Do you want to do work that is impactful? Do you want to help improve the lives of some of the most hardworking people in Africa, while also reducing carbon emissions? Do you want to use your skills to advance Africa towards a zero-carbon future, not just to make a living? Ampersand is your answer.

About Ampersand

Headquartered in Kigali in Rwanda, Ampersand is achieving the world’s first true mass-market shift to electric vehicles, a vital tipping point in the fight against climate change, through providing electric motorcycles to moto taxis drivers in East Africa. Our electric motorcycles offer savings that can double a driver’s income, in addition to reducing carbon emissions by more than 75%. Converting just one petrol motorbike to electric is the equivalent of the carbon captured by 128 trees.

We have successfully piloted an electric motorcycle and battery swap network in Kigali, with motorcycles in daily operation for two years and nearly 2 million km traveled. We have successfully raised $4M in venture capital. We are and are ready to further develop and scale up our tech and scale our operations. This is where you come in. The team has grown from a tiny, bootstrapped R&D garage project into East Africa’s leading electric vehicle operation, with a team of 59 staff drawn from diverse backgrounds. We are rapidly scaling our operations, and we are looking for innovative professionals who are passionate about clean energy and environmental impact to lead and contribute to our rapid growth.

About the role

The Software Engineer Associate will oversee and assist in the development of the AmperOps platform. We’re looking for someone who has worked with large distributed systems and is not afraid to go in and assist with debugging or coding. This involves everything from making sure the infrastructure decisions are sound to decisions around software tools and platforms to use. Ampersand manages a fleet of batteries and vehicles and sells swaps. The software will be key to ensuring the success of the business model.

This role will report directly to the CTO. Your objectives will include the following:

• Helping shape Ampersands digital products
• Understanding user requirements and turning them into applications, running and working with other teams to understand requirements and distill them into requirements that can be transformed into applications and features.
• Bringing together and managing a team of Junior software engineers and mentoring them as the team grows
• Setup the software dev cycle from development to testing to deployment. Choose what tools to use for CI, log management, and overall DevOps.
• Working on the data back-end of Ampersand to allow for data analytics and business intelligence to be extracted easily
• Looking into Machine Learning as a way of optimizing Ampersands charging and battery infrastructure
• Writing code in Python/Go/Java/JS when needed to assist in components of the process
• Work together with the hardware and electrical team to ensure synergy between hardware and software products.

Ampersand is a good fit if:

• You are ready to support people in a high growth company
• You have a meticulous attention to detail
• You are motivated by seeing your teammates grow and develop
• You are looking for an entrepreneurial company that values innovation and strong execution
• You value diversity and community in the workplace
• You like to get stuff done
• You love complicated systems where optimization is key
• You are not afraid of infrastructure projects and like playing with hardware.
• You like working in a fast-moving agile environment.

Minimum requirements

A strong work ethic, and the ability to manage shifting priorities and unforeseen challenges.

• Minimum of 3 years of prior experience in Software Development and large team management
• Degree in computer science/ electrical engineering is a bonus, but the experience is also valued
• Technical abilities with Linux, Bash, VM’s, Docker, Networks, Distributed systems
• Experience with time series and transactional data
• Strong communication skills with a supportive and nurturing disposition
• (Bonus) Experience in a start-up environment

Timing

ASAP

Compensation

A competitive compensation package commensurate with experience including health insurance.