Senior Java and DevOps Engineer

Who we are

DataEQ is an innovative tech business that is changing the way global brands understand and engage with their customers. We do this by combining a human intelligence solution alongside cutting-edge AI to structure and analyse millions of customer feedback posts to drive better CX insights, improve risk management and optimise customer service. Highly accurate data is at the heart of what we deliver as well as the ability to structure and interpret data in innovative ways to address clients’ business problems.

We have a culture that encourages curiosity, innovation and freedom, but calls for intellect, emotional intelligence, and performance.  This is an incredibly exciting time to be joining DataEQ as we build out our unique data capabilities in SA and abroad.

What’s on offer

If you join our team, DataEQ will support you at work and at play. We have a dynamic and inclusive company culture and we hire people who put the smarts and hearts into everything they do. We are a fully remote company where you will have the flexibility to manage your own time because we focus on outcomes over inputs. Whilst our team is located around the world, the bulk of our team are based in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. 

• Market related remuneration packages
• Generous annual leave
• Optional Pension Fund, Medical Aid and Group Life
• Personal development budget
• Long-term service compensation after 5 years and 10 years 
• Fully remote work environment with access to co-working space
• A solid work from home set up, which includes a contribution towards your wifi expenses and access to state of the art programming tools
• Bi-monthly team socials
• Talented colleagues and an open culture

About the role

We want a diverse, global team with a broad range of experience and perspectives. Those with unusual career paths or career changes are encouraged to apply — if you believe your skills can help us, we want to hear from you.

You will be a senior software engineer and devops specialist working across the stack as part of a small (but growing) dev team. As such, you will be trusted with a lot of responsibilities from the start, and will need to hit the ground running. We will support you with our domain knowledge, but for example, your Java skills need to be solid.

We have a Java, Spring Boot, and Groovy based microservices architecture for the backend, and our front-end applications are JavaScript apps built with React or Vue.js, using D3.js for data visualization. We run most of our microservices on bare-metal Kubernetes. The three main applications that we work on are a client-facing data analytics and reporting platform, a social media engagement platform (customer service and publishing), and a crowdsourcing platform that we use to build our data sets for clients. 

The following is a non-exhaustive list of technologies we use in our projects:

• Backend: Java, Groovy, Grails, SpringBoot, Various JDKs, Hibernate, FluentJdbc
• Frontend: JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Node.js, npm, webpack, React, Vue.js
• Datastores: PostgreSQL, Redis/Valkey
• AI and Machine learning: Python, Keras, GPT flavour-of-the-month
• Message queue: Apache Pulsar
• Source Control: Git/Bitbucket
• Operational: Linux, Kubernetes, Chef, Jenkins

Familiarity with Kubernetes running on bare-metal, Java (from version 8 onwards) and Spring Boot are essential for us, experience with the other listed technologies is advantageous but not required.

What we are looking for

• Experience with devops and deployment tools, in particular:
  • Ability to use and maintain bare-metal Ubuntu Linux servers, Kubernetes and Apache Pulsar clusters
  • Chef, Jenkins, bash-scripting, and general Linux knowledge
  • Knowledge of other infrastructure options and tooling (e.g. Rancher / OpenShift) - we don’t just want to maintain what we have, we want to grow and move forward, so if you bring in those skills and are pro-active about suggesting improvements we’ll definitely be interested.
• Solid Java and Spring Boot skills
• Ability to work with minimal oversight, and to identify and correct infrastructure issues before they become a problem.
• A curious, always learning personality
• Good communication skills and teamwork
• Problem-solving skills and joy from jumping in and fixing things
• Glowing references from those you worked with in the past

Notice about the use of your Personal Information:

Please be advised that as part of our recruitment processes:

You acknowledge that collection of Personal Information is both necessary and requisite as a legal obligation that falls within the scope of execution of the legal functions and obligations of DataEQ in relation to assessing you and other applicants for the job position.

You unconditionally and irrevocably consent and authorize DataEQ to undertake the collection, processing, and further processing of your Personal Information by DataEQ, for the purposes of DataEQ’s general recruitment processes, for assessing your possible engagement with DataEQ.

Without derogating from the generality of the aforestated, you consent to DataEQ collecting and processing of Personal Information pursuant to the internet, and email policies in place, insofar as your Personal Information is contained, in relevant electronic communications.

You agree to absolve DataEQ from any liability in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI), for failing to obtain your consent or to notify you of the reason for the processing of any of your Personal Information.  You agree to the disclosure of your Personal Information by DataEQ to any third party, where DataEQ has a legal or contractual duty to disclose such Personal Information. You further agree to the disclosure of your Personal Information for any reason enabling DataEQ to carry out or to comply with any business or legal obligation DataEQ may have or to pursue a legitimate interest of DataEQ, in order for DataEQ to assess you for the job position for which you are applying.

You consent and authorize DataEQ to transfer your Personal Information outside the Republic of South Africa for any legitimate business purpose of DataEQ within the international community and its donors or members. DataEQ undertakes not to transfer or disclose your Personal Information unless it is required for its legitimate business requirements and shall comply strictly with legislative stipulations in this regard.