Search Software Engineer (Back-end)

The Takealot Group, a dominant force in South African e-commerce, is actively seeking a skilled Software Engineer to bolster its backend development capabilities. This is an opportunity to join a rapidly expanding organisation that prides itself on innovation and a commitment to enhancing the online shopping journey for its customers. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and are eager to tackle significant technical challenges, this role might be the perfect fit. Takealot operates on the principle of welcoming smart, creative, and diligent individuals who demonstrate integrity, fostering a culture where continuous improvement is not just encouraged but expected.

About the Role

As a Search Software Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in designing, developing, and maintaining the sophisticated systems that power Takealot's search functionality. This isn't just about writing code; it's about architecting robust solutions that directly impact the user experience and streamline business operations. You will be instrumental in shaping the technical direction of critical search components, ensuring they are scalable, performant, and reliable. This position demands a proactive approach to problem-solving and a deep understanding of software engineering best practices, particularly within the context of a high-growth e-commerce platform.

Your responsibilities will span the entire software development lifecycle, with a strong emphasis on backend systems. You'll be tasked with:

• **Designing and Building Solutions:** Creating innovative solutions to support business users and elevate the customer experience through improved search capabilities.
• **Architectural Design:** Collaborating with your team to design and architect solutions, making informed decisions on trade-offs, especially for system or domain-wide challenges.
• **High-Quality Code Development:** Writing and maintaining production-ready code, focusing on efficiency, scalability, and complexity. This includes significant contributions to the non-functional aspects of the software.
• **Testing and Quality Assurance:** Implementing and refining both functional and non-functional testing practices to ensure the delivery of high-quality software.
• **Production Support:** Responding to and resolving bugs within production systems, as well as actively participating in incident response and supporting alert systems for the division.
• **Problem Investigation:** Investigating and driving the resolution of complex issues that may affect multiple teams.
• **Process Improvement:** Championing, challenging, and iterating on engineering best practices, while also contributing to the definition and improvement of existing engineering processes.
• **Documentation:** Reviewing and creating content for internal documentation to ensure knowledge sharing and maintainability.
• **API Development:** Implementing and maintaining REST and RPC APIs, primarily using Python.
• **Automation:** Developing and maintaining automated tests to ensure code quality and streamline the release process.
• **Stakeholder Liaison:** Communicating effectively with various internal stakeholders to clearly understand project requirements and provide updates on progress.
• **Knowledge Sharing:** Contributing to a culture of learning by sharing knowledge through internal presentations, tech talks, or blog posts.

What They're Looking For

To excel in this role, candidates should possess a strong foundation in computer science principles and practical experience in backend development. The ideal applicant will have:

• A Bachelor's degree or an Advanced Diploma in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Between five and ten years of professional experience in a software development role.
• A thorough understanding of computer science fundamentals, including object-oriented design, data structures, and algorithms.
• Proven experience in writing robust, efficient, and production-ready code.
• Proficiency in a strongly typed, open-source programming language such as Python, Java, or Golang.
• Familiarity with RESTful APIs and web services.
• Experience working with SQL database systems.
• Proficiency in developing within a Linux environment.

While not mandatory, experience with microservices architecture, Agile development methodologies, specific database systems (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL), caching technologies (Memcached, Redis), message brokers (Kafka, RabbitMQ), containerisation (Docker), orchestration (Kubernetes), and CI/CD tools (GitHub, Travis CI, Jenkins) would be considered a significant advantage. Familiarity with cloud platforms like AWS, GCP, or Azure, and frontend technologies such as JavaScript, React, or jQuery, would also be beneficial.

Roles like this in South Africa, particularly within the e-commerce and tech sectors, often command competitive salaries commensurate with experience. Takealot Group, as a leading online retailer, offers a dynamic environment with substantial opportunities for professional growth and the chance to work on systems that impact millions of users.

• Bachelor’s degree or an Advanced Diploma in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 5 to 10 years in a software development role
• A thorough understanding of computer science fundamentals, including object-oriented design, data structures, and algorithms
• Experience in writing robust, efficient production code
• Proficient in a strongly typed open source language such as Python, Java, Golang, etc
• Exposure to RESTful APIs and web services.
• Experience with SQL database systems
• Experience with development in a Linux environment
• Experience in the following will be advantageous:
• Familiarity with microservices architecture
• Experience working in an Agile environment
• MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL
• Memcached, Redis
• Message Brokers, Queues, and PubSub systems (e.g., Kafka and RabbitMQ)
• Containerisation (e.g., Docker)
• Orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes)
• GitHub, Travis CI, Jenkins
• AWS, GCP, Azure
• JavaScript, React, jQuery