Director of Engineering
Tala, Kenya

About Tala
Tala is a global technology company building the world’s most accessible financial services. With more than $350 million raised from visionary investors, we are serving millions of customers around the world who have been overlooked by traditional financial institutions and our plan is to serve millions more, and have been named by theFortuneImpact 20 list,CNBC’s Disruptor 50, andForbes’Fintech 50 list for four years running. We are expanding across product offerings, countries and crypto and are looking for people who have an entrepreneurial spirit and are passionate about the mission.
By creating a unique platform that enables lending and other financial services around the globe, people in emerging markets are able to start and expand small businesses, manage day-to-day needs, and pursue their financial goals with confidence. Currently, more than 6 million people across Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, and India have used Tala products. Due to our global team, we have a remote-first approach, and also have offices in Santa Monica, CA (HQ); Nairobi, Kenya; Mexico City, Mexico; Manila, the Philippines; and Bangalore, India.
Most Talazens join us because they connect with our mission of enabling financial agency for underbanked people around the world. If you are energized by the impact you can make at Tala, we’d love to hear from you!
We are looking for a Director of Engineering who will expand Tala’s ability to serve the underbanked through their strong leadership and technical vision.
This leader will manage and recruit a team of Backend Software Engineers for Kenya. As a coach and mentor, the Director of Engineering will guide the team towards advancing Tala’s mission and business objectives. As a leader within the Engineering Department, he/she ensures consistent practice of Tala’s engineering processes and standards. Close interactions with the US office and collaboration with the other Engineering hubs across the globe are vital to the success of this role.
This is a leadership role within Tala’s management track and will be part of the Country Leadership Team. You will report to the Global Head of Engineering and collaborate cross-functionally with all Tala teams across the globe.What You'll Do:

• Lead and manage a team of Backend Software Engineers and KE Engineering Manager to execute on current roadmap
• Recruit, mentor, coach and level-up 5 to 10 Engineers
• Effectively partner with Product and Program management team to achieve Key Results
• Review design documents, do code reviews and weigh in on tech implementation choices
• Support and collaborate with cross functional teams (Customer Experience, Product, Program, Data, Credit, and BI) to ship scalable software solutions
• Work on High Level Technical approach and feasibility review for new key initiatives
• Effectively manage and drive the engineering team to achieve results while adhering to Engineering principles
• Provide guidance on squad staffing changes, comfortably handle change management and reduce context switching for the team.
• Review architectural changes to our platforms and provide guidance on the same

What You'll Need

• 7+ years of software engineering experience, including hands-on technical management
• 5+ years coding in one of the following languages: Java, Scala, GoLang and/or PHP
• 5+ years of experience as an Engineering Manager with People management skills
• Demonstrated ability to recruit and manage technical teams, including performance management
• Developed and launched large scale consumer applications on Cloud infrastructure (AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure) using microservices architecture paradigm
• Experience with designing tables/schemas in relational database (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, or MS SQL)
• Working knowledge in REST API development for Mobile/Web use
• Hold your own in technical discussion, be a subject matter expert, and have strategic influence
• Expert proficiency in Agile development process
• Excellent ability to prioritize and communicate in a fast-paced environment
• BS/BA degree in Computer Science or related fields
• Bonus: Experience in predictive analysis and machine learning
• Bonus: NoSQL databases

Our vision is to build a new financial ecosystem where everyone can participate on equal footing and access the tools they need to be financially healthy. We strongly believe that inclusion fosters innovation and we’re proud to have a diverse global team that represents a multitude of backgrounds, cultures, and experience. We hire talented people regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexua