2 months ago
Remote, EMEAStaff+
Responsibilities
- Own the squad’s architecture, system design, API contracts, data models, integration patterns, and architectural decision records.
- Lead technical delivery for vehicle and phone onboarding flows, including KYC, anti-fraud, loan disbursement, back-office, and B2B licensing workflows.
- Review and approve pull requests, enforce engineering standards, maintain the Definition of Done, and own the squad release process.
- Govern outsourced engineering partners by reviewing code, architecture, quality, and release readiness.
- Design and maintain integrations with identity verification and fraud detection providers while avoiding vendor lock-in.
- Own the B2B Licensing Portal and APIs, including API design, security, and versioning.
- Drive sprint planning, technical task breakdown, dependency management, risk escalation, and delivery alongside the Product Owner.
- Manage and develop approximately 4–6 direct reports across backend, frontend/mobile, and QA engineering.
- Represent the squad in broader architecture discussions and contribute to shared platform standards.
- Promote active use of AI and LLM tools for code generation, testing, documentation, and debugging.
Requirements
- At least 7 years of software engineering experience, including at least 2 years as the de facto technical authority for a significant product area or team.
- Strong backend engineering fundamentals in distributed systems, event-driven architecture, API design, database design, and testing strategy.
- Ability to review and reason about code across the full stack of the squad’s domain.
- Experience driving sprint ceremonies, backlog refinement, and delivery in an Agile/Scrum or Kanban environment alongside a Product Owner.
- Experience building KYC, identity verification, or anti-fraud systems in a regulated financial services context.
- Experience with Java and frontend frameworks such as Angular or React.js.
- Familiarity with B2B API design patterns, partner integration governance, and mobile-first onboarding constraints.
- Experience operating in or building for African markets, including connectivity constraints, local identity documents, and regulatory variation.
- Preferred experience in fintech, payments, or digital financial services in Africa or LATAM.
- Preferred experience governing external engineering partners or SaaS vendor integrations.
- Preferred familiarity with Kafka or equivalent message brokers.
- Strong direct communication and hands-on technical leadership skills.
Benefits
- Location is flexible within Europe or Nairobi.
- The role includes light but real people management with approximately 4–6 direct reports.
- The company offers a structured interview process consisting of an initial Head of Engineering conversation, technical interview, and final leadership conversation.
- Watu is an equal opportunity employer and processes applicant information under applicable data protection laws.
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