We’re hiring our first Lead AI Engineer to lead a team that designs, ships, and scales automations and AI agents across M-KOPA. This is a brand-new team within the business – the tech foundation is already proven, and now we need someone to lead it, scale it, and define what it becomes.<\/p>\n
The Impact<\/p>\n
\tYour automations and agents will directly improve how 2,300+ employees work across our global operations. We’ve already helped over 7 million customers access over $2 billion in credit – and the tools you build will help that mission scale further and faster. It’s your chance to be part of something that’s literally transforming lives across an entire continent\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Opportunity<\/p>\n
\tMission-driven engineering: Every automation you build helps internal teams and customer-facing staff deliver financial inclusion to Africa’s Every Day Earners
\n\tGlobal recognition: Join a company named by TIME 100 as one of the world’s most influential and by the Financial Times as Africa’s fastest-growing for 4 consecutive years (2022\u20132025)
\n\tScale challenges: 2,500+ employees across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, the UK, and Europe – internal teams that can’t scale by hiring forever need intelligent tooling that actually works
\n\tEnvironmental impact: We’re carbon-negative, having displaced over 2 million tonnes of emissions<\/p>\n
What You’ll Do<\/p>\n
\tAt M-KOPA, you’ll lead the AI Operations team from day one – owning delivery, growing the function, and proving the value. Your team builds automations and agents for internal use and serves as internal consultants, helping Engineering integrate AI into customer-facing products. Join us in combining cutting-edge AI tooling with purpose-driven work that makes digital and financial inclusion possible across Africa.<\/p>\n
Your key responsibilities:<\/p>\n
\tLead two AI Ops Engineers \u2014 own their delivery, development, and day-to-day work
\n\tPrioritise efficiently \u2014 manage competing requests from multiple teams by applying a clear prioritisation framework you’ll help develop and improve
\n\tBuild and ship automations and agents that measurably improve how internal teams and customer-facing staff work
\n\tKeep the AI tooling stack healthy as usage scales across 2,500+ employees
\n\tStay current on emerging AI tools and technologies – know what’s hype and what’s actually useful
\n\tHelp refine AI training for the wider organisation, including Engineering teams<\/p>\n
Technical Environment\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tAI & Agentic Frameworks: Claude, Claude Code, Anthropic tooling, LangChain, MCP, Google ADK (or similar agentic tooling)
\n\tAutomation & Prototyping: Scripting, workflow tools, AI-assisted development, rapid prototyping (Vercel\/Railway)
\n\tEnterprise Tooling: Identity automation (Entra), internal platforms, Notion, HiBob integrations
\n\tExisting Foundation: Twelve months of Claude, Notion, HiBob, and Entra automations already running in production<\/p>\n
Our Approach<\/p>\n
\tBuild, don’t just advise \u2014 this is a hands-on team that ships working automations and agents
\n\tProve the value, then expand \u2014 start with two engineers, demonstrate impact, grow from there
\n\tProduct-focused mindset \u2014 treat internal teams as customers and build tooling that works
\n\tCut through the hype \u2014 evaluate emerging AI tools on practical value, not marketing buzz<\/p>\n
What You Need<\/p>\n
\tWe’re looking for someone with a strong technical background and product-focused. You won’t be building models – we have Data Science teams for that. You’ll be building agents, shipping automations, and leading a team that makes M-KOPA’s internal operations smarter and faster.<\/p>\n
Required Experience:<\/p>\n
\tHands-on experience building automations \u2014 scripting, workflow tools, or AI-assisted development
\n\tHands-on experience building agents using agentic frameworks \u2014 LangChain, MCP, Google ADK or similar
\n\tBackground in enterprise tooling \u2014 rapid prototyping tools (Vercel\/Railway), identity automation (Entra), or internal platforms
\n\tPeople leadership experience \u2014 you’ve led or mentored engineers and can own a team’s delivery and development<\/p>\n
go to method of application \u00bb<\/p>\n
Apply via company website ( N \/ A ) or<\/p>\n
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