Tech Lead

Role Profile: Tech Lead

Level: Senior

Reporting to: Chief of Marketplace

Location: Bryanston (in-office; hybrid after probation)

Leadership here means setting the standard. You are expected to stay close to the codebase, review pull requests, and lead by example.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role within a large-scale marketplace platform. You'll be the most senior technical voice in the room-setting technical direction, reviewing code, unblocking engineers, and making pragmatic decisions that keep delivery moving.

A central focus of this role is platform modernisation. The core marketplace runs on a production Java monolith with JSP-based frontends. You will own the strategy and execution for migrating to a modern, component-driven frontend while ensuring platform stability and continuous delivery. You won't just define the roadmap-you'll actively write and ship code alongside the team.

You'll report directly to the Chief of Marketplace and work closely with product, design, and engineering stakeholders.

• Define and lead the migration from JSP-based frontends to a modern frontend architecture.
• Evaluate frameworks, build proof-of-concepts, and deliver incremental improvements without disrupting production.
• Assess and drive backend modernisation initiatives (e.g. Java 17+/21 upgrades, improved API design, reduced coupling in the monolith).
• Act as the primary technical architect for the marketplace ecosystem, ensuring long-term scalability, reliability, and maintainability.

• Design, develop, and maintain high-quality, scalable software across the stack.
• Stay close to the codebase, contributing regularly and addressing technical debt before it becomes a production risk.
• Set high standards for performance, security, and reliability.

• Lead by example through clean, pragmatic, production-grade code.
• Review pull requests, mentor engineers, and raise the overall technical capability of the team through pairing and knowledge sharing.
• Work closely with product managers and designers to translate business needs into robust technical solutions.
• Clearly communicate technical trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Stay current with emerging technologies and best practices.
• Be genuinely open to adopting AI tooling where it demonstrably improves team velocity and product quality-because it works, not because it's trendy.

• Bachelor's Degree or National Diploma in Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent experience.

• 10+ years of professional software development experience.
• Experience in ecommerce, marketplace platforms, or fintech is a strong advantage.
• Strong full-stack capability, with deep, hands-on experience in production Java systems.
• Proven experience modernising legacy systems-especially migrating JSP or server-rendered UIs to modern frontend frameworks.
• Practical experience with modern frontend frameworks such as React, Next.js, Vue, or similar, and a clear, opinionated approach to incremental migration.
• Strong backend expertise with modern Java (17+/21); experience with Go is a bonus.
• Solid experience working in AWS production environments, including EC2, RDS/Aurora, Lambda, S3, and CloudWatch.
• High-level understanding of React Native + Expois advantageous.
• A strong appreciation for reliability, performance, and operational excellence.

• Comfortable working in and improving a mature codebase rather than rewriting for novelty.
• A pragmatic problem-solver who understands trade-offs between big-bang rewrites and incremental delivery-and prioritises shipping value early.
• Proven ability to lead teams through complex technical change, building alignment without slowing momentum.
• Clear communicator who can earn trust across engineering, product, and business teams.