Senior Software Developer – Ops Portal

JOB TITLE: Senior Software Developer — Ops Portal DIVISION : IT (OSS/BSS) COMPANY: Ilitha Telecommunications (Pty) Ltd EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Permanent CLOSING DATE: 30 October 2026 LOCATION : Rosebank, Johannesburg (hybrid: office and remote) — some travel to Eastern Cape and KZN SEND CV TO: [email protected] Role Purpose Ilitha Telecommunications (Pty) Ltd builds affordable prepaid fibre and wireless broadband for township and peri-urban communities across the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Prepaid fibre only works when billing, field visits, network equipment and recharges sit in one shared database, on time and safe. The Senior / Principal Software Engineer — Data Platform owns that platform.

The Senior Software Developer builds and maintains the staff web apps used daily across sales, operations, installations and finance. The role spans the screen, the API and Google Cloud hosting, with a simple aim: pages that load, numbers that match the database, and a look that matches the Ilitha brand. The role works closely with the Principal Software Engineer — Data Platform, who owns the warehouse and API, and with sales, operations and finance, so that every screen answers a real weekly question. The incumbent is expected to work independently within agreed standards, and to explain changes in plain English to non-engineers. Key Responsibilities 1. Staff Web Application Delivery

• Design, build and maintain the staff websites: home, sales, operations, installations, availability, maps and area pages.
• Ensure a region or date picked on one page means the same thing on the next page.
• Show empty, error and “no access” states clearly so that pages never go blank.
• Build maps (Leaflet), charts (Recharts), lists, filters and KPI boards that answer a real weekly question for sales, operations and finance.
• Apply Ilitha colours and fonts (orange, blue, navy; Montserrat and Open Sans) consistently across all sites.
• API & Data Integration
• Call the shared API (ops-dws-api) so that screens read the company PostgreSQL database, not private copies of files.
• Use enough SQL to verify that a screen is showing the right rows.
• Treat JSON files on hosting as a fallback only; build new work against the database through the API.
• Limit Firestore to share links and light writes; it is not the main store.
• Performance & User Experience
• Keep the sites fast on both office and township-grade networks.
• Work with the Principal Software Engineer, sales, operations and finance to shape screens around real questions.
• Explain each change in plain English to non-engineers.
• Quality, Testing & Release
• Work in Git (GitHub) with small pull requests and code review before merge.
• Write automated tests before a change is treated as done: unit tests, UI behaviour checks, and basic hosting and security checks.
• Follow the cycle plan, build, test, review, deploy, watch for errors; fix bugs in the same flow and never patch production by hand.
• Deploy only through the existing Firebase Hosting and Cloud Run path; keep DEV, TEST and production separate.
• Security, Privacy & Compliance
• Protect customer and staff data in line with POPIA.
• Never show passwords, OTPs or access tokens on screen; keep keys in Secret Manager.
• Ensure only @ilitha.com users can sign in through Firebase Auth, and that access-denied states are clear.
• Never point a test site at the live database.
• Collaboration & Mentoring
• Work with the Principal Software Engineer on API needs, data definitions and release timing.
• Support a junior developer or trainee on the same codebase where engaged. Minimum Qualifications and Skills
• Matric (Grade 12) — required
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or Information Systems, or the same skill shown through work — required.
• A cloud or web certificate (e.g. Google Associate Cloud Engineer) — useful, not required.

Technical Competencies

• TypeScript and JavaScript, HTML and CSS, Node.js — daily use.
• React (current Ilitha apps use React 19 with Vite and React Router).
• SQL and PostgreSQL (Google Cloud SQL) sufficient to validate screen data.
• Firebase Hosting, Firebase Auth, Cloud Run and Secret Manager on Google Cloud (europe-west1).
• Git / GitHub, automated testing (unit and UI), DEV / TEST / production release discipline.
• Helpful, not required: Next.js, Vue, Angular, C#, Java, Go or Rust. Experience
• At least 5 years as a professional software developer, including real full-stack work (screens and services).
• Has shipped websites that real staff or customers use — not only marketing pages or student projects.
• Useful, not required: telecoms, fibre, ISP, utilities, maps or internal business portals.
• Useful: helping a junior or trainee on the same codebase. Interested and qualified, please submit your CV and application letter to [email protected] with the subject of the email indicating the position applied for, no later than 30 October 2026