CTO / Head of Engineering / Team Lead
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia or Cape Town, SA (Remote, Full-Time)
Compensation: $4,000–$5,000+ USD/month, commensurate with experience
We’re looking for a highly technical engineering leader who can jump into existing projects, move fast, make strong technical decisions, and lead a small but high-performing team.
This is a hands-on role for someone who is both an exceptional individual contributor and an engineering leader, with deep experience building and integrating AI-powered products.
What You’ll Do
- Lead architecture and technical direction across backend and full-stack systems
- Build and integrate AI/ML-powered features and workflows into production products
- Work with LLMs and modern AI tooling to accelerate product development
- Jump into active projects and quickly become productive
- Ship production-quality code fast and reliably
- Lead and mentor developers while maintaining a high engineering bar
- Debug complex issues across systems and infrastructure
- Use modern AI-assisted development workflows (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, etc.)
- Collaborate closely with product and leadership teams
Requirements
- 5+ years of production software development experience
- 2+ years leading engineering teams or acting as a tech lead
- Strong backend engineering experience (full-stack preferred)
- Proven experience integrating AI/ML models into production applications
- Experience working with LLM APIs, AI agents, embeddings, RAG systems, or related AI infrastructure
- Ability to rapidly understand unfamiliar codebases and execute independently
- Experience with modern coding practices and AI-assisted development
- Strong debugging and problem-solving skills
- Strong English speaking and writing skills
- High ownership mentality and ability to move without heavy supervision
- Excellent communication and leadership skills
Nice to Have
Experience with our stack or similar technologies:
- TypeScript
- React
- Go
- Swift / iOS development
- AI infrastructure and model deployment
Ideal Candidate
- Extremely strong technically — the type who becomes “the smartest person in the room”
- Fast learner who thrives in startup environments
- Comfortable wearing multiple hats
- Pragmatic builder who focuses on shipping
- Excellent communicator in English, both written and verbal
- Deeply familiar with leveraging AI tools to accelerate engineering productivity
- Excited about building AI-native products and systems
Compensation & Benefits
- Full-time remote role
- Competitive salary: $4k–$5k USD/month
- Flexible work environment
- Opportunity to help shape engineering culture and product direction from an early stage
To apply, send:
- Resume/CV
- GitHub or portfolio
- Brief description of projects you’ve led or shipped
- Examples of AI/ML systems or integrations you’ve built
- Examples of how you use AI tools in development workflows
Requirements
- 5+ years of production software development experience
- 2+ years leading engineering teams or acting as a tech lead
- Strong backend engineering experience (full-stack preferred)
- Proven experience integrating AI/ML models into production applications
- Experience working with LLM APIs, AI agents, embeddings, RAG systems, or related AI infrastructure
- Ability to rapidly understand unfamiliar codebases and execute independently
- Experience with modern coding practices and AI-assisted development
- Strong debugging and problem-solving skills
- Strong English speaking and writing skills
- High ownership mentality and ability to move without heavy supervision
- Excellent communication and leadership skills
Benefits
- Full-time remote role
- Competitive salary: $4k–$5k USD/month
- Flexible work environment
- Opportunity to help shape engineering culture and product direction from an early stage
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