Principal Software Engineer / Principal Full Stack Engineer Location: Fully Remote - South Africa Contract: 12 Months (Potential to Become Permanent) Rate: Up to R545 per hour Eligibility: South African Citizens Only About the Opportunity We are seeking experienced, hands-on Principal Software Engineers to join an established fintech SaaS environment developing innovative technology solutions for the investment management industry. This is an exciting opportunity for technically strong engineers who enjoy building scalable applications, solving complex challenges and taking ownership of software solutions from initial design through to production. The role requires strong backend engineering expertise combined with full-stack development capabilities. Key Responsibilities Design, develop and maintain scalable, secure and reliable software applications. Take ownership of the full software development lifecycle, including architecture, development, testing, deployment and production support. Develop full-stack solutions with a strong focus on backend development. Make architectural decisions and evaluate technical solutions to support business requirements. Collaborate with engineering teams, clients and stakeholders to deliver effective software solutions. Drive engineering best practices, code quality, system performance and maintainability. Troubleshoot complex technical challenges and provide technical guidance. Use AI-assisted development tools to improve efficiency and software delivery. Minimum Requirements Proven experience as a Principal Engineer, Staff Engineer, Lead Software Engineer, Technical Lead or hands-on Solutions Architect . Strong hands-on backend development experience with full-stack capabilities. Solid working knowledge of TypeScript / JavaScript, Node.js, React, SQL databases and AWS . Experience designing software architecture and making independent technical decisions. Proven ability to deliver software solutions from concept through to production. Experience in SaaS, product development, startup or smaller engineering environments. Strong understanding of cloud technologies, system integrations and scalable application development. Practical experience using AI development tools. Excellent problem-solving, communication and stakeholder engagement skills. Candidates with a strong Java or C# development background will also be considered , provided they have relevant AWS, React and JavaScript/TypeScript experience. Advantageous Experience PostgreSQL, MySQL or SingleStore AWS Lambda, Cloudflare Workers or Docker Fintech, financial services or investment management experience Startup, founding engineer or entrepreneurial experience Open-source contributions or independent software development projects Who Would Be a Good Fit? We are looking for an engineer who combines strong technical expertise with a hands-on approach to development. You should be confident making architectural decisions, comfortable working in a collaborative engineering environment and capable of independently delivering complex software solutions. This position is particularly suited to engineers who enjoy coding, take accountability for their work and want to make a meaningful technical contribution rather than move into a purely managerial role. If you are an experienced Principal, Staff or Lead Software Engineer ready for your next technical challenge, we would like to hear from you.