Solutions Architect / Lead Technical Engineer
Somewhere
🇿🇦 Hirezar Summary for South African Applicants
This fully remote full time position at Somewhere is open to applicants from South Africa. This role is suited for senior-level professionals. As a remote position, you can work from anywhere in South Africa — whether you're based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, or a smaller town.
Job Description
Solutions Architect / Lead Technical Engineer
Employment Type:Full-time, Independent Contractor
Work Model:Remote
Work Hours:US Eastern Standard Time (EST) alignment
Role Overview
We are seeking a hands-on, mid-to-seniorSolutions Architect / Lead Technical Engineerto own the technical architecture, integration design, and engineering leadership for our core platform operations. Operating across robust proprietary systems processing $600K–$700K/month in volume, you will bridge high-level technical discovery with practical execution—serving as the technical authority who understands the exact capabilities, security parameters, and constraints of our infrastructure.
In this role, you will lead technical discovery across new initiatives, architect end-to-end integration roadmaps, and build functional prototypes for APIs, security protocols, and data pipelines. Additionally, you will provide direct technical leadership, code reviews, and mentorship to a team of 2–3 execution engineers to ensure our systems remain performant, secure, and highly scalable.
Key Responsibilities
1. Technical Discovery & System Architecture
* System Design & Roadmapping:Lead architectural discovery and design end-to-end integration roadmaps for our proprietary technology ecosystem.
System Design & Roadmapping:Lead architectural discovery and design end-to-end integration roadmaps for our proprietary technology ecosystem.
* Constraint & Security Mapping:Evaluate platform constraints, performance bottlenecks, data pipeline security, and scalability parameters to maintain high system reliability.
Constraint & Security Mapping:Evaluate platform constraints, performance bottlenecks, data pipeline security, and scalability parameters to maintain high system reliability.
* Hands-On Integration Prototyping:Build functional, hands-on integration prototypes and proofs-of-concept for APIs, third-party services, data pipelines, and security protocols.
Hands-On Integration Prototyping:Build functional, hands-on integration prototypes and proofs-of-concept for APIs, third-party services, data pipelines, and security protocols.
2. Engineering Leadership & Team Guidance
* Technical Supervision:Direct, mentor, and oversee a focused team of 2–3 execution engineers assigned to project builds.
Technical Supervision:Direct, mentor, and oversee a focused team of 2–3 execution engineers assigned to project builds.
* Quality & Code Governance:Conduct thorough code reviews, enforce clean code standards, and maintain architectural integrity and security best practices across all engineering outputs.
Quality & Code Governance:Conduct thorough code reviews, enforce clean code standards, and maintain architectural integrity and security best practices across all engineering outputs.
3. Cross-Functional Technical Strategy
* Executive Liaison:Translate complex business requirements from executive leadership into actionable technical specifications, architecture blueprints, and sprint objectives.
Executive Liaison:Translate complex business requirements from executive leadership into actionable technical specifications, architecture blueprints, and sprint objectives.
* Platform Optimization:Architect and deploy long-term technical resolutions for recurring platform bugs, infrastructure bottlenecks, and edge cases.
Platform Optimization:Architect and deploy long-term technical resolutions for recurring platform bugs, infrastructure bottlenecks, and edge cases.
Required Skills & Qualifications
* Professional Experience:6–10+ years of software engineering, backend architecture, or systems integration experience, including 2+ years leading engineering teams or technical projects.
Professional Experience:6–10+ years of software engineering, backend architecture, or systems integration experience, including 2+ years leading engineering teams or technical projects.
* Core Technical Stack:Mastery of API architecture (REST/GraphQL), microservices, secure data pipelines, database design, and modern cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP).
Core Technical Stack:Mastery of API architecture (REST/GraphQL), microservices, secure data pipelines, database design, and modern cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP).
* Prototyping & Coding Mastery:Strong, hands-on coding capability with the ability to rapidly construct production-ready integration prototypes and validation setups.
Prototyping & Coding Mastery:Strong, hands-on coding capability with the ability to rapidly construct production-ready integration prototypes and validation setups.
* System Constraint Literacy:Deep understanding of software constraints, security protocols, and data flow limits to build realistic, secure, and scalable architectures.
System Constraint Literacy:Deep understanding of software constraints, security protocols, and data flow limits to build realistic, secure, and scalable architectures.
* Leadership & Communication:Exceptional written and verbal English communication skills with proven experience mento
Tips for South African Applicants
Timezone Advantage
South Africa (SAST, UTC+2) overlaps well with European business hours and has a few hours of overlap with US East Coast. Mention your timezone flexibility in your application.
Salary in Context
Even without a listed salary, international remote roles typically pay 2-3x more than equivalent local positions in South Africa due to the exchange rate advantage.
Application Tips
Tailor your CV to international standards — use a clean format, highlight remote work experience, and include your English proficiency. Many SA applicants succeed by emphasising their strong work ethic and cultural adaptability.
Load Shedding Preparedness
If you're applying for a remote role, having a backup power solution (UPS, inverter, or generator) and mobile data as a backup internet connection shows employers you're prepared for South Africa's infrastructure challenges.
About Somewhere
Somewhere is a company in the Recruitment & Staffing industry that hires remote workers from South Africa. They currently have 828 open positions on Hirezar. View all Somewhere jobs →