Senior Backend Developer (AI Native)

About the role

We Are Innovators & Category Creators Clickatell , founded in Cape Town in 2000 , was the first company to connect businesses with consumers via SMS using just four lines of code. Today, it powers AI-driven chat commerce for leading global brands across industries like banking, retail, telecoms, and healthcare - including Visa, ABSA, MTN, Toyota, and Pick n Pay . Over 25 years , Clickatell has led multiple industry firsts , such as tokenized WhatsApp payments, KYC chat banking, and Chat-2-Pay , through its award-winning AI Chat Commerce Platform that enables brands to interact and transact with customers seamlessly. The Role: We're looking for a backend engineer who believes the way software is built has fundamentally changed. You don't write everything from scratch you use AI to move faster, think better, and focus on what matters. Boilerplate is not your job; building scalable, reliable systems is. In this role, you will own backend services end-to-end and use AI as a force multiplier to ship faster than traditional development teams. If you're still coding the same way you were two years ago, this role isn't for you. We Do The Right Things Responsibilities of the Role o Build and own backend services using Java, Spring Boot, and Python-designed for scale, reliability, and real-time use. o Use AI tools (Amazon Q, Cursor, Copilot, Claude, GPT) to accelerate development, refactoring, and problem-solving. o Turn product ideas into production-ready systems quickly, without compromising quality. o Integrate AI capabilities (LLMs, RAG, vector search) into backend workflows where they add real value. o Act as the final filter for AI-generated code-identify flaws, inefficiencies, and incorrect assumptions before they ship. o Design clean APIs, handle distributed system challenges, and ensure performance at scale. o Write and validate tests to keep fast-moving systems stable. o Debug production issues and take full ownership of reliability and performance. We Are On A Learning Journey Requirements of the Role Technical Skills & Competencies o Strong experience with Java (Spring Boot) and Python backend systems. o Experience building high-scale, low-latency distributed systems. o Solid understanding of APIs, databases, caching, and event-driven systems (e.g., Kafka). o Experience with cloud environments (AWS) and containerized deployments. o Familiarity with LLM APIs, token usage, latency, and response handling. AI-Native Capabilities o You are already using AI tools (Amazon Q, Cursor, Copilot, Claude, GPT) as part of your daily workflow. o You know how to manage context, structure prompts, and get reliable outputs from AI systems. o You don't trust AI blindly, you verify, refine, and take responsibility for every line shipped. What Makes You a Fit o You take full ownership "the AI wrote it" is never an excuse. o You optimize for speed and correctness. o You have a tinkerer's mindset , you try new tools early, experiment constantly, and figure out what works. o You constantly look for better, faster ways to build. o You are comfortable operating in ambiguity and turning ideas into working systems. A Bit About You Behavioral competency requirements of a Highflyer : o Team Player : Self-directed and dedicated team player who positively engages with the team to solve. o Optimizing Processes : Optimally utilizes the tools and resources available to maximizes output. Conducts day-to-day operations using best practice to achieve effectiveness and accuracy. Continuously reviews and makes recommendations for process improvements. o Expert Thinker : Equipped with specialist knowledge and makes recommendations that are practical, smart and ready to implement. Remains up-to-date in the industry and offers technical advice, and support to own team and others. o Effective Problem-Solver : Resourceful, persistent, and creative when solving problems. Able to be analytical and follow a logical process to make decisions. Finds the balance between a good and quick decision through experience and knowledge. Able to present and explain thinking and the resulting decision. o Connecting Collaboratively : Actively connects to bring cohesion and deliver excellence. Sees the value in working closely with different specialities and teams to ensure all operations are aligned to meet the required objectives. o Maximizing Awareness : Recognizes emotions and how it affects behavior and relationships. Self-aware and picks up on emotional cues in situations. Self-manages and empowered to show initiative, follow through on commitments, and work well in a team. Listens, reflects, and responds effectively to constructive criticism. o Enabling Strategy : Implements the action plans in order to produce practical outputs while considering the implication, and consequences for the organization and our customers. o Action Orientated Mindset : Know-how to skilfully approach technical activities to deliver value. Eager to deliver new or improved solutions

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