Head Developer (On-Site)

LOOKING FOR STELLAR TOP CANDIDATES

Position:Head DeveloperWorking Hours:Monday to Friday│Cape Town business hoursSearch Location:In-Person (Cape Town, South Africa)Salary:$5,000 to $7,500 / month:The Final Salary Offer depends on the client’s decision, interview results and experience

About the Client:

Our client is a fast-moving startup operating two rapidly growing online casino brands across the crypto and U.S. social casino markets.

The business operates within a larger ecosystem of established gaming operators. One brand is backed by an international gaming group operating 17 additional casinos generating more than $50 million per month in gross gaming revenue. The second is backed by a major U.S. operator generating more than $10 million per month in gross profit.

The company is building for significant scale. With strong execution, the team believes the business has the potential to exceed $100 million in annual profit within the next year. This is an entrepreneurial, high-ownership environment where core team members have the opportunity to directly influence the technology, systems, and products behind a rapidly scaling business.

About the Role:

We are seeking a highly experienced Head Developer to take technical ownership of the company's platform alongside leadership.

This is a genuinely senior, hands-on engineering position requiring deep full-stack development expertise. The successful candidate will own critical areas of architecture, development, infrastructure, reliability, and technical decision-making across a high-growth, real-time consumer platform.

The core stack consists of Next.js, Node.js, TypeScript, Redis, AWS, real-time technologies, and Bitbucket CI.

This is not a role for someone who wants to exclusively manage engineers or operate several layers removed from the codebase. The Head Developer will be expected to personally solve difficult technical problems, ship production code, make architecture decisions, and build systems that can support rapid growth.

The ideal candidate combines master-level engineering ability with the speed, ownership, communication, and AI-first mentality required in an early-stage environment.

Role Responsibilities:
* Full-Stack DevelopmentOwn and contribute directly to development across the full technology stack.Build and maintain frontend applications using Next.js and TypeScript.Develop scalable backend services using Node.js and TypeScript.Design and maintain APIs, services, integrations, and core platform functionality.Develop reliable real-time functionality for a high-activity consumer platform.Use Redis effectively for caching, performance, real-time functionality, and other appropriate use cases.Write clean, maintainable, production-quality code.Troubleshoot complex issues across frontend, backend, infrastructure, and integrations.Maintain a high standard for application performance, reliability, and security.
* Own and contribute directly to development across the full technology stack.
* Build and maintain frontend applications using Next.js and TypeScript.
* Develop scalable backend services using Node.js and TypeScript.
* Design and maintain APIs, services, integrations, and core platform functionality.
* Develop reliable real-time functionality for a high-activity consumer platform.
* Use Redis effectively for caching, performance, real-time functionality, and other appropriate use cases.
* Write clean, maintainable, production-quality code.
* Troubleshoot complex issues across frontend, backend, infrastructure, and integrations.
* Maintain a high standard for application performance, reliability, and security.
* Technical Architecture & OwnershipTake end-to-end technical ownership of the platform alongside company leadership.Make architecture decisions that balance immediate speed with long-term scalability.Evaluate existing systems and proactively identify technical weaknesses, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement.Design systems capable of supporting substantial increases in traffic, users, transactions, and product complexity.Establish engineering patterns and technical standards for the broader development organization.Reduce unnecessary technical debt without allowing perfectionism to slow execution.Maintain a strong understanding of the entire platform rather than operating within a narrow engineering specialty.
* Take end-to-end technical ownership of the platform alongside company leadership.
* Make architecture decisions that balance immediate speed with long-term scalability.
* Evaluate existing systems and proactively identify technical weaknesses, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement.
* Design systems capable of supporting substantial increases in traffic, users, transactions, and product complexity.
* Establish engineering patterns and technical standards for the broader development organization.
* Reduce unnecessary technical debt without allowing perfectionism to slow execution.
* Maintain a