Location: Hybrid – Cape Town based
Employment type: Fixed-Term Contract – 6 months
Business unit: Data Team
Salary: Competitive
Reporting to: Data Systems Lead
Deadline: N/A
ABOUT THE ROLE
At DataDrive2030, we believe that better evidence should lead to better decisions and, ultimately, better outcomes for children. We are looking for an R Programming & Shiny Developer to strengthen our capacity to build and improve reliable, scalable data applications.
The R Programming & Shiny Developer will support the development, testing, performance and continuous improvement of R/Shiny applications, dashboards and our client portal. This includes integrating applications with databases, APIs and other data sources to ensure that information is accurate, accessible and easy to use.
This is an opportunity for someone with strong technical and problem-solving skills to contribute to secure, user-friendly applications that make high-quality data and analytics more accessible and support better decision-making.
KEY FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES
SHINY APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT & IMPROVEMENT
Support the development and improvement of R/Shiny applications, dashboards and the client portal.
Build modular, scalable and maintainable applications using Golem, Rhino or similar approaches.
Ensure applications are reliable, intuitive and suitable for operational and analytical use.
DATA INTEGRATION & APPLICATION RELIABILITY
Support secure integration between Shiny applications, databases, APIs and structured data sources.
Ensure that data displayed in applications is accurate, validated and consistently transformed.
Maintain reliable application functionality across changing datasets, workflows and user requirements.
PERFORMANCE, TESTING & CODE QUALITY
Improve application performance by identifying and addressing inefficient calculations, reactive logic and database queries.
Contribute to automated testing, code reviews and version-control practices.
Develop clean, reusable and well-documented R code that supports long-term application maintenance.
USER EXPERIENCE & DATA ACCESSIBILITY
Translate technical, operational and analytical requirements into practical interfaces for different users.
Develop interactive tables, visualisations and features that make data easier to understand and use.
Support accessible and consistent user experiences across internal and client-facing applications.
DEPLOYMENT, SUPPORT & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Support the deployment, monitoring and troubleshooting of production applications.
Work with the Data Team and internal stakeholders to resolve technical issues and implement improvements.
Contribute technical recommendations, documentation and knowledge sharing to strengthen the team’s long-term development capacity.
QUALIFICATIONS
A relevant tertiary qualification in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Information Systems, Software Engineering, Mathematics or a related technical field is preferred.
Strong practical experience in R/Shiny development may be considered in place of a formal qualification.
Additional certifications or training in R programming, software development, cloud platforms, databases, DevOps or data engineering would be advantageous.
EXPERIENCE
At least two years’ practical experience developing R/Shiny applications, including reactive programming.
Experience building, maintaining and improving production-grade dashboards or data applications.
Experience with modular Shiny architectures, including Golem, Rhino or similar development approaches.
Practical experience integrating applications with relational databases, APIs and structured data sources.
Experience using Git-based version control, testing frameworks and collaborative software development practices.
Advantageous experience:
Experience deploying and supporting Shiny applications using Posit Connect, ShinyProxy, containers or cloud infrastructure.
Experience improving application performance through profiling, database optimisation, caching or asynchronous approaches.
Experience working with operational, monitoring and evaluation, or similarly complex datasets where data quality, security and access controls are important.
HOW TO APPLY
If you are passionate about building reliable, user-friendly data applications that make evidence more accessible and support better decision-making, we want to hear from you!
Read the full job description here.
Submit your CV and application letter to callum@datadrive2030.co.za, using “R Programming & Shiny Developer” as the email subject line.
APPLICATION CLOSING DATE: TO BE CONFIRMED
Expected start date: As soon as possible.
For application-related enquiries, contact callum@datadrive2030.co.za.
DataDrive2030 is an equal opportunity employer.
We reserve the right not to make an appointment for this position.
