Senior / Principal Software Engineer — Data Platform

Senior / Principal Software Engineer – Data Platform

Location: Johannesburg North (Hybrid)

Employment Type: Permanent | Full-Time

About Opportunity

A leading telecommunications and broadband services provider is seeking an experienced Senior / Principal Software Engineer – Data Platform to take ownership of a mission-critical data ecosystem that supports customer billing, network operations, field services, and business reporting.

This is a hands-on leadership role for a highly skilled engineer who combines deep technical expertise with strong architecture, governance, and mentoring capabilities. You will lead the design, reliability, security, and evolution of a cloud-based data platform while coaching developers and collaborating with operational stakeholders across the business.

The Role

As the owner of the company's data platform, you will be responsible for the data warehouse, integration and load processes, cloud infrastructure, and API services that underpin business operations.

You will ensure data remains accurate, secure, highly available, and actionable while driving engineering best practices and technical excellence across multiple systems.

Key Responsibilities

Data Platform Ownership

• Own and maintain the enterprise PostgreSQL data warehouse.
• Ensure accurate and reliable integration of customer, revenue, network, and operational data.
• Manage database structures, views, permissions, performance, and security.
• Maintain data integrity and consistency across multiple source systems.

Integration & Load Processes

• Design, develop, and maintain scheduled cloud-based data ingestion processes.
• Implement robust loading mechanisms using pagination, watermarks, and idempotent processing techniques.
• Manage backfills and data recovery processes through controlled and documented procedures.
• Monitor and optimise data freshness and processing performance.

API & Platform Services

• Own and enhance business-critical API services that support operational applications.
• Develop and review services primarily in Node.js, with supporting Python-based integrations.
• Ensure stable, scalable, and well-documented API contracts.

Security & Cloud Governance

• Implement and maintain secure access controls, secrets management, and cloud governance practices.
• Manage development, testing, and production environments.
• Ensure compliance with data protection and security best practices.
• Promote disciplined release and change management processes.

Reliability & Incident Management

• Build resilient systems with monitoring, alerting, automated recovery, and observability.
• Create and maintain operational runbooks and support documentation.
• Lead root-cause investigations and continuous improvement following incidents.
• Ensure platform performance, uptime, and operational transparency.

Engineering Leadership

• Establish engineering standards, development workflows, and review processes.
• Drive automated testing and deployment best practices.
• Mentor and coach developers while fostering technical growth across the team.
• Conduct architecture and design reviews across multiple systems.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner closely with Technology, Finance, Operations, Field Services, and Network teams.
• Identify and mitigate risks associated with system and data changes.
• Communicate platform health, incidents, and improvements effectively to stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Matric / Grade 12.
• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Cloud certifications would be advantageous.

Technical Skills

• Strong experience with:
• Python
• SQL
• MySQL
• Advanced knowledge of:
• IAM and authentication services
• Experience with:
• Microsoft Graph integrations
• Git / GitHub
• Automated testing frameworks

Experience

• Minimum 8 years' professional software engineering experience.
• At least 3 years owning or leading a production data platform, integration platform, or similar business-critical environment.
• Proven experience supporting and operating cloud-based platforms in production.
• Experience mentoring developers and establishing technical standards.
• Telecommunications, ISP, OSS/BSS, billing, network operations, or large-scale operational data experience will be highly advantageous.