Job Description

Job Summary
Lead Java Developer (JHB Onsite) IT - Software Development
Johannesburg - Gauteng - South Africa
ENVIRONMENT:
A forward-thinking Lead Java Developer with deep expertise in Java, Spring Boot, and scalable distributed systems is sought by a cutting-edge Joburg Tech company in the Telecoms space. You will take ownership of solution design, mentoring team members, and driving architectural improvements. The ideal candidate has extensive experience designing, building, and maintaining robust, high-performance, enterprise-grade applications. You must possess a Bachelors Degree in Computer Engineering/Software Engineering or related discipline with 6+ years hands-on Java development including expert-level proficiency in Spring Boot & and the Spring ecosystem, including Spring Data, Spring Security, and Spring Cloud. Your tech tools should also include Docker, Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, NoSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, etc. Proficiency with French is hugely beneficial.
DUTIES:

• Design, develop, and maintain complex full-stack applications with a focus on performance, scalability, and maintainability.
• Lead architectural discussions and define technical roadmaps for Java-based backend systems and microservices.
• Mentor Junior Developers and review code to enforce best practices in design patterns, clean code, and testability.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align technical solutions with business objectives.
• Champion the use of Spring Boot and modern frameworks to accelerate development and standardize services.
• Own and improve the CI/CD pipeline, code quality checks, and automated testing strategies.
• Optimize existing systems and troubleshoot performance bottlenecks across large-scale distributed environments.
• Contribute to the design and implementation of cloud-native, containerized applications using Kubernetes and Docker.
• Ensure systems are secure, resilient, and compliant with enterprise-grade SLAs.
• Monitor, analyze, and tune systems using observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK).
• Perform other duties as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS:
Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree in Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.

Experience/Skills

• 6+ Years of hands-on Java development experience, delivering scalable, enterprise-grade applications.
• Expert-level proficiency in Spring Boot and the Spring ecosystem, including Spring Data, Spring Security, and Spring Cloud.
• Proven experience designing and implementing microservices architectures and distributed systems.
• Strong experience with containerization and orchestration using Docker and Kubernetes and deploying scalable solutions on both cloud platforms and on-premises infrastructure.
• Deep knowledge of SQL and NoSQL databases, with proficiency in PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MongoDB, including schema design, indexing, query optimization, and performance tuning.
• Expertise in designing and developing RESTful APIs with secure authentication mechanisms.
• Solid command of DevOps and CI/CD practices, with hands-on use of tools such as Git, Maven, Jenkins, Helm, SonarQube, and monitoring solutions like Prometheus and Grafana.
• Familiarity with infrastructure as code, container security, and SRE principles is a strong plus.
• Experience in performance profiling and testing using tools such as JProfiler, JMeter, and unit/integration test frameworks.
• Exposure to Frontend frameworks like React or AngularJS is a plus for Full Stack collaboration.
• Strong grasp of Agile/Scrum methodologies and Test-Driven Development (TDD).

Advantageous -

• Experience in the Telecommunications (Telco) domain including familiarity with network systems, billing platforms, service orchestration.
• French is a plus.

ATTRIBUTES:

• Demonstrated leadership and mentoring experience, with the ability to guide teams, enforce best practices, and influence technical direction.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

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