy that you’ve authored and the team has bought into. The platform is evolving deliberately, with a clear point of view on where it should go next.

Technical excellence is pervasive across the team. AI is being used effectively in how we build, and development velocity is increasing.

The team leads treat you as the technical partner they bring their hardest design problems to. Their technical work is sharper because you’re in it. You’re a trusted partner to the Head of Tech, shaping the technology roadmap and helping us make the right calls.

Location & ways of working:

• Based in Johannesburg, four days a week in our Melrose Arch office.
• Working alongside a tight, ambitious tech team that takes craft seriously and doesn't take itself too seriously.

Our values:

• Excellence : we pursue outstanding results in everything we do, always striving to exceed expectations and lead by example.
• Freedom & Responsibility : our people are empowered to make decisions and take initiative, backed by a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Innovation : we embrace change, challenge the norm, and constantly seek smarter ways to deliver value.
• Collaboration : we share, support, and succeed as one team, because the best outcomes are built together.
• Integrity : we act with honesty and honour, building trust through consistent, principled behaviour.

Why you'll love working here:

• Work hard. Laugh harder. Get rewarded.
• At WTax, merit matters. No politics, just performance.
• We’ve built a workplace that runs on caffeine, curiosity, and good vibes!
• WTax Café the best (and cheapest) coffee in Melrose Arch
• Book club and games corner
• Unlimited popcorn (we’ve tried to finish it)