Software Engineer - Java - Platform Track

Electrum is a next-generation payment software technology company.

Since 2012, we've delivered trusted, enterprise-grade, cloud-native software to optimise financial transaction processing. Our deep expertise has established us as a respected partner in high-volume, low-value payment schemes, enabling clients to deliver services to millions of South Africans daily.

At Electrum, we are grounded in impact – designing solutions that matter, acting with urgency, and continuously learning as we scale. We believe in creating together – working side by side with our clients and teams to build meaningful, lasting solutions. We prioritise making it safe – encouraging open communication, smart risk-taking, and trust so that creativity and alignment thrive. And we back empowered strong teams – hiring brilliant people, collaborating hard, and holding each other to high standards while leading with empathy and kindness.

When you join the Electrum team, you’ll get to:

• Be part of the entire journey — from the spark of an idea to the final product launch.
• Grow your skills through world-class training and hands-on learning every day.
• Receive mentorship and guidance from industry leaders who are invested in your success.
• Work in a dynamic, innovative workplace where collaboration and creativity thrive.
• Tackle real-world customer challenges and see the impact of your work firsthand.
• Explore plenty of opportunities to grow your career and expand your expertise.
• Gain valuable experience in a leading FinTech environment, contributing to meaningful, high-impact projects.
  

The Role

Are you a talented Java developer with a passion for crafting elegant, efficient, and high-quality code, but looking for an environment where you can broaden your expertise?

As a Java Software Engineer at Electrum, your core foundation will be crafting elegant and efficient code for our high-performance backend systems. However, we know the best engineers are curious problem-solvers. Because our high-stakes, high-reward environment demands a wide breadth of technologies, we are specifically looking for Java Developers who have an interest in exploring or transitioning into one of the following core areas over time:

• Cloud Engineering: Learning to treat cloud infrastructure as a product, automating the building & maintaining of self-service AWS environments using Infrastructure as Code (AWS CDK, CloudFormation) and internal developer tooling.
• Reliability/SRE Engineering: Learning to build observability tooling, automation frameworks, and architect systems that process high-volume, real-world financial transactions with minimal downtime.
• Platform Engineering: Gaining hands-on experience designing scalable platforms using Kubernetes, Helm, ArgoCD, and modern CI/CD pipelines to help our engineers build and deploy their code as efficiently as possible.
• Developer Security: Help us "shift security left." Build the tools, libraries, and automated guardrails that empower developers to move fast without compromising safety.

You don't need to be an expert in these four areas yet - we are looking for a solid foundation in Java and the eagerness to learn, scale, and perform under complex and challenging conditions.

Requirements

• 2+ years of experience in software development
• Anyone can write code. However, it takes a bit of experience to write code that balances elegance, maintainability, efficiency and quality.
• Be strong with Java
• Our backend systems are built on this. They are high-performance systems that really require you to know what you’re doing in Java.
• A university degree or an equivalent number of years of relevant experience
• We require a degree or two additional years of relevant working experience in Java. This is because the role demands proven analytical skills, particularly in high-stakes (dealing with people's money) and highly complex environments. The work has a material impact and, while high-reward, it involves high risk. Therefore, on-the-job learning is insufficient; we need assurance that you possess the necessary expertise..

Advantageous for the role: (If you have an interest or exposure to any of these, let us know!)

1. Full-stack, SaaS, or Payments development experience.
2. Exposure to Cloud Infrastructure (AWS) and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform / CloudFormation).
3. Familiarity with containerisation and orchestration (Kubernetes, Docker) and CI/CD pipelines.
4. An interest in observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK) or scripting (Python, Bash).
5. A passion for Application Security and DevSecOps

Benefits

Why Join Electrum?

• We believe in a People First approach, ensuring a culture where you can thrive and make a real difference
  

Your Career & Culture

• Career Growth: Delivering world-class financial software is challenging, but your effort will earn you hands-on experience with products used by millions, accelerating your career.
• Strong Teams: We keep teams small, focused, and collaborative to maximize impact.
• Transparency: We openly discuss strategy, finances, and salaries. Mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities that we actively discuss.
• Autonomy: We trust you. You're expected to seek out the data needed for informed decisions and manage your own time—knowing when to focus and when to recharge.
• Shared Vision: You'll have the power to shape the vision of how we build the future of financial services.

Practical Perks

1. Here's how we support our culture:
• Flexible Work: Office-first environment with flexible hours.
• Generous Leave: Starting at 20 days per year.
• Office Perks (Cape Town): Fully-stocked kitchen and daily catered lunch.
2. Social Life: Regular team activities like hikes, getaways, and dinners