Takealot.com, South Africa’s leading online retailer, is looking for a highly talented Principal Software Engineer to join our Group Fulfilment Engineering team in Cape Town.
We are an energetic team that is fully responsible for all the systems required to support the Takealot group's delivery network, as well as the unique challenges that come with logistics and scale. We have adopted a microservices architecture to both isolate our logic and enable scale. We follow event-driven architecture as well as utilise a graph database to model our delivery network. We are currently working through unique problems in the logistics space and are actively researching the usage of the actor model design pattern and graph traversal optimisation.
Think you’ve been challenged before? Think again!
- Scale: 4 million happy shoppers shop online on takealot.com. Show them what you can do.
- Learn: We work with the best of the best, and then some. Code alongside industry leaders and upskill in record time.
- Grow: Expand your career in the fast-growing Takealot Group: takealot.com and Mr D. We like to promote from within: Here’s your chance.
Who’s who in the tech space
This position reports to the Software Engineering Manager.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it:
- Developing and optimising systems to manage both parcel and food delivery throughout South Africa
- Working with the business to improve processes to allow for more efficient deliveries
- Researching and defining solutions
- Working predominantly on open-source platforms
- End-to-end ownership of solutions
Attributes required:
- Solid communication skills
- Proactive
- Ability to adapt to change
- Problem-solver
- Solutions-oriented
- Willing to learn as well as teach others
Our Tech Stack:
- Python
- Scala
- Java
- Play Framework
- Angular
- Postgres
- Kafka
- Cassandra DB
- Amazon Web Services
- Google Cloud
- Graphite and Grafana
- Git
Qualifications & Experience:
- Degree in Computer Science or a similar qualification
- 10 years of experience in writing robust, efficient production code
- Experience with SQL database systems
- Experience with development in a Linux environment
- Proficient in languages such as Java, Scala, Angular, Python, or C#
- Open to diversifying language skill set
- In the event that you do not have a Bachelor’s Degree or an Advanced Diploma, an equivalent experience requirement must be met
Let’s talk about life @ Takealot Group
- The power is in your hands: We offer a market-related, Total Remuneration Package which allows full flexibility according to your needs. Go on, be the master of your own destiny.
- No doors: We aren’t fans of stuffy offices or siloed work environments. See someone you like? High five, collab and make something great.
- Mentorship programme: We aren’t kidding when we say the people with the best people win. Now’s your chance to be one of the best, by learning from the best.
- Naspers Tech Community & Online Learning: Share ideas and grow with global industry leaders who are all just a Slack message away. Love to learn? Up-skill with free access to courses on MyAcademy, Udacity, Coursera and more.
- Good times: Get to know the other extraordinary minds at takealot.com during regular social events and out-of-office activities (think hikes, think mini golf, think good times).
- Staff discount. Millions of products across 28 departments. What more could you ask for?
- Birthday leave: Cake Day all the way. Enjoy your day off - you deserve it.
- Right tools, right job: Mac or Windows, two monitors or one. Whatever your preference, you’ll work on the latest tech, off the latest tech.
- Help when you need it most: Confidential counselling, legal support and financial guidance, for free, anytime, anywhere.
- Tech stack (for days): ReactJS, Python, Scala, Kotlin, Swift, Google Cloud, Kafka, Redis, Kubernetes and all things machine learning. If you build it, they will come.
- Free parking: No more 5km fun runs to your desk (unless you want to).
Like what you see?
If you meet the above you are an Extraordinary Mind. Apply today!!
Takealot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants from the previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities will be given preference.
Skills Required
- Degree in Computer Science or a similar qualification
- Equivalent experience if lacking a Bachelor's Degree or Advanced Diploma
- 10 years of experience writing robust, efficient production code
- Experience with SQL database systems
- Experience developing in a Linux environment
- Proficiency in Java, Scala, Angular, Python, or C#
- Willingness to diversify language skills
- Solid communication skills
- Proactive, adaptable, solutions-oriented problem-solving approach
takealot.com Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about takealot.com and has not been reviewed or approved by takealot.com.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered aligned with qualifications in select office and tech functions. This indicates pockets where compensation matches role expectations despite broader variability.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Employee discounts and company-supported learning opportunities are available to some permanent staff. These perks add non-cash value that can help offset leaner core benefits in certain teams.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid sick leave, holidays, and flexible scheduling appear in some roles. Such time-off and flexibility elements contribute positively where offered.
takealot.com Insights
What We Do
Takealot.com is the leading eCommerce retailer in South Africa and one of the largest, most innovative eCommerce retailers on the African continent. Our mission is to be the most customer-centric online shopping destination in Africa, built around the simple concept that our customer comes first. Need help or have a question? Reach out to us via our Help Center for assistance https://www.takealot.com/help-centre Our focus is dedicated to improving the customer experience, from the moment they arrive on our website to the moment they receive their order. By aligning ourselves to this philosophy, we believe Takealot will be the #1 shopping destination across Africa.
