Application Support Engineer

SUMMARY:
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POSITION INFO:
Application Support Engineer | Parktown, Johannesburg | Permanent Keep critical applications stable, solve complex production issues and work at the intersection of software, data and cloud technology. This is an opportunity for a technically strong support engineer to take real ownership of application performance and production incidents within a growing technology environment. The Application Support Engineer will provide hands-on Tier 2 and Tier 3 support across core business applications, investigating incidents, diagnosing defects and performance issues, and driving problems through to resolution or accurate escalation. The role requires someone who is comfortable moving between application logs, source code, databases, cloud environments and stakeholder conversations. You will work closely with development, data and delivery teams to identify root causes, provide technical workarounds, support production fixes and improve the overall reliability of internally developed and partner-built applications. With the technology environment evolving towards Google Cloud Platform, this role offers exposure to cloud migration, data-intensive applications, automation and modern DevOps practices. The client is a well-established insurance organisation with a technology environment increasingly focused on data, digital solutions and internally developed applications. Its culture values excellence, practical innovation, accountability, collaboration and people who take ownership and make things happen. What You'll Do Provide Tier 2 and Tier 3 application and production support. Own incidents from initial investigation through resolution or technically accurate escalation. Diagnose application failures, bugs, performance issues and data inconsistencies. Analyse application logs, performance metrics, system behaviour and data flows to identify root causes. Read, troubleshoot and debug Python code and investigate relevant React code where required. Work with development teams to reproduce and escalate complex application defects. Provide detailed technical findings, reproduction steps and recommended workarounds. Investigate issues across application, database, cloud and infrastructure layers. Query and troubleshoot production data using SQL. Support applications through the migration from on-premises infrastructure to Google Cloud Platform. Develop scripts and internal tools to automate repetitive support activities. Contribute to deployment and CI\/CD processes and broader DevOps practices. Document incidents, troubleshooting procedures, workarounds and known errors. Develop technical knowledge-base content to improve support capability. Communicate technical issues clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders. Work with data engineers, analytics engineers, developers and partner delivery teams to improve application reliability. What You Bring Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering or equivalent practical experience. At least 3 years' experience in Application Support, Technical Solutions Engineering, Cloud Support or a closely related environment. Strong hands-on application or production support experience. Strong Python capability, including the ability to read, write and debug code. Experience with Python web frameworks such as Flask or FastAPI is advantageous. Strong SQL capability, including the ability to safely query and modify production data. Practical experience with cloud platforms such as GCP, AWS or Azure. Understanding of networking fundamentals including TCP\/IP, HTTP, DNS, routing and load balancing. Understanding of DevOps practices, CI\/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code. Exposure to Terraform or similar IaC technologies. Experience with distributed systems and microservices architectures. Experience with Docker and containerised environments. Strong analytical and root-cause problem-solving ability. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across technical teams. High attention to detail, professionalism and discretion. Ability to remain structured and effective under pressure. GCP, BigQuery, React, strong data-warehouse experience and insurance or financial-services exposure will be advantageous. What Success Looks Like Production incidents are investigated methodically and resolved efficiently. Root causes are identified rather than symptoms simply being addressed. Technical issues are accurately diagnosed across application, data, cloud and infrastructure layers. Developers and delivery teams receive clear, actionable information when issues require escalation. Application reliability and production stability improve over time. Repetitive support activities are reduced through practical automation. Incident knowledge, workarounds and technical documentation remain accurate and accessible. Business stakeholders receive clear communication during incidents and understand the impact and resolution. You become a trusted technical point of escalation for complex application and production issues. You contribute effectively as the organisation continues its transition towards a cloud-based technology environment.