ABOUT GENESIS:

In a world undergoing convulsive technological and political change, Genesis partners with key actors to deliver urgent, lasting impact in critical areas. Genesis, an impact consultancy founded, incorporated and headquartered in Africa, has worked in 52 African countries and more than 100 countries globally. Uniquely, Genesis is focused on the Young World - the arc of countries with young populations stretching across Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia.
Unencumbered by legacy systems, these nations can pioneer innovative models and chart a new path to prosperity. However, converting this potential into developmental gains is not guaranteed. At Genesis, we work alongside local partners to turn this opportunity into shared progress - helping the Young World move faster, more sustainably and on its own terms.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or an equivalent technical discipline.
• 8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience, including 3+ years in architecture or senior technical lead roles.
• Proven experience designing and implementing large-scale, modular, service-oriented systems.
• Proven experience designing and integrating modular APIs using REST and GraphQL. This includes expertise in API gateways, schema documentation, versioning best practices, cloud-native architecture, authentication protocols (OAuth2, OpenID Connect), and DevOps pipelines.
• Experience working in agile teams delivering digital government, civic tech, or open source-based public platforms.
• Understanding the public sector would be advantageous.

SKILLS:

• Modern Software Architecture: Deep experience with microservices, API-first design, containerization, and stateless systems.
• Open Source and Standards: Familiarity with open-source frameworks, modular integration patterns, and relevant standards (W3C VC, JSON-LD, AsyncAPI/OpenAPI).
• Technical Communication: Ability to translate architectural concepts into actionable guidance and clear diagrams or documentation.
• Code Proficiency: Hands-on coding skills in at least two of the following: Python, Node.js, Go, Java, or an equivalent open-source language.
• Infrastructure Familiarity: Competence with AWS/Azure/GCP environments, Terraform, Kubernetes, and GitOps patterns.
• Collaborative Leadership: Comfortable coaching others, facilitating cross-squad alignment, and leading technical workshops or design sessions.

WORK ELIGIBILITY:

• Must be legally authorized to work in South Africa and possess all necessary permits. Duration: We are seeking an individual for an 18-month fixed-term engagement, starting July 2025

ROLE DESCRIPTION:

The Principal Software Architect provides strategic technical direction and architectural oversight across DSU squads, ensuring all software solutions are modular, secure, and standards-based. As a bridge between the Head of Technology and engineering squads, this role translates DSU’s architectural principles into real-world systems, enabling squads to build scalable and interoperable government platforms using open-source technologies. This is a hands-on technical leadership position that balances vision, architecture design, and practical delivery.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

As a Principal Software Architect, you will:

• Strategically lead technical direction and architectural oversight for DSU engineering squads.
• Define and maintain the technical architecture for DSU platforms, ensuring modularity, reusability, open APIs, and alignment with global open standards.
• Mentor and guide front-end and back-end engineers on best practices in microservices, APIs, deployment, and integration patterns.
• Ensure seamless interoperability between various DSU systems (e.g., Digital ID, Payments, Data Exchange, GOV.ZA) through coherent architecture.
• Contribute to and enforce DSU’s internal architecture and technology decision-making framework, including preferred stacks, tooling, documentation, and review processes.
• Rapidly prototype complex system components or integration layers to reduce risk and accelerate delivery.
• Conduct peer reviews and architectural walkthroughs to ensure code quality, security, and adherence to architectural standards.
• Collaborate with the DevOps team to ensure CI/CD pipelines, observability, and deployment practices are architecture-aligned.
• Shape the strategy for evaluating, reusing, and contributing to open-source tools and libraries relevant to DSU systems.