Main Purpose:
Puma Energy is seeking an Odoo Technical Developer to own the development, customisation, and integration of its Odoo platform across multiple African markets. The role is heavily weighted toward Python-based Odoo module development and REST API engineering. The successful candidate will design and build custom modules from scratch, integrate Odoo with a range of external systems, and maintain production environments spanning several countries simultaneously.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Odoo Development
Module Development
- Design and build custom Odoo modules in Python: data models, business logic, server actions, scheduled jobs, and automated workflow rules.
- Extend core Odoo modules (POS, Accounting, Invoicing, Stock) using inheritance patterns — classical, prototype, and delegation — without breaking upstream upgrade paths.
- Build custom invoicing workflows: automated document generation, multi-step approval flows, credit note logic, FIFO matching, and multi-currency support.
- Develop Odoo POS customisations supporting concurrent multi-payment-method transactions and hardware peripheral interaction patterns.
- Implement server-side validation, constraint enforcement, and idempotency controls for high-volume transactional data flows.
- Build custom QWeb report templates for invoices, statements, and operational documents meeting in-country formatting and compliance requirements.
Frontend & UI
- Develop and customise Odoo views (form, list, kanban, pivot, search) using XML and the OWL JavaScript framework.
- Build custom POS interface components in OWL/JavaScript; implement widget extensions and override core POS screens where required.
- Develop simplified operational UI modes for non-technical end users, using icon-led navigation and minimal text interaction patterns.
Database & Performance
- Write and optimise PostgreSQL queries for large transaction volumes; design indexing strategies and materialised views to maintain query performance at scale.
- Design Odoo data models for multi-company, multi-currency, multi-market deployments with strict record-level access control and data separation.
- Profile and resolve Odoo performance bottlenecks: ORM query optimisation, caching strategy, and background job tuning.
- Implement atomic database operations for critical transactional flows where partial failure is not acceptable.
API Development & Integration
API Engineering
- Design and expose REST API endpoints within Odoo for consumption by external platforms; define JSON contracts, versioning strategy, and backward compatibility rules.
- Implement OAuth2 / token-based authentication for all external API surfaces; manage token lifecycle, rotation, and revocation within Odoo.
- Build event-driven integration patterns using webhooks and Odoo's message bus to push transaction events to external consumers in near real-time.
- Develop and maintain batch API jobs for scheduled data exchange: extraction, transformation, and delivery to downstream systems with retry logic and exception reporting.
- Implement rate limiting, request queuing, and circuit breaker patterns to protect Odoo from upstream system instability.
External System Integration
- Build and maintain integrations between Odoo and external operational platforms via REST APIs, including inbound transaction processing and outbound data delivery.
- Develop a structured data bridge between Odoo and a legacy ERP system: automated extraction, field mapping, reconciliation validation, and discrepancy alerting.
- Integrate Odoo with cloud-based event streaming infrastructure to publish transaction records into a downstream data pipeline in real time.
- Build inbound webhook receivers within Odoo to handle event payloads from third-party payment and operational systems, with payload validation and idempotent processing.
- Develop and maintain API client libraries within Odoo for communicating with external banking and payment infrastructure.
Quality, Testing & DevOps
- Write unit tests, integration tests, and regression suites for all custom modules; maintain coverage across critical transaction paths and known edge cases.
- Instrument Odoo backend services with structured logging and OpenTelemetry-compatible tracing; integrate with the company APM platform for latency and error monitoring.
- Manage Odoo deployments across dev, staging, and production; document environment configuration and maintain parity across markets.
- Own Git-based version control: feature branching, code review, semantic module versioning, and structured release management.
- Produce and maintain technical documentation: module specs, API contracts, data flow diagrams, integration runbooks, and database schema references.
SKILLS & COMPETENCIES:
Essential
- 3+ years Odoo development experience on v14 or later (v16/v17 preferred); Odoo Technical Certification strongly preferred.
- Expert Python: Odoo ORM, model inheritance, computed fields, wizards, constraints, crons, and server actions.
- REST API design and implementation: endpoint design, authentication, versioning, error handling, and documentation.
- PostgreSQL: schema design, query optimisation, index management, and direct SQL within Odoo context.
- XML for Odoo views and QWeb templates; JavaScript and OWL for frontend and POS customisation.
- Odoo accounting and invoicing modules: journal entries, invoice lifecycle, credit notes, reconciliation, multi-currency, and tax configuration.
- Git: branching strategy, pull request workflow, and release management.
Preferred
- Experience integrating Odoo with cloud event streaming or message broker platforms.
- Familiarity with event-driven and webhook-based integration architecture patterns.
- Open Telemetry instrumentation and APM integration for backend performance monitoring.
- Docker and containerised Odoo deployment; CI/CD pipeline configuration.
- Exposure to PCI-DSS considerations in payment integration contexts.
- African market ERP compliance: fiscal e-invoicing, VAT treatment, multi-currency operations.
Education
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.
- Odoo Technical Certification (v14+) required or to be completed within probation period.
