Expert Specialist: Software Engineer

At Cell C, we are not just a telecommunications company; we are a people-centric and consumer-focused organization committed to delivering exceptional experiences to our customers. In line with our dedication to customer-centricity, we are seeking a seasoned professional as an Expert Specialist: Software Engineer to join our dynamic team of #Unstoppables.

Purpose of the Job:

As the Expert Specialist Software Engineer at Cell C, you will serve as a strategic technical leader, responsible for shaping the company’s software engineering vision and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, scalable, and secure software solutions. Operating at an executive level, you will influence technology strategy, lead architectural governance, and drive engineering excellence across internal teams, external suppliers, and key customers. You will also lead the development and execution of Cell C’s cloud-native microservice integration platform strategy and establish a high-performing internal agile development capability to support targeted business initiatives.

Strategic Technology Leadership • Define and drive the long-term technical vision and architectural roadmap for Cell C’s bespoke software assets aligned to Cell C’s business and digital transformation goals • Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on emerging technologies, innovation opportunities, and technical risk management • Champion a culture of engineering excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement across the organization • Determine and codify the Cell C architectural patterns, integration standards, coding standards, code quality assurance, automated testing and devops deployment paradigms • Champion the use of AI-driven development platforms in-house and by suppliers to accelerate innovation and reduce time-to-market for bespoke solutions • Collaborate with the CTO and executive team to define and execute the company’s long-term technical strategy • Translate business goals requiring bespoke software solutions into robust technology roadmaps and system architectures • Lead large-scale, cross-functional initiatives that directly impact company growth and innovation • Act as a key advisor to senior management on emerging technologies, software best practices, and competitive trends. • Represent bespoke software systems engineering in executive discussions, board meetings, and investor briefings when required • Participate in relevant governance forums

Cloud Microservice Platform Strategy • Lead the design, development, and evolution of Cell C’s cloud-native microservice platform for integration services • Ensure the platform is robustly engineered to meet defined resilience and availability KPIs • Embed automated quality assurance, functional testing, and deployment capabilities in line with DevOps best practices • Collaborate with infrastructure and DevOps teams to ensure seamless CI/CD pipeline integration and operational readiness

Internal Agile Development Capability • Build and lead a small, high-performing internal development team focused on delivering targeted, high-impact initiatives • Foster a truly agile culture, enabling rapid iteration, continuous delivery, and close alignment with business stakeholders • Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and architectural guidance to internal developers, ensuring delivery of high-quality, maintainable code • Lead the development of small-scale proof of concepts

Supplier & Partner Governance • Engage with external software suppliers at an executive level to ensure alignment with Cell C’s technical strategy and delivery expectations • Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and architectural guidance to external developers, ensuring delivery of high-quality, maintainable code • Ensure all intellectual property is secured in line with contemporary best practices • Participated in the contracting of bespoke software assets, managed services contracts, support contracts • Enable Build Operate and Transfer operating models

Continuous Improvement • Drive continuous improvement of non-functional aspects including Security, Performance and Availability, Logging and Monitoring, Failure handling, and Configurability • Drive continuous improvement in operational outcomes through the deployment of Observability tooling covering Metrics, Logging and log inspection and Telemetry • Ensure performance testing is performed in accordance with architecture change • Maintain a registry of technology debt and work with management to drive improvements resulting in a measurable ROI (e.g., 30 % reduction in incidents)

Customer-Facing Technical Leadership • Engage directly with key Enterprise and MVNO customers at an executive level to understand their strategic objectives and technical requirements • When necessary, Lead Joint Application Design (JAD) sessions with customer technical teams to timeously co-create end-to-end integration solutions that directly address customer requirements • Ensure solutions deliver optimal performance, scalability, and a superior experience for MVNO subscribers and Enterprise Solutions • Architect and design complex, distributed systems that meet high scalability, security, and reliability standards. • Drive innovation in software design, development, and operational excellence • Perform critical code and architecture reviews to ensure technical excellence and compliance with standards. • Oversee technical debt management and guide long-term system evolution • Lead or contribute to key technology proofs-of-concept and high-impact prototypes

Cross-Functional Collaboration • Collaborate with Business and Technology teams to deliver cohesive, customer-centric solutions • Influence and align cross-functional teams on architectural decisions, technical direction, and delivery timelines • Represent Information Technology in strategic planning, budgeting, and governance forums • Work closely with Product Management, Architecture, Operations and suppliers to align technical solutions designs with business outcomes • Provide executive-level guidance during planning, prioritization, and resource allocation • Ensure effective communication of technical vision and decisions across the company

Mentorship & Talent Development • Mentor and coach senior engineers, staff engineers, and engineering managers across multiple teams and technical leads, fostering a high-performance engineering culture • Lead by example in technical execution, problem-solving, and cross-team collaboration • Support talent acquisition and development through hiring, coaching, and succession planning • Build and foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and collaboration • Facilitate knowledge-sharing, career growth, and continuous learning within the engineering organization

Operational Excellence • Establish and enforce software development standards, tools, and processes. • Oversee system performance and reliability engineering. Participate in incident response initiatives and especially drive improvement opportunities identified during incidents. • Implement metrics and KPIs to measure engineering impact and software quality. • Promote DevOps, CI/CD, and cloud-native best practices

Qualification • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field

Experience

The position requires an individual who can shape our technology landscape in response to business strategy. The successful candidate will be working with stakeholders and suppliers to define and driving engineering best practices, influencing technology roadmaps, and ensuring alignment with organizational goals • 15+ years’ experience in the telecommunications sector with a specific focus on deep understanding of Mobile Telco BSS and OSS systems. • 15+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, with at least 10 years in a senior software development role, and/or system architect role. • Proven experience leading large-scale software architecture and development initiatives, including vendor-delivered solutions. • Demonstrated ability in building and leading agile internal development teams. • Expertise in cloud-native architectures, microservices, integration platforms, and DevOps automation. • Strong understanding of business transactions, failure modes, error handling, and subsequent recovery modes • Demonstrated ability to engage with both external suppliers and strategic customers at an executive level • Exceptional communication with a proven ability to present complex technical concepts to non-technical executives’ negotiation • Familiarity with enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF) and governance models

Special Requirements:

Technologies: • AWS experience mandatory • GCP and Azure advantageous • Springboot, Kubernetes, Java, C# • Github, Helm • Kafka • Oracle/MySQL/Postgres • Grafana, Open Telemetry

Performance Metrics: • Achievement of strategic technology milestones and project deliverables • Improvement in system uptime, scalability, and engineering efficiency • Retention and engagement of top engineering talent • Stakeholder satisfaction (internal and external) • Innovation index (new technologies adopted, patents filed, R&D contributions)

"Cell C is an equal opportunities employer, committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees are treated fairly and with respect, regardless of race, gender, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic."