Team Lead: IT (Somerset West) (In Office) at Datafin Recruitment

ENVIRONMENT:

• Our client is one of South Africa’s leading industrial IoT firms, developing AI-augmented solutions in digital productivity, workplace safety, and employee healthcare. With two decades of deep domain expertise and signal processing experience, the company is at the forefront of Industry 4.0.
• This role is based at the Somerset West Head Office and reports directly to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The environment is fast-paced, innovative, and technology-driven, requiring high resilience, security, and availability across all internal systems.

DUTIES:

• Provide strategic oversight and operational excellence for the entire internal IT environment.
• Take full ownership of internal IT operations, infrastructure, networks, and security.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the internal IT team, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Ensure high availability and resilience across all systems, including LAN, power systems, and desktop support.
• Develop, implement, and maintain disaster recovery plans and business continuity procedures.
• Manage vendor relationships, software/hardware procurement, and IT budget oversight.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex IT matters, troubleshooting advanced network, database, and system issues.
• Collaborate closely with the CTO and business leaders to align IT strategy with business growth and operational efficiency.
• Oversee systems administration, including database management (specifically PostgreSQL) and virtualization environments.
• Apply scripting and automation to reduce manual overhead and improve system reliability.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Experience in role: 5+ years of relevant IT experience, with at least 5 years of Linux-based network experience.
• Team management: Minimum 3 years of experience leading or managing an IT team (e.g., as Engineering Manager, DevOps Engineer, or similar).
• Database administration: Proven experience as a Database Administrator, specifically with PostgreSQL.
• Networking: Advanced knowledge of IPv4 networks, including firewall management and network security principles.
• Virtualization: Hands-on experience with virtualization technologies (Proxmox VE and/or Microsoft Hyper-V are advantageous).
• Scripting & automation: Proficiency in Python; working knowledge of Bash and/or PowerShell is nice-to-have.
• Version control & tracking: Familiarity with Git and Jira is nice-to-have.
• Language proficiency: Professional proficiency in English (written and spoken).
• Location: Must be based at or willing to work full-time from the Somerset West Head Office.

ATTRIBUTES:

• Strategic thinker – Able to balance day-to-day operational demands with long-term infrastructure planning.
• Decisive and calm under pressure – Serves as the primary escalation point; can troubleshoot complex failures without losing composure.
• Mentoring mindset – Genuinely invested in growing the technical and leadership capabilities of the IT team.
• Ownership mentality – Takes full accountability for the internal IT environment, from power systems to security posture.
• Collaborative communicator – Works effectively with the CTO and non-technical business leaders, translating technical risk into business impact.
• Process-driven – Values documentation, disaster recovery testing, and structured change management.
• Security-conscious – Embeds security best practices into every layer of IT operations.