3 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.
Tech Stack
Categories
About watu
Watu is a Nairobi-headquartered asset finance company that provides loans for mobility and connectivity assets, such as motorcycles and smartphones, to unbanked and underserved consumers and micro-entrepreneurs. It earns revenue from loan interest and fees and supports digital repayments and compliance services around the financed assets. Founded in 2015, Watu operates in eight African countries and reports issuing over 2 million loans.