Backend Software Developer at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

About the job:

The CSIR has a vacancy for a Backend Software Developer: Spatial Information Systems in the eGovernment Impact Area, within the Next Generation Enterprises and Institutions cluster. The incumbent will be responsible to design, develop, and contribute to systems architecture leading to the implementation of operational spatial information systems. This position is based in Pretoria.

Key responsibilities:

• Work across disciplines with researchers and experts to conceptualise and develop high-technology software solutions for clients;
• Contribute technically to large and complex projects, using cutting-edge technology and innovative designs;
• Assist and support systems architecture and development team with high-level system design and integration;
• Contribute to development activities that translate design into working systems;
• Contribute to technology research of the group by creating and publishing research outputs, such as scientific conference papers and journal articles in selected topics of interest.

Qualifications, skills and experience:         

• An Honours degree or equivalent NQF 8 qualifications in geoinformatics, geomatics, computer science, computer/electronic engineering, information technology or related fields;
• At least two years’ practical experience in professional software development and engineering, particularly in large, complex projects using modern scripting languages, including Python;
• A Masters’ degree will be advantageous;
• Experience using test-driven approaches and agile methods (e.g., Scrum, SAFe);
• Experience working on cloud computing platforms and with cloud-based development;

Experience with the following would be required:

• DevOps;
• Test automation, continuous integration CD/CI, continuous delivery;
• Docker;
• Open-source version control systems, GitLab;
• Message broker software (RabbitMQ);
• Atlassian software stack (JiRA, Confluence, BitBucket, Bamboo);
• Bash and Node.js and other programming languages;
• Open-source software (e.g., GeoServer, QGIS);
• Research and publication of scientific articles;
• Dynamic metadata systems and interchange formats (web and geospatial);
• Data management and analysis;
• Relational databases, PostgreSQL, and related technologies;
• Spatial information systems;

Experience with the following would be advantageous:

• Apache Spark, Kafka, Celery (Python);
• Kubernetes;
• Linux/Unix;
• Strong software development foundation, knowledge, and fundamentals;
• Must have knowledge and/or interest in developing geospatial information systems;
• All international qualifications require an evaluation report / certificate issued by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)

Closing date: 07 August 2023