Full Stack Developer at FrontlineSMS

WHO YOU ARE

We are looking for someone who is experienced in software development and is passionate about technology to join our very talented team of developers in taking our powerful platform to the next level.

We’re looking for a full stack engineer, experienced in both front- and back-end work. As a minimum, we expect you will be proficient in:

• Java or another object-oriented, statically-typed programming language
• Javascript, HTML and CSS
• At least one modern MVC web application framework

We don’t expect everyone to know all the tools we use from the get-go, but it would be very convenient to both of us if you are proficient in, or at least excited to learn:

• Groovy and the Grails framework
• Server-side Javascript with NodeJS
• Amazon Web Services
• Android development
• Kanban, Scrum and related Agile processes

You will be part of the development team based in our Nairobi office and report directly to the CTO. You will be involved in both taking lead and being part of weekly backlog grooming sessions, picking up tickets waiting for development on the Kanban board, performing quality assurance and code review of tickets worked on by developers in the team and comprehensively noting down findings in our issue tracking software – Jira. 

We are very big on teamwork and communication is therefore of the essence.

THE THINGS YOU’LL DO

Our platform primarily runs on the Grails framework and uses the Groovy programming language. It runs on a SaaS model - hosted on Amazon Web Services. As an instrumental part of the development team, your duties will involve the following:

• Proactively take part in supporting the platform – as well as its users, and in the identification and development of new features.
• Platform improvement by logging any issues and/or bugs found during development.
• Occasionally take lead in our rotational sprint-deployment process.
• Actively take part in our process-improvement exercises by logging retro-points to our retrospective board.
• Mentor new employees and apprentices in the development team.
• Occasionally take lead in technical documentation, regularly updating existing ones.
• Learn, support and build onto our existing DevOps technologies and processes.
• Actively participate in communications on Slack.

THE THINGS WE’LL LIKE ABOUT YOU

You’ll be well-rounded and experienced in all things development, communication, small team and proactive working.  Specifically we’re thinking:

• You're a model team player - You like to ask questions, as well as answer them with the knowledge that this will ultimately contribute to the team’s success.
• You are curious and innovative – as part of the culture, we have end-of-sprint 10% days to encourage our development team to work on their ideas and innovations outside of the sprint work.
• You are open and willing to learn – our platform is powerful and complex as it has undergone years of development to constantly improve it. It is therefore a requisite for any new team member to spend time learning it.