Manager: API Platforms and Channel Integration at MTN

Core purpose of the Job
The Manager: API Platforms and Channel Integration is responsible for building, enhancing and maintaining software and related systems.

The Manager: API Platforms and Channel Integration will design, develop and deliver high quality software products and/or systems and services that exceed customers’ or business partners’ expectations and will proactively share their own knowledge for specific technical solutions and business processes in their area of responsibility. The Manager: API Platforms and Channel Integration works within the Group Technology Digital Platforms and Services – API Services team, which is responsible for the stewardship of the MTN API Development and Application Platforms (MADAPI). MADAPI provides secure, reliable and scalable platforms and development services in a consistent manner to support MTN’s digital transformation initiatives.

Key Performance Areas: Core, essential responsibilities / outputs of the position (KPA's)
The Manager: API Platforms and Channel Integration will be accountable for achieving the following objectives:

• Develop, deliver and maintain high-quality software (requirements, design, code, documentation, etc.)
• Contribute to quality assurance activities, incl. peer reviews of estimates, designs and code
• Resolve defects/bugs during QA testing, pre-production, production, and post-release patches
• Be an active and enthusiastic team player. Partner effectively with all team members to deliver against commitments.
• Commitment to team success and positive team dynamics
• Proven experience with Agile Development, SCRUM, and/or Extreme Programming methodologies
• Participate in all phases of the project lifecycle.
• To ensure that the Software Development Lifecycle is adhered to at all times.
• To take responsibility for the effort estimation, execution, testing, deployment and documentation of software
• To ensure that quality software is delivered in alignment with software standards and in accordance with a pre-defined requirement and/or technical design
• Ensuring current and ad-hoc work is carried out in a productive, timely and efficient manner
• To analyse and clarify pre-defined software requirements and/or technical designs to ensure comprehensive understanding of business need
• To provide suitable solutions that meet business requirements following established architectural framework and principles
• Accountability for development.
• Maintain relevant documentation to describe logic, coding/configuration, testing and changes where applicable.
• Continuously strive to make improvements to the existing products, systems and services.
• Ensure all tasks are completed to the required quality standards.
• Update job knowledge by studying state-of-the-art development tools & techniques
• Provide 3rd tier support and/or expertise for the area of responsibility
• Design and implement new solutions and improve resilience of the current Development environment
• Integrate various tools in the DevOps toolchain to accelerate development teams’ velocity while maintaining high standards for quality and consistency
• Design and develop APIs / plugins / integration for tools and applications
• Assist with the design and implementation of continuous delivery and integration pipelines and automation workflows across both on-premise and public cloud solutions
• Perpetuate a DevOps culture
• Responsible for instrumenting microservices for observability
• Managing risk and release through configuration management and version control (i.e. Git).
• Provide a high degree of leadership through ownership and commitment for assigned tasks.
• Providing effort estimates on projects and prioritising own tasks effectively.
• Ensure that development and system administration follows guidelines & standards, and follow best practices.
• Brainstorming and incubating new ideas with other team members.
• Setting of own goals and working towards them. Continuous professional development

Education:

• Minimum 4-year Academic Degree (B Eng. / BSc Degree preferred)
• Master’s degree (advantageous)
• A recognized software development certification / degree / diploma
• Experience with software development, system architecture design and/or system integration
• Experience with DevOps and Agile practices
• Real-world application development experience

Experience:

• Experience using the relevant programming frameworks, preferably Spring Boot, but others like .NET Core, Node.js will be considered
• Experience developing in Linux/Unix environment.
• Proven experience in using a TDD/BDD approach
• Knowledge of one or more relevant programming languages, frameworks and databases
• Solid experience developing microservices in a polyglot environment
• Good understanding of microservices design patterns, such as domain-driven design, CQRS, event sourcing, distributed sagas and service discovery
• Demonstrated knowledge of Java and good knowledge of generics, threading and networking (should be able to solve complicated problems)
• Knowledge of concurrent and parallel programming
• Basic Enterprise design patterns knowledge
• Must have a good knowledge of Java EE 6 and be able to explain the advantages and disadvantages of using Java EE and a Java EE application server.
• Understanding of functional programming elements, such as lamda expressions, in Java
• Familiarity with writing microservices in a container environment
• RESTful API Design using OAS/Swagger
• Deep end-to-end understanding of the software development lifecycle, methodologies and tool chains including source control, build automation, version control, testing, code quality, deployment and release.
• Experience with Lean / Agile process
• Good understanding DevOps principles
• Experience with continuous integration and continuous delivery
• Good working knowledge of Cloud Native development practices as well as experience with implementing and deploying public cloud solutions
• Python, Linux, Ansible, Terraforms, MySQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Java, Jenkins (or similar build server)
• System monitoring tools (ELK, Grafana, Prometheus)
• Preparation of Dev, QA and Production environments using Cloud and local DC’s
• Testing of Software services (APIs) and infrastructure during deployment
• Git – Advanced Experience.