Research Development Engineer: Innovation (Intermediate)

Research and Development Engineer: Innovation (Intermediate)

About

Clickatell, founded in Cape Town in 2000, was the first company to connect businesses with consumers via SMS. Today, it powers AI-driven chat commerce for leading global brands across industries like banking, retail, telecoms, and healthcare. This role drives R&D initiatives for their award-winning AI Chat Commerce Platform.

Responsibilities

• Research and Analysis: Conduct in-depth research on industry trends, emerging technologies, and competitor products to identify opportunities for innovation.
• Idea Generation: Brainstorm, conceptualize, and propose innovative ideas and solutions that can improve our SaaS products.
• Prototyping: Develop proof-of-concept prototypes to test and validate new ideas, leveraging your technical skills.
• Collaborative Innovation: Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including software developers, designers, and product managers, to bring innovation projects to life.
• Documentation: Document research findings, design concepts, and development processes to maintain a clear and organized record of innovation efforts.
• Testing and Validation: Assist in testing and validation of new features, ensuring they meet the highest quality standards.
• Continuous Learning: Stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and best practices to contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
• Independent Solutioning: Take ownership of complex “Stories” and navigate ambiguity by figuring out how to build a solution from high-level requirements with minimal oversight.
• Feature Ownership & Integration: Manage the end-to-end development of specific features, ensuring that code is not only functional but modular, data-driven, and seamlessly integrates into the broader SaaS architecture.
• Technical Quality Assurance: Perform rigorous peer reviews and self-testing to ensure all delivered code is “Day 2” ready—meaning it is extendable, secure, and maintains system performance as it moves toward production readiness.
• Active Mentorship: Support the growth of Junior Engineers and Graduates by providing technical guidance on their tasks, performing constructive code reviews, and helping them navigate the department’s “Way of Work.”

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong programming skills in languages such as Python, Java, or C++.
• A passion for innovation and a keen interest in emerging technologies.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical abilities.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively in a team.
• Demonstrates eagerness to learn, adapt, and take on new challenges.
• Knowledge of SaaS and cloud computing is essential.
• Minimum of 2–4 years of experience with a track record of “figuring out how to build it” and working alone.
• Experience taking ownership of a full “Story” from initial requirement to a functional, integrated feature.
• Ability to provide constructive code reviews and technical support to Junior engineers and Graduates.
• Good AI understanding and daily use in a responsible way.