Full-Stack Engineer at Nova Pioneer

About the Role

We’re looking for a full-stack engineer to help build an internal AI-powered curriculum design tool. The product will support educators in generating, editing, and publishing lesson plans based on Nova Pioneer’s curriculum structures, standards, and existing learning materials.

Key Responsibilities for the Role Include:

• Build and maintain a simple web-based application for teachers and admins.
• Develop the front end for lesson planning workflows and admin user management.
• Build backend services that retrieve curriculum content and generate structured lesson-plan outputs.
• Integrate AI services and semantic search over existing curriculum resources.
• Implement authentication, user roles, access control, and publishing workflows.
• Store, version, and retrieve lesson plans for reuse.
• Collaborate closely with product and education stakeholders to refine the user experience.
• Support testing, iteration, debugging, and deployment.

Required Skills:

• Strong experience as a full-stack engineer.
• Solid backend development skills; backend-heavy profile preferred.
• Experience building web applications from end to end.
• Familiarity with APIs, databases, authentication, and role-based access control.
• Experience working with AI tools or LLM integrations is a plus.
• Ability to work quickly, iterate with feedback, and build fit-for-purpose tools.

Core Skills:

• Experience with education, edtech, or workflow tools.
• Experience with semantic search or retrieval-augmented generation.
• Product mindset and comfort working directly with non-technical stakeholders.

Success Measures:

• A working internal tool that teachers can use to generate lesson plans.
• A system that preserves Nova Pioneer’s curriculum guardrails and structure.
• A reliable backend that stores and reuses approved lesson plans.
• Fast iteration based on educator feedback.

Additional Skills and Requirements:

• You are an excellent written and verbal communicator, able to represent a brand clearly and consistently across every channel and in person.
• You have strong attention to detail and take pride in a polished, on-brand user and partner experience.
• You understand best practices for youth safeguarding, data privacy, and responsible use of technology, ensuring ethical engagement with young people.
• You are a proactive problem solver who identifies issues early and follows through to resolution.
• You thrive in start-up or early-stage environments; able to pivot quickly, manage competing priorities, and deliver under tight timelines.
• You have a heart and belief in the African continent and are keen to shape young minds of innovators and leaders.
• You resonate deeply with our mission and culture principles in developing the next generation of innovators and leaders.