Java Backend Engineering Team Lead (Kenya)

Role Overview

You will step into a dual role that blends hands-on Java engineering with the daily mentorship and coordination of a backend engineering squad. Your primary mission is to keep the platform stable, secure, and evolving by guiding your engineers through feature development, architectural decisions, and agile delivery cycles. This position matters because the quality, scalability, and safety of the software you and your team produce directly underpins the entire company’s operations and customer trust.

Key Responsibilities

• Directly manage, coach, and grow a group of Java backend engineers, holding regular one-on-ones, setting clear goals, and conducting performance reviews.
• Oversee the full lifecycle of platform software: designing new features, implementing backend code, maintaining existing modules, and writing tests to verify reliability.
• Break down complex engineering work into manageable tasks, sequence priorities, and ensure your team has what they need to ship consistently.
• Actively participate in agile ceremonies such as sprint planning, stand-ups, retrospectives, and backlog refinement, while helping the team improve its workflows.
• Apply sound software engineering principles across everything your team builds — from architectural design and code reviews to debugging and evaluation of system performance.
• Embed security and data protection into the development process, making sure all software handling sensitive user information meets internal and regulatory standards.
• Produce clear, maintainable documentation for every component your team owns, so that future engineers can understand, extend, and operate the codebase with confidence.

Requirements & Qualifications

• 8+ years of backend engineering experience, with a strong focus on JVM languages and a proven ability to build software from the ground up.
• 3+ years in a formal engineering leadership role where you directly managed Java backend engineers, including conducting performance appraisals and supporting career development.
• Hands-on experience designing and operating microservices architectures, ideally deployed on AWS infrastructure.
• Deep proficiency with the Spring framework and a solid grasp of complementary Java backend tools and libraries used in production environments.
• Familiarity with Salesforce CRM is an advantage, as it may intersect with platform integrations.
• A mindset oriented toward scalable system design and code quality, not just feature completion.
• Based in Kenya, with excellent written and spoken English for clear collaboration across teams.

What We Offer / Why Join

The gross monthly salary for this position is between Ksh 444,178 and Ksh 740,000, paid over 12 months annually. Your exact placement within this range will depend on your depth of experience and how it compares with the current team.

• Location-specific benefits and allowances designed to support you where you live.
• Flexible work arrangements, including remote or hybrid options that fit your workflow.
• A €500 yearly personal development budget you can invest in courses, conferences, or learning materials.
• Unlimited holiday days — coordinate with your team and take the time you need to recharge without tracking a fixed quota.
• A real chance to shape a growing, high-impact product and influence how the engineering team works as it scales.
• A culture built on trust, where you have the autonomy to do your best work without rigid oversight or micromanagement.