Senior Software Developer: Blockchain/Distributed Ledger Technology at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

About the job:

• The CSIR has a vacancy for Senior Software Developer in the Emerging Digital Technologies for fourth Industrial Revolution (EDT4IR) Research Centre.
• The incumbent will be responsible for designing, developing and implementing blockchain and distributed ledger systems architecture and solutions. This position is based in Pretoria and will report to the Research Group Leader.

Key responsibilities:

• Develop cutting-edge blockchain solutions and remain well-versed in new technologies in the evolving blockchain space;
• Lead blockchain project(s) of moderate to high complexity, ensuring that all features are delivered successfully within the agreed timelines.
• Create and maintain technical documentation (incl. API docs, team engineering wikis);
• Supervise/mentor junior staff in the area(s) of expertise;
• Contribute to the improvement of RD&I processes within the impact area or research group;
• Generate and contribute towards science, engineering and technology (SET) activity outputs e.g. reports, guidelines, system requirements, peer-reviewed publications, and technology and software packages;
• Understand and interpret client requirements by contributing to user requirement analysis and/or well-articulated proposals;
• Remain current in field of expertise with respect to new approaches in tools, methods or technologies;
• Participate in client engagement meetings to conduct technical demonstration, presentations and elicit detailed requirements;
• Contribute to strategic planning sessions within the impact area or research group;
• Participate in external task teams or committees in relevant domains.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer/electronic engineering, information technology or related field with at least five years’ software development experience in blockchain/distributed ledger technologies;
• An Honours or a Master’s degree will be advantageous;

Exposure in the following:

• Software development in the field of Blockchain/Distributed Ledger Technology or a related area;
• Front-end Frameworks: Angular, Vue, React, Next.js, Vite;
• Back-end Frameworks:  Python Flask, CherryPI or Pyramid, Node.js, ExpressJS, SpringBoot;
• Version Control: Git;
• Databases: SQL (Postgres, MySQL), NoSQL (MongoDB, CouchDB, ClickHouse);
• Infrastructure and DevOps: Container Technologies (Docker or Podman), Container Orchestration (Docker Compose or Kubernetes), Continuous Integration (Jenkins, TravisCI, GitlabCI, CircleCI), Monitoring Tools (Grafana, Prometheus);
• Cloud-based platforms: AWS, Digital Ocean, Azure, Heroku Cloud;
• Distributed System Architecture: Client/Server, P2P, Microservices, SOA, Event-driven (pub/sub messaging); 
• System Design: Load Balancing, Caching, Sharding and Replication, Rate Limiting, Message Queues, Horizontal and Vertical Scaling, Fault Tolerance, API Design;
• Project management;
• Ability to demonstrate Object-orientated software engineering skills;
• Programming languages: C++, Java, Rust, Python, Solidity, JavaScript, Go.
• Must show initiative in building applications using blockchain technology;

Advantageous skills:

• Understanding of various blockchain technologies and the major differences among them (Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance);
• An understanding of designing/implementing algorithms and data structures for use in real-life systems;
• Knowledge of cryptography and established encryption protocols;
• Understanding of basic application architectures like MVC, MVVM, MVI and Microservices;
• Understanding of fundamentals of communication architectures including but not limited to Client-Server (REST), Event-Driven (publish/subscribe messaging), Enterprise Service Bus;
• Knowledge of DLT development tools, such as Interactive Console, Test Net and Solc Compiler;
• Knowledge of Open-Source development tools and platforms.

Closing Date

• 28/09/2025