Johannesburg: Senior SQL Developer (JHB)

ENVIRONMENT: A dynamic Joburg-based Business Process Outsourcer seeks a forward-thinking Senior SQL Developer who sees AI not as a threat but as a powerful productivity enhancer. That leveraging tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or others to automate routine code writing, reduces boilerplate in turn means more focus on higher-value, business-critical logic. Forming part of the Operational Development team, you will help directly support the Call Centre – creating and maintaining solutions leaning heavily on SQL Server to query or manipulate data for the in-house developed systems and reports as well as using C# to create simple ASP.NET SPAs using MVC, Razor and Blazor. The ideal candidate will have worked on end-to-end solutions, able to see the bigger picture with 10 years’ experience using and programming in SQL, C# and .NET. DUTIES: Solve business problems alone and as part of the team by applying good reasoning and logic to use one or more of the following technologies: ASP.NET, C#, Web services, Web APIs and SQL programming. ML.NET would be an advantage and part of the role moving forward. Support the deployment of new IT systems and infrastructure. Diagnose problems using a logical approach and understanding of the underlying systems. Work individually or as part of a team on small to medium sized SQL projects to solve operational business requirements as well as data manipulation when needed. Create ad-hoc queries or SQL Server stored procedures, views and jobs based on user requests or to maintain, troubleshoot or improve existing SQL functionality. Work on large data sets in a live transactional environment with an awareness of the impact of running demanding queries and the side effects on a busy operational call centre. Create and maintain constraints, keys and indexes to improve performance and maintain database integrity and business rules. Design and maintain Excel and SSRS reports using stored procedures and views. Maintain or improve existing Excel reports using VBA for extended functionality. Query and summarise data across multiple servers and databases using linked servers. Work with dynamic SQL to solve difficult cross-server and cross-database queries and summaries. Apply AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, or GitHub Copilot to assist with coding, testing, documentation, and problem-solving—while maintaining full ownership and understanding of the final solution. REQUIREMENTS: A minimum of 10 years using and programming in C#, .NET and SQL. At least 5 of the most recent years using and programming in C#, .NET and SQL daily. A good understanding of SSIS, SSRS and Excel working with SQL Server over the past 3 years. Solid understanding of relational databases and database design. Excellent knowledge of the T-SQL language including use of stored procedures, triggers, views, data types, keys indexes, constraints, foreign keys, relational design and the related tools and development environments. Experience optimising SQL Server queries and stored procs and the use of query analyzer for tuning code. Very good general programming skills and a general interest in programming and development using primarily SQL Server and C# and the .NET platform. Demonstrated experience using AI tools to enhance development speed and quality. Ability to balance AI-generated assistance with strong personal judgment and deep technical understanding. Very good Excel skills as well as a good working knowledge of VBA programming in Excel. Sound knowledge of secure development principles. Knowledge of SQL environment using tracing tools. Experience with Python in the context of AI, APIs, or automation is a strong advantage. Web development experience using MVC and the following technologies: ASP.NET / .NET Core / Razor pages / Blazor. Knowledge and experience working with HTML, CSS and JavaScript/Typescript. Web Service development using .NET. Use of and RESTful APIs. Use of SOAP Web Services. Very logical with good understanding of basic Mathematics and Statistics. Advantageous – Experience with other SQL databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL. CLR development for SQL Server using C#. Experience with Node Red. Some Linux and Asterisk experience. ATTRIBUTES: A strong sense of responsibility and ownership and a solid work ethic – this is very important! Accurate and precise approach with a strong sense of attention to detail. The ability to work independently and as part of a team. A willingness to learn about the existing business and systems enabling participation in the improvement and further development of these systems. A willingness to keep learning and staying updated on modern development environments, techniques and trends like the latest ASP.NET developments as well as ML.NET. Very good verbal and written communication skills with the ability to adapt to communicating with senior technical team, management and non-technical call centre agents. Very good problem-solving skills and an aptitude for applying critical reasoning and logic to solve challenging business problems. Organised and task driven with a need to complete tasks well.