Software Engineering Lead – Fully Remote at Datafin Recruitment

ENVIRONMENT:

• Our client is a growing South African fleet-management software company and they are seeking a Software Engineering Lead to take ownership of how they build their product.
• Reporting directly to the CEO, you will lead a small, capable development team, remain hands-on with the codebase, and set the technical direction of the platform as the business grows. 
• This is a hands-on leadership position, equal parts builder and leader, suited to an engineer who is ready to take full ownership of both a team and a technical architecture, and to grow with the company over the long term.

DUTIES:

• Lead and develop the engineering team.
• Guide and grow a small team of developers (initially two to three), setting standards, removing blockers, and maintaining delivery momentum.
• Translate business priorities received through Account Managers into a clear product roadmap and successfully delivered software.
• Remain hands-on by reviewing code, pairing on complex problems, and contributing directly when the team requires support.
• Lead from the front and foster engineering excellence.
• Own architecture and infrastructure, driving key technical decisions relating to system design, platform direction, scalability, and overall technical delivery.
• Champion the use of AI by evaluating, introducing, and embedding modern AI tools (such as Claude) across the engineering team and wider business where they add measurable value.

REQUIREMENTS: 

• Be based in South Africa and available to work South African business hours.
• Have approximately 5–8 years of software development experience, including experience leading or mentoring developers.
• Demonstrate strong software architecture fundamentals with a proven track record of building reliable, scalable systems.
• Be comfortable operating as both a technical leader and an individual contributor within a lean, agile team.
• Apply modern engineering practices, including version control, code reviews, automated testing, and CI/CD.
• Be a confident, day-to-day user of AI development tools.
• Experience in a startup or early-stage environment is advantageous.
• Have successfully led or mentored engineers and be ready to take full ownership of a development team and technical direction.
• Be motivated by building and improving products in an early-stage environment.
• Take initiative and demonstrate a genuine ownership mindset.
• Be actively engaged with AI technologies and already apply them effectively in day-to-day work.