FarmDrive,Software Engineer Jobs in Canada

Start Date: October 2016
Duration: 12 months

Engineers Without Borders Canada

(EWB) is a Canadian NGO that invests in people and ventures to create a
thriving and sustainable world. Bolstered by its network of 40 chapters and
1300 members, EWB provides seed funding, talent and mentorship to social
enterprises throughout Sub­Saharan Africa. For more information on EWB, visit http://ewb.ca.

The EWB Fellows Program

Now in its 15 th year, the EWB Fellows Program exists to develop a cadre of
Systems Change Leaders by equipping them with the opportunities, competencies
and skills needed to build a more thriving and sustainable world. Every year we
recruit 25­-30 outstanding people for the 12­month Fellowship, placing
successful candidates in one of our early­stage Ventures located throughout Sub
Saharan Africa. This Fellowship opportunity is with FarmDrive and is based in
Kenya.

About FarmDrive

FarmDrive is a tech­driven social enterprise committed to improving the
livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa by using new technology to
increase availability of capital. FarmDrive is passionate about building
software that solves the big problems. Technology has the power to fix systemic
gaps that limit people’s progress, and at FarmDrive, we are building a future where
data and mobile phones can be leveraged to serve smallholder farmers, create
value, and improve quality of life. Our software has been used by banks to
extend vital credit to farmers who have never received any form of credit in
their lifetime to buy quality seeds, fertilizer and use tractors on their farms
for the first time ­ we are restoring the dignity of farmers who for a very
long time have been locked out of the financial ecosystem. If these types of
projects excite you, we’d love for you to join our incredibly talented, diverse
team.

About the role Our engineers are involved in all parts of the product
lifecycle: idea generation, design, prototyping, planning, execution, and
shipping. Our work starts with brainstorming to discover, explore, and understand
our customer’s greatest challenges. Then we code. A lot. Finally, we ship and
continuously iterate on products that have a direct impact on the world’s
hardest problems.

As a Software Engineer for FarmDrive, your responsibilities will include: ­
• Building new software that meets the requirements of a fintech product, while
also working at the intersection of finance, agriculture and technology. ­ —
Rolling up your sleeves and performing code reviews. ­
• Iterating rapidly on everything? we work in a fast paced business driven
environment and need to be comfortable with ambiguity, and thinking on our
feet. ­- Working closely with our data scientists to translate the result of
their data crunching into products for our users. ­
• Working with us to find a path through both structured and unstructured
databases, and handle datasets from millions of points including but not
limited to satellite and remote sensing data – ­ think shapefiles, GEOJSON
formats. ­
• Developing mobile apps to be used by millions of farmers.

Sound exciting? Here’s who we are looking for.

Skills & Qualifications
• You have an undergraduate degree in computer science, software engineering or
related field (although our team values experience above all else).
• You have experience in Android development and user centered design
• You’re a strong coder; regardless of which language you use or how you
learned it, we’re looking for people who can write clean, effective code
• You enjoy collaboration with others
• You understand that making mistakes means you’re learning and have a constant
desire to grow and develop
• You are passionate about product craftsmanship and care about great design
• You are comfortable in a high­paced environment, and can respond to urgent
requests
• You want to work on things that make an impact on the world

Technological Knowledge Assets: ? Experience using Python/Java/Clojure/ for
back­end work, Experience with JavaScript (D3, Angular etc) for client and
server work ? Knowledge of open source technologies such as PostgreSQL,
Cassandra, Spark, ElasticSearch, etc.

Please note: You must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or landed
immigrant in order to apply. No exceptions.

Compensation

All costs relating to the placement are either paid for directly by EWB
(airfare, insurance, vaccinations, trainings) or indirectly through a living
stipend, which covers food, living expenses, local travel, etc. Fellows also
receive an honorarium that can be used to assist with repatriation costs or
additional costs during the duration of the placement. The stipend covers basic
living expenses for a modest lifestyle in your placement country. You should
not expect to save money during this year or use the stipend to cover previous
expenses (ex. student loans). Additionally, EWB offers a range of benefits
including insurance, a settlement allowance, professional development
opportunities, and more.

Application Instructions

Submitting your application for the EWB Fellowship involves two steps:

Step 1: Under the subject line “Software Engineer – FarmDrive submit your
CV/Resume to:
recruitment@ewb.ca

Step 2: Complete the following online application form. Please select “EWB
Long Term Fellowship ­ FarmDrive” as the “Opportunity type” and FarmDrive’
as the “Organization of Interest”. If you would like to submit your candidacy
to more than one role, please fill out separate forms.

Applications will be reviewed, and interviews scheduled on a rolling basis, so
please submit your application as soon as possible. If the posting is still on
our website, consider the role available. For further detail about EWB, please
read our Fellowship FAQ, our website and our manifesto.