Platform Engineer (CPT)

Job Description

Our client is a prominent organisation focused on supporting research advancement and human capital development through funding programmes, research infrastructure, and science outreach initiatives across a broad range of disciplines. The Platform Engineer forms part of the Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) team within the Computing & Software division, contributing to the development, integration, and day-to-day operation of shared platform services that support scientific computing and complex software systems. Working alongside senior engineers and cross-functional teams, the role supports platform build activities while contributing to automation, observability, and service reliability initiatives. The position also plays a key role in operational readiness as the platform transitions from the construction phase into stable, steady-state operations.

Duties

• Contribute to the development and improvement of platform services supporting engineering and operational teams.
• Support integration of platform services with application and infrastructure systems.
• Contribute to platform automation, monitoring, and operational reliability efforts.
• Develop expertise in platform engineering while contributing to continuous improvement and innovation.

Requirements

Qualification:

• National Diploma in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Electronic Engineering or equivalent qualifications coupled with 7 years of experience; OR
• BTech in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Electronic Engineering or equivalent qualifications coupled with 6 years of experience; OR
• BENG/MTech in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Electronic Engineering or equivalent qualifications coupled with 4 years of experience; OR
• MENG in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Electronic Engineering or equivalent qualifications coupled with 3 years of experience; OR
• PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Electronic Engineering or equivalent qualifications coupled with 1 year of experience.

Experience:

• 2+ years of demonstrated technical hands-on experience in infrastructure automation, distributed systems, observability, CI/CD, container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes), DevOps/SRE practices, and cloud-native technologies.
• Experience working in teams or initiatives that intersect with data platforms, storage, networking, and systems engineering domains.
• Experience with platform engineering practices, including infrastructure as code, observability stacks, and automated deployment pipelines.
• Exposure to DevOps and SRE principles, including monitoring, alerting, incident response, and resilience engineering.

Knowledge:

• Knowledge of software systems architecture, microservices, service meshes, and distributed system design.
• Familiarity with networking and security in cloud or containerized environments.
• Understanding of storage systems (object, block, distributed), data lifecycle management, and backup strategies.
• Familiarity with agile methodologies and cross-functional team delivery processes.
• Exposure to control systems, data acquisition, or scientific computing platforms is advantageous.

Attributes

Core Competencies (Essential):

• Hands-on experience (2+ years) in platform or systems engineering, preferably in infrastructure-heavy or scientific computing environments.
• Solid understanding of distributed systems and the ability to implement scalable, resilient platform components.
• Proficiency with containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, and Helm.
• Practical experience with CI/CD pipelines and automation tools (e.g., GitLab CI, ArgoCD, Jenkins, GitHub Actions).
• Working knowledge of infrastructure as code, monitoring/observability tools, and modern DevOps/SRE practices.
• Strong skills in Linux systems administration, including basic tuning, troubleshooting, and scripting.
• Ability to contribute to technical planning, deliver scoped work in Agile teams, and collaborate across engineering disciplines.
• Demonstrated problem-solving ability with a focus on root cause analysis, operational reliability, and continuous improvement.

Skills:

• Problem Solving & Analytical Thinking: Root cause analysis, incident response, system optimization.
• Communication & Collaboration: Clear articulation of technical decisions, cross-functional stakeholder engagement, feedback integration.
• Planning and delivery: Proficient in backlog grooming, sprint planning, and technical delivery in Agile/DevOps environments.
• Documentation and knowledge sharing: Ability to produce high-quality technical documentation and share knowledge across engineering teams.
• Continuous learning and a passion for engineering excellence.
• Teamwork: Collaborates within their team and with cross-functional teams alongside partners.

Tooling Proficiency (this is not an exhaustive list; additional relevant experience or skills will be viewed favourably):

• Containerisation & Orchestration: Kubernetes, Docker, Podman, Helm, containerd
• Hardware Acceleration: GPU, FPGA
• Automation: Ansible, Terraform, Bash, Python, Systemd, Packer
• CI/CD: GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, FluxCD
• Monitoring & Observability: Prometheus, Grafana, Zabbix, ELK stack, or related
• Cloud Platforms: AWS, GCP, Azure, or OpenStack

Organisational Values:

The Platform Engineer will be expected to demonstrate the following values and to work actively to instil those behaviours in all their colleagues in South Africa:

• Diversity and Inclusion
• Excellence
• Collaboration
• Creativity and Innovation
• Sustainability
• Passion for Excellence
• World-class service
• People-centred approach
• Respect
• Integrity and Ethics
• Accountability

Desired Skills:

• Communication
• Delivery Management
• Planning
• Solving Problems

How to Apply

Apply Now at https://careerjunction.co.za/apply/2637032