GiveDirectly is the first - and largest - nonprofit that lets donors like you send money directly to the world’s poorest. We believe people living in poverty deserve the dignity to choose for themselves how best to improve their lives - cash enables that choice.
As a Senior Software Engineer, you will design and build scalable, reliable systems that power our core operations—whether that’s donor platforms, systems that deliver payments directly to recipients, or crisis response tools reaching hundreds of thousands of people globally.
Responsibilities
Design and build scalable, reliable systems that power our core operations (donor platforms, payment delivery, crisis response tools).
Own end-to-end development of new features and services, from architecture through deployment and monitoring.
Improve developer workflows by strengthening CI/CD pipelines, reducing manual steps, and increasing test coverage.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams (product, ops, data) to understand real-world needs and ship tools that directly support program delivery in the field.
Debug and resolve production issues across our stack, with a focus on root cause analysis and long-term fixes.
Advocate for sustainable engineering practices, including testing, documentation, and monitoring.
Help shape our tech roadmap with an eye toward scale, maintainability, and recipient experience.
Requirements
4+ years of industry experience creating production-caliber software and systems.
BA/BSc/HND qualification in a relevant field.
Experience with backend architecture: databases, cloud services, APIs.
Experience building infrastructure to deploy software.
Experience with strongly-typed, object-oriented programming such as Java, C#, Go, etc. and scripting languages such as Python, Ruby, etc.
High degree of ownership and autonomy - you proactively advocate for ways to improve systems and constantly leave our codebase in a better state than you found it.
Strong analytical skills and communication - able to break down complex problems, describe technical trade-offs, and collaborate with cross-functional partners.
Language Requirement: English.
Exceptional alignment with GiveDirectly Values and active demonstration of core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity.
Bonus Qualifications
Experience using Python and AWS in a production environment.
Experience with payments/financial software and/or experience with microservice/serverless architecture.
Compensation (Kenya)
Base Salary: $91,500
Bonus at Target Performance: 15% (~$13,725)
Estimated Total Compensation at Target: $105,225+
Annual Benefits Stipend: $8,453
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should apply through the official Greenhouse job board at https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/givedirectly/jobs/1222477 or by visiting the GiveDirectly careers page.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should apply online via GiveDirectly's Greenhouse job board: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/givedirectly/jobs/1222477. This role is fully remote, and estimated salary benchmarks for other countries will be shared during the hiring process.
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