iKhokha is a place where chance takers become change makers.
At iKhokha, we’re made to make it. As you'd expect, our pace is fast-moving and ever-changing. We like it that way. As one of the fastest growing Fintech's in Africa we've built a team of global change-makers who want to make an impact. If you believe that you are made to make it, be a chance-taker and help us empower small businesses in South Africa.
We're looking for a Senior Software Engineer who loves building great products, solving meaningful problems, and leaving systems better than they found them.
Join us to tackle complex engineering challenges, build at scale, and help shape the technology that powers thousands of businesses across South Africa.
So, what will you do?
- You will build and scale secure, high-availability systems within the FinTech space, with a strong focus on backend services, cloud-native architectures, and payment integrations.
- You will contribute to both frontend and backend development, with a primary focus on backend services, APIs, and system integrations, while supporting modern frontend applications using React.js, HTML5, and CSS where required.
- You will be responsible for the end-to-end development of FinTech systems, including architecture design, implementation, testing, deployment pipelines, and operating services in a cloud environment.
- You will design and implement card payment integrations (Card Present and Card Not Present), ensuring secure, reliable, and scalable transaction processing.
In addition to the above, you will:
- Working in an Agile environment within a collaborative, cross-functional team, reporting to the Software Development Manager.
- Exhibit strong communication skills, ownership, and the ability to collaborate effectively within and across teams.
- Design, build, and operate scalable backend systems and APIs, with a focus on reliability, performance, and security.
- Deliver high-quality software solutions in cloud-based environments (AWS preferred, but other cloud platforms supported).
- Lead the design and implementation of secure payment flows.
- Take ownership of systems in production, including monitoring, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.
- Mentor and guide Level 1 and Level 2 Engineers, focusing on engineering best practices, code quality, security, and performance.
- Participate in and drive high-quality code reviews, ensuring maintainability and consistency.
- Debug and resolve complex system issues and implement enhancements across services.
- Contribute to and maintain technical and domain documentation.
- Drive both technical and domain knowledge sharing within the team.
- Collaborate closely with cross-functional stakeholders to deliver impactful solutions.
- Demonstrate strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work on complex, distributed systems.
- Contribute to frontend applications where required, with a solid understanding of modern frontend practices.
The following would be advantageous:
- A degree in Computer Science or Engineering, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience
Deal Breakers:
7+ years’ professional software engineering experience, with a proven track record of delivering complex, high-quality systems in production, with the following:
- Experience must include backend development, cloud-native architectures, and ideally card payment integrations.
- Working within an Agile environment using Scrum or Kanban methods.
- Version Control experience whereby you have worked in Engineering Team (with 5+ developers of various levels) with a version control system such as GitHub.
- Development Environments experience whereby you have worked in Engineering Teams (with 5+ developers of various levels) within multiple environments for Development, Testing and Production, including Branching Strategies.
- Experience leading a Software Engineering Team (with 3+ developers of various levels) and involvement in Technical Leadership, Code Quality, Code Standards, Code Security, System and Code Performance.
- Leading and participating in Code Reviews for your own team as well as those in other teams.
- Experience with creating, maintaining and reviewing documentation.
- Experience with designing and implementing various architectural layers: for example, Presentation, Application, Service, Integration and Database layers.
In addition to the above, experience in the following technologies and best practices will make you a frontrunner for the role:
- Backend and Architecture:
- Node.js
- Microservices
- Rest API design and Integration
- Design Patterns
- Solid Principles
- Object Oriented Programming Concepts
- Cloud and Infrastructure:
- Experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred, Azure/GCP also considered)
- Serverless compute (e.g. AWS Lambda or equivalents)
- Managed databases (e.g. DynamoDB or other NoSQL databases)
- Object storage (e.g. S3 or equivalents)
- Compute services (e.g. EC2 or equivalents)
- Frontend:
- React.js (preferred), or Next.js or Angular
- TypeScript (preferred)
- JavaScript
- HTML5, CSS
- Integrations and Observability:
- CMS API Integration (Sanity, Magento, or similar)
- Telemetry Integration (Datadog, or similar)
- Testing:
- Unit Testing frameworks (Jest, or similar)
- Tools:
- VSCode / IntelliJ
Perks of joining the Tribe?
Work in a high-growth company with tangible results you're accountable for.
Enjoy hybrid, remote, and in office work models.
Competitive remuneration and benefits, including Medical Aid and Group Risk scheme contributions.
Be guided by visionary leadership.
Seize the opportunity for study leave.
Access to on-demand learning and development.
Experience a friendly, collaborative culture with a team of all-round-lekker humans (it’s true, we surveyed our Employees and they told us so).
If you find yourself at HQ, coffee on tap and a selection of hot beverages provided by our very own onsite Barista.
Stay Sharp!
Job scams are out there, but we’ve got your back. Here’s how to keep it real when applying:
Apply the iK way:
Go via our Careers page or verified platforms (Smart Recruiters).
We’ll never ask for payment, personal financial details, or anything unusual during the hiring process. If someone does, it’s a scam, report it.
If something feels off, pause and confirm the role on our site before responding.
Your journey to join the iKTribe starts with trust and we’re here to keep it simple and secure.
Skills Required
- 7+ years of professional software engineering experience delivering complex, high-quality production systems
- Backend development experience, including cloud-native architectures and ideally card payment integrations
- Experience working in Agile environments using Scrum or Kanban
- Experience using version control systems such as GitHub within engineering teams of 5 or more developers
- Experience working across development, testing, and production environments, including branching strategies
- Experience leading software engineering teams of 3 or more developers
- Technical leadership experience covering code quality, standards, security, system performance, and code performance
- Experience leading and participating in code reviews across teams
- Experience creating, maintaining, and reviewing technical and domain documentation
- Experience designing and implementing presentation, application, service, integration, and database architectural layers
- Degree in Computer Science or Engineering, or equivalent education and relevant experience
- Experience with Node.js, microservices, REST API design and integration, design patterns, SOLID principles, and object-oriented programming
- Experience with AWS or another cloud platform, serverless compute, managed databases, object storage, and compute services
- Experience with React.js, Next.js, or Angular; TypeScript; JavaScript; HTML5; and CSS
- Experience with CMS API integration, telemetry tools such as Datadog, and unit testing frameworks such as Jest
- Experience using VSCode or IntelliJ
What We Do
iKhokha is a co-founder led financial technology company that believes every South African entrepreneur should be given the opportunity to compete in the digital economy – because when small businesses grow, Mzansi thrives.All our digital payment solutions are built in-house at our HQ in Umhlanga where we manage the entire product life cycle from research to design, development, user testing, rollout, and product evolution.From Tap & Go enabled card machines to point-of-sale systems, top-tier ecommerce products (such as iK Pay Gateway) and, of course, the iKhokha app, we pride ourselves on building highly competitive products at affordable prices to give businesses the payment tools they need to succeed, both in-person and online.Whether through our speed point machines or our ecommerce payment solutions, our merchants enjoy the lowest transaction rates in South Africa. And to reward them for trading with us, these rates keep getting lower the more they sell!Our merchants can also access working capital after just three months of trade using our iK Cash Advance product and can increase their basket size by selling prepaid products with iK Prepaid on the iKhokha app.At our core, we’re here to help entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes start, run, and grow. We use tech to create meaningful experiences that uplift our communities, add value, and make running a business less of a dream and more of a reality.
