Java Backend Engineering (Senior)

What if the only thing standing between a donor’s funding and a girl’s success was a smarter way to verify impact? We’re building Imara Impact, a new line of business at Tiko designed to revolutionise outcomes-based financing. We need a Java Engineering to build the engine that turns data from the field into the confidence donors need to change lives.

About Tiko
Tiko is an African nonprofit committed to strengthening the potential and resilience of adolescent girls across Africa. We address the “Triple Threat” of unintended pregnancy, HIV infection, and sexual and gender-based violence by building local health ecosystems that provide stigma-free, no-cost, quality-assured services.

We operate in six countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burkina Faso, South Africa, and Nigeria, with additional offices in Portugal, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. For a clear overview of our work, we recommend watching this short video.

Globally, our team consists of +250 enthusiastic, international colleagues. Whether you are working from our biggest office in Nairobi, the fast-growing office in South Africa, or from home, our people are young, and our culture is global and dynamic. Our work environment is fast-paced, informal, and friendly.

About Imara Impact
Imara Impact is a transformative initiative incubated by Tiko to revolutionize the social impact sector. Our mission is to move significant capital into the urgent causes affecting women and girls by solving a massive global problem: Outcome-Based Financing is currently too slow, too expensive, and too complex.

Today, "paying for outcomes" (ensuring funds are only released when real-life results are verified) involves years of legal work and massive transaction costs. Imara is building the tech-enabled, end-to-end solution that fixes this. We are creating a platform that reduces complexity and utilizes AI-driven verification to make outcome funding affordable, transparent, and accessible for governments, foundations, and individual donors alike.

As an engineer at Imara, you won’t just be building features; you will be engineering the "trust infrastructure" that ensures every dollar reaches the front lines, empowering community-led organizations to deliver hyper-proximate interventions for the women and girls who need them most.

Key Engineering Pillars

• Financial Infrastructure for Outcomes: Developing a "single-contract" FinTech solution that aligns with government procurement needs while allowing for flexible reallocation of capital across geographies.
  
• AI-Driven Verification & Fraud Prevention: Utilizing AI and the proven Tiko platform to automate data collection and verify real-world impact, replacing manual, high-cost auditing with real-time, high-integrity data.
  
• Ecosystem-Scale Architecture: Building a platform designed to serve the entire sector, going beyond Tiko to support a wide range of organizations and funders in a unified, transparent ecosystem.
  
• Data Integrity for Social Good: Managing sensitive health and educational data with the highest security standards, ensuring that "paying for what works" becomes the global standard for philanthropy.
  
  

For this position, we are happily looking for candidates currently based in South Africa, Kenya, and Portugal.

The Job

We are seeking a Java Backend Engineering to play a vital role in the evolution of Tiko’s digital ecosystem. In this position, you will be responsible for building and maintaining the Imara Impact software ensuring that the backend is scalable and reliable.

• You maintain and develop new features on our software platform. You apply the principles of software engineering to the design, development, maintenance, testing, and evaluation of our software.
• You make sure the software you develop is secure and safe with regards to information security & personal data.
• We expect you to actively participate in meetings and projects and to coordinate with your team members. We also expect you to continue to develop yourself and keep abreast of new developments.
• You document your work and make sure that your documentation is clear and understandable for future use by others.
• Our team works in an agile way, and you will be part of the rituals and practices.

About you

You have in-depth development experience using Java and building software from the ground up. You’re a logical thinker and a natural problem solver who wants to use your technical skillset to make an impact.

Requirements:

• You have a minimum of 6 years of experience working with Java backend tools and frameworks, including Spring.
• You are not just focused on writing code - you strive for quality and scalability.
• Experience with microservices and AWS is highly preferred.
• You have excellent English skills, both spoken and written.
• You are currently based in Portugal / South Africa / Kenya.

Recruitment Process

Introductory call with recruiter | First Interview with Tech Team | Technical Challenge | Final interview with the Tech Team

Compensation & Benefits

The gross salary range per month for this position is:

South Africa: R72,734 - R121,223 (x12)

Portugal: €3,025 - €5,041 (x14)

Kenya: Ksh354,096 - Ksh590,160 (x12)

Your final salary will be determined based on your experience and alignment with your future colleagues.

In addition to your monthly salary, we offer you:

• Benefits and allowances tailored to your location.
• Flexible work arrangements, including remote or hybrid options.
• A personal development budget of €500 per year to invest in your professional growth
• Unlimited holiday days to use as you see fit - just coordinate with your team and take the time you need to recharge.
• The opportunity to shape a growing, impactful product and leave your mark on how we work
• A culture built on trust - we believe you’ll do your best without the need for unnecessary rules or micromanagement

The Details

Interested? Click Apply for This Job! Want more information? Check out our website Tiko – Do more with Tiko. We only accept applications through the apply links, not by email.

Important Recruitment Fraud Alert
Please be aware that Tiko maintains a professional and ethical recruitment process.

• Zero Fees: We do not charge candidates any fees for applications, interviews, or processing at any stage of the hiring journey.
• Fraud Prevention: If you receive a request for money, bank details, or "onboarding equipment" payments from someone claiming to represent us, this is not a legitimate request.
• Official Channels: We only communicate through our verified company email domain (@tiko.org).

If you are approached by anyone asking for payment in our name, please ignore the request.

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Tiko prioritizes integrity in our workplace and respects your privacy.

Tiko is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour by its employees at work, including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct. This is why we will do reference and background screening checks on successful candidates before hiring. Tiko also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. As part of this scheme, we will request information from your previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during your employment, or incidents under investigation when you left employment. By applying for this position, you confirm you have read and understood these recruitment procedures.

We value your privacy and understand the importance of safeguarding your personal data. We invite you to review our privacy notice for the recruitment process to understand how we collect, use, and protect your personal data during the recruitment process. Click here to view the document. By applying for this position, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our privacy notice.