Senior Backend Engineer

Job Advert Summary

The Senior Backend Engineer is responsible for designing, building, releasing, and supporting the Kotlin / Spring Boot service behind Optix's Driver Centric Solutions — the driver safety, training, and wellbeing products delivered through Optix's web app, mobile app, and online learning platform.

Working within the Driver Centric Solutions (DCS) team, the Senior Backend Engineer takes features from idea through to production, connects the platform to third-party services and partners, and keeps the system secure, tested, and up to date. This is a high-agency role: the incumbent takes initiative, acts without waiting to be asked, sees work through to production, and raises the standard of the team through code reviews, mentoring, and continuous improvement.

Key Objective: To deliver a secure, reliable, and well-tested backend platform that enables Optix's driver safety, training, and wellbeing products to reach drivers and customers.

Minimum Requirements

Education and Qualifications

• Essential: Matric (Grade 12) or equivalent
• Advantageous: Degree or diploma in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field; relevant cloud or Java / Kotlin certifications

Experience

• Minimum 3–5 years' experience in backend, software, or Java / Kotlin development roles
• At least 2 years' experience in Kotlin or Java 11 or later (strong Java developers willing to learn Kotlin will be considered)
• Hands-on experience with Spring Boot, including Spring Web, Spring Data, and Spring Security, in recent roles
• Experience with SQL databases — PostgreSQL preferred; MySQL, SQL Server, or Oracle acceptable
• Experience building and supporting live production systems used by real customers
• Demonstrated high agency — e.g. delivering a feature from idea to production, fixing an unassigned problem, or improving a team process on own initiative
• Experience with Keycloak or OAuth2, Microsoft Azure, Docker, and automated testing (JUnit, Testcontainers) is advantageous
• Experience with learning platforms or fleet / transport safety is advantageous

Skills and Competencies

• Backend Engineering: Strong command of Kotlin / Java, Spring Boot, REST API design, and SQL
• Quality and Security: Writes secure, tested, maintainable code and applies sound engineering practices
• Ownership: Drives own work from idea to production and sees problems through to resolution
• Problem Solving: Diagnoses production issues methodically and addresses root causes
• Technical Communication: Writes clear documentation and explains technical decisions to engineers and non-engineers
• Mentoring: Raises team capability through constructive code reviews and knowledge sharing
• Collaboration: Works effectively with product, frontend, mobile, and operations colleagues

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES & ALIGNMENT WITH OPTIX PROMISES

The ideal candidate embodies the Optix Promises:

• Driven With Heart: Cares about the drivers behind every feature — knowing that reliable safety, training, and wellbeing products help get everyone safely home.
• Create Possibility: Takes initiative to find better solutions — proposing improvements and acting on them without waiting to be asked.
• Navigate Together, Thrive Together: Builds strong working relationships across the DCS team, lifting others through mentoring and code reviews.
• Find Joy in the Journey: Enjoys solving hard technical problems and seeing well-built features used by real customers.
• Accountable Always: Owns the quality, security, and reliability of their work in production.

Duties & Responsibilities

Backend Development and Delivery

• Design, build, release, and support features on the main Kotlin / Spring Boot backend service in production.
• Develop and maintain REST APIs that serve Optix's web app, mobile app, and online learning platform.
• Take ownership of features from idea to production, including design, implementation, testing, release, and post-release support.
• Design and maintain efficient, reliable data models and queries on PostgreSQL.

Integration and Platform Connectivity

• Connect the platform to third-party services and partners, building robust and well-documented integrations.
• Work with frontend and mobile developers to define API contracts that meet product needs.
• Write clear guides and documentation so frontend and mobile developers can use backend services with confidence.

Security, Quality, and Reliability

• Keep the system secure, applying sound authentication and authorisation practices (e.g. Spring Security, OAuth2, Keycloak).
• Maintain high code quality through automated testing (e.g. JUnit, Testcontainers) and test-driven development where appropriate.
• Keep frameworks, libraries, and dependencies up to date, and manage technical debt proactively.
• Monitor and support the service in production, resolving incidents and addressing root causes.
• Ensure the handling of driver and customer data complies with POPIA and Optix's information security requirements.

Initiative and Continuous Improvement

• Spot problems and propose improvements to the platform, codebase, and ways of working without waiting to be asked.
• Contribute to technical design discussions and architectural decisions within the DCS team.
• Use AI coding assistants and other productivity tools responsibly, within team standards.

Mentoring, Collaboration, and Compliance

• Mentor and support fellow engineers through code reviews, pairing, and knowledge sharing.
• Work closely with product, frontend, mobile, QA, and operations colleagues to deliver product outcomes.
• Carry out all activities in line with Optix's policies, internal controls, and applicable regulations.
• Foster a positive, collaborative engineering culture aligned with the Optix Promises.

KEY OUTCOMES

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Features delivered to production on time and to an agreed quality standard
• Stability, security, and performance of the backend service in production
• Automated test coverage and code quality across owned services
• Quality and usability of APIs, integrations, and supporting documentation
• Improvements identified and delivered on own initiative
• Contribution to team capability through code reviews, mentoring, and knowledge sharing

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