Principal Software Engineer – AI-Native Engineering

Johannesburg, South AfricaFull-timeSeniorOn-sitePosted 3 Nov 2026

Job Overview

GoldenRule is hiring a Principal Software Engineer in Johannesburg (CareerJunction 2646869; posted 2 November 2026; advert valid to 6 December 2026). This is a hands-on technical leadership role – not a management role – for an engineer with 20+ years of experience who still writes code every day and treats AI as an engineering partner.

The Principal Engineer designs and builds enterprise-grade software from concept to production, defines architecture across cloud, backend, web, AI and mobile platforms, builds LLM- and agent-powered applications using AI-assisted engineering workflows, develops native and cross-platform mobile apps, partners clients on complex technical challenges and mentors senior engineers through technical excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and build enterprise-grade software solutions from concept through to production

• Define architecture across cloud, backend, web, AI and mobile platforms

• Develop production-quality software using AI-assisted engineering workflows

• Build intelligent applications powered by LLMs, AI agents, RAG and modern AI platforms

• Design and develop native iOS/Android and cross-platform (Flutter) mobile applications

• Partner with clients and engineering teams to solve complex technical challenges

• Mentor senior engineers and shape engineering standards through hands-on leadership

• Evaluate and introduce emerging technologies; keep prototyping and experimenting

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or related field preferred

• 20+ years’ professional software engineering experience with expert, hands-on coding

• Proven delivery of complex enterprise-scale systems and strong architecture capability

• Cloud-native development on Azure, AWS and/or Google Cloud; APIs, distributed systems, DevSecOps and CI/CD

• Native mobile (Swift/Kotlin) and Flutter or comparable cross-platform experience

• Practical AI engineering – LLM platforms, agents, RAG, MCP, function calling, vector databases and AI-assisted dev tools

• Agile/SAFe delivery, consulting and multi-vendor stakeholder experience

Skills & Requirements

Software ArchitectureAI-Assisted EngineeringLLMs & AI AgentsRAGModel Context ProtocolCloud-Native (Azure/AWS/GCP)Distributed SystemsDevSecOpsCI/CDSwiftKotlinFlutterTechnical LeadershipMentoring