Research Development Engineer: Innovation; Intermediate

About Clickatell

Clickatell, founded in Cape Town in 2000, was the first company to connect businesses with consumers via SMS using just four lines of code. Today it powers AI‑driven chat commerce for leading global brands across industries such as banking, retail, telecoms, and healthcare. Over 25 years, Clickatell has led multiple industry firsts through its award‑winning AI Chat Commerce Platform.

As a Research and Development Engineer:
Innovation (Intermediate), you will own complex features and technical challenges, collaborate with engineers and researchers, and lead small tactical pods from ideation to execution. You will mentor junior talent, ensuring our innovation efforts are modular, scalable, and aligned with the broader system architecture.

• 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 building solutions from high‑level requirements with minimal oversight.
• Feature Ownership & Integration: Manage the end‑to‑end development of specific features, ensuring code is functional, modular, data‑driven, and seamlessly integrates into the broader SaaS architecture.
• Technical Quality Assurance: Perform rigorous peer reviews and self‑testing to ensure delivered code is "Day 2" ready—extendable, secure, and performance‑maintaining as it moves toward production readiness.
• Active Mentorship: Support the growth of junior engineers and graduates by providing technical guidance, constructive code reviews, and help navigating the department's way of work.

• 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 independently.
• 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.

• Team Player: Self‑directed and dedicated team player who positively engages with the team to solve.
• Optimizing Processes: Optimally utilizes available tools and resources to maximize output while continuously reviewing and recommending process improvements.
• Expert Thinker: Equipped with specialist knowledge and offers practical, implementable recommendations while staying up‑to‑date in the industry.
• Effective Problem‑Solver: Resourceful, persistent, and creative when solving problems, presenting and explaining logic and decisions.
• Connecting Collaboratively: Actively connects with different specialties and teams to align operations with objectives.
• Maximizing Awareness: Recognizes emotions, self‑manages, demonstrates initiative, and responds effectively to constructive criticism.
• Ena…