Developer / Systems Integrator - Strand CPT (Hybrid) at Catch

Job Description

• Our client is looking for a Developer / Systems Integrator to join their Platform Engineering team in Strand, Cape Town, on a permanent, full-time, hybrid basis. The role works on the group's own IoT and energy-monitoring platform, which ingests telemetry from generators, power meters, refrigeration controllers and PLCs across retail, food-service and facilities clients in South Africa.
• This is the counterpart to the platform's front end, covering everything from the device up to the API: configuring gateways, writing converters that turn raw device data into named measurements, and owning live client systems.
• Around two years of relevant experience is the comfortable starting point, though a strong early-career candidate who learns fast will also be considered.

ROLE OVERVIEW

• Reporting to the Lead Developer, the Developer / Systems Integrator will build and commission edge gateways, write converters and platform automation, maintain client dashboards and reporting, and support the Linux infrastructure the platform runs on.
• Within six months, the appointee is expected to own a workstream outright. Location: Strand, Cape Town — hybrid: 3 days a week in the office as the default, up to 2 days remote. Employment Type: Permanent, full-time. Experience Level: Approximately 2 years preferred; a strong early-career candidate will be considered.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Bench Commissioning & Go-Live

• Build and configure edge gateways at the Strand office, including Modbus polls, MQTT topics and credentials.
• Test and verify each gateway on the bench before it leaves the office.
• Run go-live remotely, directing a field technician who is standing at the installation.

Converters & Decoders

• Write JavaScript that turns raw device payloads into named, correctly scaled measurements.
• Handle signed values, 32-bit registers, scaling factors and unit conversions correctly and consistently.
• Apply datasheets and register maps exactly as written, and verify the result against real telemetry.

Platform Scripting & Automation

• Write Python against the platform REST API for bulk device operations and attribute synchronisation.
• Run cross-client key audits, data back-fills and scheduled health checks.
• Automate repetitive platform administration rather than performing it by hand.

Dashboards & Reporting

• Build and maintain client dashboards and the scheduled reports behind them.
• Produce consumption emails, CSV exports and alarm summaries that reconcile with the raw data.

Standards & Documentation

• Keep every client on a single measurement-naming standard, and audit the ones that have drifted.
• Write the trackers, issues and documentation that let someone else pick the work up.
• Document at the point of change rather than retrospectively.

Deployment & Server Support

• Support Linux servers, nginx and TLS certificates, service restarts and version bumps.
• Read logs and diagnose the cause when a service or a device goes quiet.

REQUIREMENTS:

The ideal candidate will possess the following:

Qualifications

• No formal qualification is required. A relevant diploma, degree or bootcamp is welcome, but a portfolio demonstrating the same capability carries equal weight.
• Valid driver's licence (own vehicle not requir d).
• Right to work in South Africa.
• Essential Technical & Personal Requirements
• Python 3 written unaided, including HTTP APIs, JSON and CSV handling, and proper error handling.
• JavaScript fundamentals.
• Linux over SSH.
• Git and GitHub as everyday working tools.
• The discipline to apply a datasheet or register map exactly as written.
• Care with live systems: backs up, checks, and says “I'm not sure” early.
• Clear written English.

Experience

• Approximately two years of relevant work is the comfortable starting point.
• A strong early-career candidate who demonstrably picks things up quickly will be considered.

Programming & Scripting

• Writing Python against a REST API without a framework doing the work, including authentication, pagination, retries, and handling an unexpected response.
• JavaScript sufficient to write and debug a payload decoder: bitwise operations, type handling, numeric precision.
• Reading someone else's code and extending it without rewriting it.

Data & Integration

• Understanding of how a raw device reading becomes a stored measurement: byte order, signed and unsigned values, 32-bit registers, scaling factors, unit conversion and timestamping.
• Ability to verify a value end to end against real telemetry rather than trusting a configuration screen reading itself back.
• Working with structured data formats (JSON, CSV) and reconciling a report against its source.

Systems & Tooling

• Linux command line over SSH: file handling, permissions, services, logs.
• Git and GitHub: branches, commits, pull requests, issue tracking.
• Basic web service operation, including nginx, TLS certificates and service restarts.

Advantageous

• Modbus, MQTT or other industrial protocols.
• SQL and PostgreSQL.
• Django or a similar framework.
• Angular, TypeScript or Java.
• Node-RED or PLC programming.
• nginx, systemd, cron and VPNs.
• An electrical or energy background.
• Electronics and embedded tinkering.

Behavioural Competencies

• Data integrity comes first: changes to byte order, scaling, units, parsing, schemas or timestamps are discussed and approved before being written, and verified against real telemetry.
• Traceable: every task starts from a GitHub issue and closes against a commit.
• Self-documenting: documents as the work happens, not at the end of it.
• Trustworthy with production: trusted with live systems early, and behaves accordingly.
• Asks before assuming: raises uncertainty early rather than proceeding on a guess.
• Accountable for AI-assisted output: the team uses AI tooling heavily, and the developer remains accountable for every line shipped.

Working Conditions

• Hybrid role: three days a week at the Strand office as the default, with up to two days worked remotely. Bench work (building, configuring and testing gateways) is done at the office.
• Occasional travel arises for software faults that cannot be resolved remotely, or to survey a system the platform has never integrated with before.
• A valid driver's licence is required so the appointee can drive to site; owning a vehicle is not required, and business kilometres are reimbursed where a personal vehicle is used.

Key Performance Measures

• Data integrity: no change to byte order, scaling, units, parsing, schemas or timestamps made without prior approval, with every such change verified against live telemetry.
• Commissioning: gateways bench-tested and verified before dispatch, and go-live completed without a return visit.
• Delivery: every task traceable from GitHub issue to closing commit, with agreed scope shipped within estimate.
• Documentation: register maps, converters and client standards documented at the point of change, within 2 days.
• Standards: client measurement naming audited and held to a single standard across the estate.
• Ownership: owns a defined workstream outright within six months of joining