Principal Backend Software Engineer, Customer

KingMakers

Principal Backend Engineer responsible for shaping architecture and scalability in sports and iGaming platforms at KingMakers. Leading technical direction to support millions of transactions across services.

Posted 7/23/2026full-timeCape Town • 🇿🇦 South AfricaLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in designing and implementing scalable distributed systems, with a strong focus on cloud architectures, DevOps practices, and performance optimization. Proven leadership in mentoring teams and driving engineering excellence through effective communication and collaboration.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Distributed Systems ArchitectureCloud Architecture (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)DevOps Practices (CI/CD)Microservices (AKS)Performance Optimization

ATS Keywords

Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills

C# ProgrammingUnit TestingEnd-to-End TestingIncident ManagementScalable Solutions DesignMonitoring and AlertingRoot-Cause AnalysisKafkaRabbitMQTechnical Leadership

Soft Skills

Exceptional CommunicationMentoringCollaborationProblem SolvingInfluencing Stakeholders

Industry Keywords

IGaming ExperienceHigh Throughput SystemsConcurrent TransactionsEngineering QualityModern Practices

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AWSAzureCloudDistributed SystemsKafkaMicroservicesRabbitMQ

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Architect the future: design, implement, and evolve distributed systems that handle high throughput and millions of concurrent transactions.
Provide technical leadership: act as a go-to expert for backend and infrastructure topics, mentoring teams and raising the overall engineering bar.
Optimize performance: identify bottlenecks and design scalable solutions that improve availability, latency, and cost efficiency.
Drive reliability: establish solid standards for monitoring, alerting, and incident management, ensuring our systems are observable and resilient.
Collaborate across teams: partner with product and business leaders to translate ideas into clear technical strategies and execution plans.
Improve continuously: challenge existing solutions, propose better patterns, and keep us aligned with modern practices in distributed systems and DevOps.
Lead by example: write clean, maintainable code; review peers’ work; and ensure consistent engineering quality across services.
Be part of on-call rotations for critical systems, focusing on root-cause prevention, not firefighting.

Requirements

What you’ll need

10+ years of engineering leadership, with a proven track record of delivering large-scale, distributed systems.
Expertise in some cloud architectures (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), DevOps practices (CI/CD), Microservices (AKS), Kafka/RabbitMQ streams and programming languages (C#, or others).
Demonstrated ability to quickly address production incidents and implement preventive measures to avoid recurrence.
Proven capability to maintain product quality through unit testing and end-to-end testing processes.
The ability to foresee future challenges, craft innovative solutions, and implement strategies that drive meaningful impact.
Exceptional communication skills to work effectively across teams and influence stakeholders at all levels.
While iGaming experience is a plus, what matters most is your ability to solve real-world problems with creativity and precision.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Flexible Work – Hybrid model and flexible hours, giving you the freedom to collaborate in the office or focus remotely.
Health & Wellness – Private health insurance and wellness benefits to keep you feeling your best.
Retirement & Group Risk – Joint contributions to your Retirement Annuity (RA) and Group Risk Fund to secure your future (South Africa hub).
Stress-Free Parking – Safe, convenient parking so your day starts smooth.
Top-Notch Tech – A high-performance laptop and tools to make your work seamless and productive.
Team Activities – Regular events to connect, collaborate, and have fun with your colleagues.
Office Perks – Free snacks, coffee, and a welcoming environment to keep you energized.
Performance Bonuses – Discretionary rewards recognizing your contributions and impact.