Senior Software Developer

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is a leading scientific and technology research organisation that researches, develops, localises, and diffuses technologies to accelerate socio-economic prosperity in South Africa. The organisation's work contributes to industrial development and supports a capable state. Senior Software Developer: Blockchain / Distributed Ledger Technology This position is based in Pretoria and will report to the Research Group Leader. The CSIR has a vacancy for a Senior Software Developer in the Emerging Digital Technologies for Fourth Industrial Revolution (EDT4IR) Research Centre. Key Responsibilities Develop cutting‑edge blockchain solutions and remain well‑versed in new technologies in the evolving blockchain space. Lead blockchain project(s) of moderate to high complexity, ensuring that all features are delivered successfully within the agreed timelines. Create and maintain technical documentation (incl. API docs, team engineering wikis). Supervise and mentor junior staff in the area(s) of expertise. Contribute to the improvement of RDI processes within the impact area or research group. Generate and contribute towards science, engineering and technology (SET) activity outputs (e.g. reports, guidelines, system requirements, peer‑reviewed publications, and technology and software packages). Understand and interpret client requirements by contributing to user requirement analysis and/or well‑articulated proposals. Remain current in field of expertise with respect to new approaches in tools, methods or technologies. Participate in client engagement meetings to conduct technical demonstration, presentations and elicit detailed requirements. Contribute to strategic planning sessions within the impact area or research group. Participate in external task teams or committees in relevant domains. Qualifications, Skills And Experience Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer/electronic engineering, information technology or related field with at least five years software development experience in blockchain / distributed ledger technologies. Honours or a Master's degree is advantageous. Exposure to software development in the field of Blockchain / Distributed Ledger Technology or a related area. Front‑end frameworks: Angular, Vue, React, Vite. Back‑end frameworks: Python Flask, CherryPy or Pyramid, ExpressJS, SpringBoot. Version control: Git. Databases: SQL (Postgres, MySQL), NoSQL (MongoDB, CouchDB, ClickHouse). Infrastructure and DevOps: Container technologies (Docker or Podman), container orchestration (Docker Compose or Kubernetes), continuous integration (Jenkins, TravisCI, GitlabCI, CircleCI), monitoring tools (Grafana, Prometheus). Cloud platforms: AWS, DigitalOcean, Azure, Heroku Cloud. Distributed system architecture: client/server, P2P, microservices, SOA, event‑driven (pub/sub messaging). System design: load balancing, caching, sharding and replication, rate limiting, message queues, horizontal and vertical scaling, fault tolerance, API design. Project management. Ability to demonstrate object‑oriented software engineering skills. Programming languages: C++, Java, Rust, Python, Solidity, JavaScript, Go. Must show initiative in building applications using blockchain technology. Advantageous skills: understanding of various blockchain technologies and their differences (PoW, PoS, PBFT). Understanding of designing/implementing algorithms and data structures for real‑life systems. Knowledge of cryptography and established encryption protocols. Understanding of basic application architectures (MVC, MVVM, MVI, microservices). Understanding of fundamentals of communication architectures including client‑server (REST), event‑driven messaging, and enterprise service bus. Knowledge of DLT development tools (Interactive Console, Test Net, Solc compiler). Knowledge of open‑source development tools and platforms. What's in it for you? The CSIR offers a flexible hybrid work arrangement, learning and development opportunities, competitive and market‑related remuneration packages, and total guaranteed salary packages which encompass contributions to the pension fund, risk insurance and medical scheme. We openly acknowledge and reward our employees through the CSIR Excellence Awards. Please note that feedback will be given to shortlisted candidates only. The CSIR is an equal opportunity employer. The organisation is committed to the Employment Equity Act and will give preference to candidates from designated groups in terms of the Employment Equity Act. By applying for this position, the applicant understands and agrees that the CSIR may solicit a credit and criminal report from registered credit bureau and/or South African Police Services (in relation to positions that require trust and honesty and/or entail the handling of cash or finances), and may also verify the applicant's educational qualification and employment history. The CSIR reserves the right to remove the advertisement at any time before the stated closing date and to not appoint if a suitable candidate is not identified. #J-18808-Ljbffr