Lead Full Stack Engineer (React, AWS & Laravel) (CPT Hybrid)

ENVIRONMENT

A dynamic UK-based Marketing Agency seeks to employ a hands‑on Lead Full Stack Engineer with 5+ years work experience to join the Cape Town team and take ownership of its core technology.

As a key early hire, you'll work independently collaborating with UK leads to build and scale the technical foundations.

You will lead the development of a flagship web application (Laravel + React), manage, automate, and optimise the entire AWS environment, including CI/CD pipelines while leading architectural decisions, maintaining documentation, and collaborating with the UK team on product and technical strategy.

You will require proven experience owning technical projects, either solo or in a small team and MUST‑HAVEs include React, AWS & Laravel.

If you’re a builder and a leader who thrives on autonomy and impact, then APPLY NOW!

WHAT YOU'LL OWN & BUILD

• Core Application: Lead the development of a flagship web application (Laravel + React), the platform at the very core of the business.
  
  
• AWS Infrastructure: Manage, automate, and optimise the entire AWS environment, including CI/CD pipelines, security, scalability, and cost‑effectiveness.
  
  
• Technical Leadership: Set code quality standards, lead architectural decisions, maintain documentation, and collaborate with the UK team on product and technical strategy.
  
  
• Founding Developer: As the first Developer in the Cape Town office, you will set the standard for technical excellence and innovation.
  
  
• Key Projects: In your first few months, you'll spearhead a key initiative, such as driving significant cost‑savings by optimising database performance to right‑size RDS infrastructure.
  
  

REQUIREMENTS

• 5+ Years relevant work experience.
  
  
• Proven experience owning technical projects, either solo or in a small team.
  
  
• Must‑Haves – React, AWS and Laravel.
  
  
• Backend & Frontend: Deep knowledge of PHP & Laravel (or equivalent like Python/Django) and a strong command of React & Redux.
  
  
• Comprehensive AWS DevOps: Expertise in Infrastructure as Code (Terraform/CloudFormation), CI/CD, and implementing best practices for security (IAM, WAF, encryption), monitoring (CloudWatch), and Disaster Recovery.
  
  
• Core Technical Skills: Proficiency with RESTful APIs, Git (GitHub/Bitbucket), scalable CSS (SASS, CSS Modules), and MySQL (via AWS RDS).
  
  

ADVANTAGEOUS

• MySQL.
  
  
• Familiarity with mobile development (React Native, iOS/Android).