Senior Software Engineer

About the Role:

The successful candidate will join CfA’s Tech Lab as a Senior Software Engineer. The Tech Lab is distributed across East/West Africa, and benchmarks itself on similar civic technology initiatives elsewhere in the world that build digital democracy solutions.

Within the Tech Lab, you will work closely with the Chief Technology Officer to decide on the architectural direction of systems and tools developed by the Lab. You will also work with the Product Manager to translate product features and specifications into simple, implementable designs. You will then work with your fellow engineers, designers and content team to deliver working products within the agreed timelines.

Some of the products that you may work with us on include: 

• Our public-facing web apps (such as PesaYetu, FeedShield, sensors.AFRICA, and The Charter AFRICA Project)
• Our tools/widgets (such as  BiscuitIndex, HURUmap and TaxClock) 
• Our bots (such as DebunkBot)
• Our machine learning  and natural language processing analysis tools (such as CivicSignal).

Responsibilities: 

• Lead the design, develop and deploy robust systems and infrastructure tools that will be used by the organisation and partners.
• Drive every aspect of the software development process including technological and architectural decisions.
• Collaborate with a geographically distributed team of product managers, designers, researchers, developers, and journalists to deliver high-quality software on time and within budget.
• Provide actionable feedback on the work of fellow technologists.

Required: 

• At least four (4) years of relevant programming experience building and operating multi-tier web applications (including REST APIs),
• Expertise in Python & proficiency in SQL (Postgres) and either JavaScript or TypeScript,
• A deep understanding of computer science principles and the ability to evaluate and implement new technologies as needed,
• Working knowledge of modern software development practices and technologies such as CI/CD pipelines,
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills paired with excellent attention to detail,
• Ability to lead and motivate teams, and to work well in a collaborative environment
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills

Preferred: 

• Bachelor degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Experience working in development organisations (NGOs/CSO/non-profit), technology/media organisations or high-growth startups.