Solutions Architect/senior Software Engineer

As a solutions architect, your main responsibilities are designing and implementing Helm products, integrating them with the Helm Intelligence platform, and supporting client platforms and projects. You will work with cross-functional teams (Engineering, Intelligence, Client Success, etc.), steer technical direction, and ensure all architecture adheres to best practices for scalability and reliability. This role demands both hands-on technical expertise to assist with analysing, designing, and building solutions and excellent communication skills.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assess emerging technologies (e.g., AI, automation, frameworks) and integrate them into the Helm product suite, including the Helm Intelligence range.
• Establish technical and delivery frameworks for scaling Helm Engine™️ implementations across African markets.
• Contribute to analysis, design, development, testing, and other product development activities, and independently execute the outcomes of these activities.
• Work closely with the Helm Intelligence team to explore, integrate, and optimise AI/ML solutions, including NLU and LLM technologies.
• Validate the feasibility of the Helm Engine™️ feature and the client solution before committing to the roadmap and project by leading design spikes for features.
• Provide expertise in performance tuning, monitoring, and troubleshooting to ensure optimal system performance.
• Lead code reviews, architecture reviews, and technical discussions to drive continuous improvement and knowledge sharing within the development team as well as customer engagements.
• Lead the end-to-end architectural design of a complex system, ensuring it meets the requirements of scalability, performance, and maintainability.
• Develop high-level and low-level architectural documentation, including diagrams, design patterns, and technical specifications.
• Facilitate stakeholder alignment meetings and decision-making sessions, lead technical solution workshops, and educate stakeholders on technical content. This may include communicating with C-suite-level stakeholders.

REQUIREMENTS

• A degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of experience building scalable, production-ready software.
• Proficiency in designing for scalability, availability, and performance optimisation.
• Highly skilled with innovative, unique development ideas and an analytical, troubleshooting mindset.
• Good communication skills and a team player who supports our collaborative ways of working across the engineering team and the rest of the company.
• Background in Agile/Scrum delivery environments.
• Ability to take ownership and work independently on tasks that need to be delivered.
• Helm’s core engineering tech stack requires, but is not limited to, the following:
  • Proficiency in:
    • Backend Technologies: Django, Python, Django REST Framework, FastAPI
    • Databases: Postgres, Redis
    • Frontend & General Development: JavaScript, React
    • Data and Analysis: BigQuery
    • Version Control: Utilise GitHub and follow the preset branching strategy
    • Tools: Rancher and Grafana for logging, Snyk and StackHawk for security
    • CI/CD: Docker, GitHub Actions
  • Continuously seeking learning opportunities and skilling up in areas critical to the development and maintenance of Helm products.
• Requires a deep understanding of company-wide priorities and the ability to make trade-offs between competing long-term goals, using both technical and organisational context.

BONUS SKILLS

• Experience with Elixir as a programming language and Phoenix as a framework.
• Knowledge of cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization technologies is a plus.
• Relevant certifications in architecture are desirable.
• Knowledge of Kubernetes and Terraform