GiveDirectly has delivered more than $1B in cash directly to 2+ million people living in poverty across 15 countries since 2011. We believe cash transfers are one of the most scalable, cost-effective, and dignified forms of aid, with the research to back it up.Our culture is candid, analytical, and non-hierarchical. We support high ownership and real professional growth.Location: This role is fully remote but you must overlap with East Africa Time and US Eastern Time (8am-6pm) by at least 3 hours.About this roleTechnology plays a central role in how GiveDirectly delivers cash—whether that’s identifying recipients in hard-to-reach places, sending payments quickly after disasters, or powering the platforms our donors use to give.We’re hiring a Senior Software Engineer to help build the systems behind this work.Our Programs Engineering team (getting cash in the hands of people experiencing extreme poverty),Our Fundraising Engineering team (raising more money for recipients), orOur International Rapid Response team (getting cash to disaster-affected communities within 5 days of a crisis—anywhere in the world)No matter the team, you’ll play a central role in scaling our impact: getting more money, to more people, more efficiently.This is a hands-on role with real ownership. You’ll help shape architecture, ship production-ready code, and work side-by-side with teammates across product, data, and operations.Level: Senior Software EngineerTravel Requirement: Must be able to travel ~1-2 times per year to one of our countries of operation for team retreats or field visits.What you’ll do:Design and build scalable, reliable systems that power our core operations—whether that’s donor platforms, systems that deliver payments directly to recipients, or crisis response tools reaching hundreds of thousands of people globally.Own end-to-end development of new features and services, from architecture through deployment and monitoring.Improve our developer workflows by strengthening CI/CD pipelines, reducing manual steps, and increasing test coverage.Collaborate with cross-functional teams (product, ops, data) to understand real-world needs and ship tools that directly support program delivery in the field.Debug and resolve production issues across our stack, with a focus on root cause analysis and long-term fixes.Advocate for sustainable engineering practices, including testing, documentation, and monitoringHelp shape our tech roadmap with an eye toward scale, maintainability, and recipient experienceWhat you’ll bring:Exceptional alignment with GiveDirectly Values and active demonstration of our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity. We welcome and strongly encourage applications from candidates who have personal or professional experience in the low-income and/or historically marginalized communities that we serve.Language Requirement: English4+ years of industry experience creating production-caliber software and systemsExperience with backend architecture: databases, cloud services, APIsExperience building infrastructure to deploy softwareExperience with strongly-typed, object-oriented programming such as Java, C#, Go, etc. and scripting languages such as Python, Ruby, etc.High degree of ownership and autonomy - you proactively advocate for ways to improve systems and constantly leave our codebase in a better state than you found itStrong analytical skills and communication - able to break down complex problems, describe technical trade-offs, and collaborate with cross-functional partners (e.g. technical program managers, product managers)Bonus: Experience using Python and AWS in a production environmentBonus: experience with payments/financial software and/or experience with microservice/serverless architectureCompensationAt GiveDirectly, we strive to pay our employees generously and equitably. We use an accredited third party salary aggregator to calculate what we believe to be competitive pay based on role, location, and cost of living. We also have a no negotiation policy to ensure we are paying staff equitably across roles.Unless otherwise noted, the benefits stipend may be used to cover benefits or taken as additional taxable income.United StatesBase Salary: $181,130Bonus at Target Performance: 15% (~$27,170, with potential for upside. For reference, with the organization's current performance multiplier, this amount would be ~$31,789 in 2025)Estimated Total Compensation at Target: $208,300+Annual Benefits Stipend: $21,393United KingdomBase Salary: £124,370Bonus at Target Performance: 15% (~£18,656, with potential for upside. For reference, with the organization's current performance multiplier, this amount would be ~£21,827 in 2025)Estimated Total Compensation at Target: £143,026+Annual Benefits Stipend: £2,760KenyaBase Salary: $112,350Bonus at Target Performance: 15% (~$16,853, with potential for upside. For reference, with the organization's current performance multiplier, this amount would be ~$19,717 in 2025)Estimated Total Compensation at Target: $129,203+Annual Benefits Stipend: $8,453This role is fully remote, so if you are not based in the US, UK or Kenya, we will share an estimated salary benchmark for the country you are based in during the hiring process.Why work at GiveDirectly?At GiveDirectly, we work to ensure that you have everything you need to excel in your role and on your team, including:A positive and supportive team with opportunities for advancement A demonstrated commitment to helping all staff develop and growA competitive salary, including bonusA robust health benefits plan (exact details will vary by country)Unlimited PTO (that we encourage staff to take!)Desk allowance and flexible work locationAbout this specific hiring processTake-home coding assignmentLive Coding (60 mins)Systems Design (60 mins)Project Deep Dive + Behavioral (60 mins)*It’s possible that there will be adjustments to this interview process. Any changes will be communicated to you during the process.Working at GiveDirectlyGiveDirectly is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to the person’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.Commitment to SafeguardingGiveDirectly takes the safeguarding of its recipients, staff, and partners seriously.Reasonable AccommodationsIf you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, or to perform the essential functions of the role, please email us at careers@givedirectly.org with the email subject “Accommodation Needed”.
22 days ago