Job Title: Senior Backend Engineer (Switching Systems)
Location: Cape Town, South Africa (Hybrid or On-site)
Role Overview
We are looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to design and build high-performance switching systems that route, process, and manage real-time transactions or communications at scale.
This role is deeply technical and backend-focused, requiring strong experience in low-latency systems, concurrency, and reliability engineering. You will play a key role in building the core systems that power critical flows in our platform.
Key Responsibilities
Core Systems & Switching Logic
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Design and implement switching/routing engines for high-throughput, low-latency systems
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Build systems that handle real-time decisioning, routing, and failover
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Develop and maintain protocol-level integrations (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, gRPC, or domain-specific protocols)
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Ensure correctness, ordering, and idempotency in transaction flows
Performance & Reliability
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Optimize systems for latency, throughput, and fault tolerance
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Design for high availability and graceful degradation
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Implement robust retry, backoff, and circuit-breaking mechanisms
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Debug complex production issues in distributed systems
Backend Engineering
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Build and maintain backend services and APIs
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Work with data stores (relational and/or NoSQL) to support high-scale workloads
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Contribute to system design, code reviews, and engineering standards
Infrastructure & Observability
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Collaborate on deployment architecture (cloud or hybrid environments)
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Implement monitoring, logging, and tracing for critical paths
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Improve system visibility and operational readiness
Experience
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5–8+ years of backend software engineering experience
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Proven experience building high-throughput, low-latency systems
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Experience working on switching, routing, or real-time processing systems (telecom, payments, networking, or similar domains)
Key Competencies
1. Technical Skills
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Strong proficiency in one or more backend languages (e.g., Go, Java, C++, Rust, or similar
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Deep understanding of concurrency, multithreading, and asynchronous systems
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Experience with network protocols and system-level behavior
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Solid understanding of distributed systems fundamentals
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Experience with databases under high load
2. Systems Thinking
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Ability to reason about failure modes, edge cases, and system limits
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Strong debugging and performance tuning skills
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Focus on building resilient, production-grade systems
Nice to Have
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Experience with telecom switching (e.g., SS7, SIP) or payment switching (e.g., ISO 8583)
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Experience with event-driven architectures or streaming systems (e.g., Kafka)
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Familiarity with kernel-level or systems programming concepts
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Experience in regulated or mission-critical environments
