Principal Engineer - Sandton

In brief

Overview Catch is seeking a Principal Engineer in Sandton, Johannesburg, to serve as the technical authority for their software platform. This permanent, full-time role is highly technical, requiring the individual to be hands-on with code and act as the primary technical point of contact for team leads on complex design problems. Reporting to the Head of Tech, the Principal Engineer will be the most senior technical voice, responsible for ensuring the platform's deliberate growth and clear technical direction aligns with business objectives as the team expands. The role requires working 4 days a week in the Sandton office. What you will do * Set technical direction and architecture across the team, defining standards, patterns, and technical guardrails for developers. * Make decisions on implementation style and stack choices, determining how the team builds, what technologies they use, and when to adapt. * Drive platform evolution through considered, evidence-based decisions, ensuring team alignment. * Maintain technical coherence across different squads, preventing architectural divergence and ensuring consistent application of learned patterns. * Provide quality oversight of team leads' technical work, acting as a design partner and reviewing significant architectural decisions. * Champion test-driven development, a robust code review culture, and high standards of work. * Offer technical breadth by defining standards and guidance across the broader stack, not just within a single platform. * Act as a trusted partner to the Head of Tech, translating business ambitions into technical excellence. Requirements (from the original advert) * **Education:** * Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, with a strong academic record. * **Experience:** * 8+ years’ experience in software development, with a track record of shaping how teams build, not only shipping code. * 5+ years of hands-on Java experience in production environments. * 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:** * Hands-on Salesforce / Apex experience. * 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. Who should apply This role is ideal for highly experienced software development professionals seeking a senior technical leadership position. Applicants should have a strong background in Java and a proven ability to define technical vision, architecture, and standards across multiple development teams. Candidates must be comfortable being hands-on with code, mentoring technical leads, and driving platform evolution. A commitment to modern engineering practices, including TDD and code review, is essential. The ideal candidate will be a strategic technical partner, capable of translating business goals into technical excellence, and be based in Johannesburg, available for office work in Sandton 4 days a week. Deadline Not specified Reference Original posting: https://www.myjobmag.co.za/job/principal-engineer-sandton-catch-1 Source: myjobmag

Summary drafted with AI assistance from the original advert. The advert itself is the authority — how we use AI.

At a glance

• At least 8 years of experience.

• Java
• Git
• Salesforce

Extracted automatically from the advert; confirm requirements on the original listing.

Job description

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