Lead Engineer, Engineering (EDge Product Suite)

Noodle is higher education’s leading strategy, services, and technology partner. We develop infrastructure, provide life-changing learning experiences, and grow the awareness of and the enrollment in some of the best academic institutions in the world. Our vision is “to empower universities to change the world.” We achieve this vision by offering our university partners various products and services that help them be more resilient, responsive, efficient, and interconnected.

Online education is no longer a novel or niche idea. It is the fastest-growing segment in higher education, accounting for 20% of all enrollees and 35% of graduate-level certificates and degrees. It's also getting increasingly competitive, as more and better programs are launched each semester. Universities need to go online quickly, economically, and elegantly, creating programs that students can't wait to tell their friends about and that their professors want to teach.

Noodle helps universities bring programs online with flexibility, transparency, alignment, efficiency, and joy. That's why more top universities chose us last year than all other online program managers combined. We are a passionate team of technologists, educators, and experts. Online learning has the potential to transform higher education; if you’re interested in being part of that journey, keep reading!

As our Lead Engineer, Engineering (EDge Product Suite), you will:

• Assist Technology Leadership in hiring recommendations, resource allocation, and project prioritization.
• Collaborate with the EDge Product Suite Product Manager in prioritization and designing enterprise-level features. 
• Define and document organization-level engineering policies and best practices.
• Propose and implement the strategic use of AI engineering tools to enhance product development and team efficiency.
• Design and implement agentic systems that integrate with existing products.
• Provide technology choice, implementation, and improvement recommendations to team leads and engineers.
• Independently audit and propose initiatives to address deficiencies in Noodle’s technology products and processes.
• Work to improve overall software quality by implementing and leading code review, automated testing, continuous integration, and other QA best practices.
• Assist in high-level technology design and project planning.
• Responsible for scaling the suite of EDge applications and continue to aim for a serverless infrastructure where applicable.
• Mentor and act as the line manager for EDge team engineers, assisting with day-to-day duties as needed as well as providing technical and career development advice.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

You have:

• 5-8 years of experience in several core programming languages and related frameworks.
• Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent business experience.
• Familiarity with industry-standard tools necessary to do your job.
• A keen interest and capability in using AI engineering tools.
• Experience designing and implementing agentic systems and associated tools and frameworks (LangGraph, LangChain, LangFuse, OpenAI Agents SDK)
• Proven track record working in agile methodologies to manage product development with the software development team.
• Critical thinker and data-driven, able to identify the right problem to solve
• Strong strategic, analytical, communication, and management skills, and a proven ability to influence others
• Respect and understanding of other disciplines; including User Experience, Product Development, Quality and Release
• Web technology: Python, NodeJS, ReactJS, Bootstrap, ANT Design, SSO, AWS AppSync (GraphQL). Golang experience is advantageous.
• Cloud: Amazon, EC2 instances, serverless technologies including AWS Lambda, SNS, API Gateway.
• Database: PostgreSQL, AWS Aurora.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills with an ability to effectively communicate and interact with all levels of management
• Proven track record managing multiple, complex projects from conception through implementation
• Proven ability to successfully manage a team with strong leadership and team coaching skills
• Excellent client engagement and relationship management skills
• Working knowledge of Google Workspace (Docs, Slides, Sheets)
• Ability to work effectively in dynamic, rapidly changing, team-based environment

At Noodle, we hire people who will help us change the future of online education. Even if you don't think you check off every bullet point on this list, we still encourage you to apply! We value both current experience and future potential.

Meet the team!

Noodle Africa Benefits:

Work from the comfort of your home office!

Great compensation package

Tools you need on us! Laptop (Mac is our computer of choice) and EcoFlow inverter

12 weeks paid Parental Leave benefits

20 working days annual leave + 10 paid national holidays

Medical/RA benefit

Internet benefits

Full access to our employee assistance program (EAP) through Company Wellness

Annual education stipend for lifelong learning

Eligibility Requirements:This position is based in South Africa. Applicants must be legally authorized to live and work in South Africa and must maintain residency within South Africa throughout their employment. Proof of eligibility and residency will be required upon hiring.
At Noodle, we hire people who will help us change the future of online education. Even if you don't think you check off every bullet point on this list, we still encourage you to apply! We value both current experience and future potential.
Noodle is committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace for everyone. We value and celebrate our differences because those differences are what make our team shine. We hire great people from different backgrounds, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it makes us stronger as a whole. Women, people of color, LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, and members of other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Noodle is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against candidates on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, or veteran status.