Senior Software Engineer (Remote)

About this role

<div class="content-intro"><p>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 <u><a href="https://www.givedirectly.org/gdresearch/" target="_blank">research</a></u> to back it up. Our work has been covered by&nbsp;<u><a href="https://www.economist.com/special-report/2024/01/10/givedirectly-does-what-it-says-on-the-tin" target="_blank">The Economist</a></u>, <u><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/12/07/1217478771/its-one-of-the-biggest-experiments-in-fighting-global-poverty-now-the-results-ar" target="_blank">NPR</a></u>, <u><a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/rory_stewart_to_end_extreme_poverty_give_cash_not_advice" target="_blank">TED</a></u>, and <u><a href="https://www.givedirectly.org/washingtonpost-apr-2024/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a></u><u>. </u>We are one of&nbsp;<u><a href="https://time.com/collection/time100-most-influential-companies/2026/givedirectly/" target="_blank">Time100’s</a></u> Most Influential Companies of 2026.<a href="https://www.givedirectly.org/washingtonpost-apr-2024/" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Our culture is candid, analytical, and non-hierarchical. We support high ownership and real professional growth. Curious about what it's really like to work here? Read our <a class="underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current" href="https://www.givedirectly.org/givedirectly-values/">values</a> and <a class="underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbdS9vB_XYg">hear from the people who do</a>. If they resonate, this could be a great fit!</p></div><p><strong>Location: </strong><strong><em>This role is fully remote but must be available to meet with East Africa timezone by at least 2 hours a couple of times a week. </em></strong><em>We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.</em></p> <p><strong>About this role</strong></p> <p>Technology 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.</p> <p>We’re hiring a Senior Software Engineer to help build the systems behind this work. Our engineering team still operates like a startup within GiveDirectly—lean, fast-moving, and high-autonomy. You’ll lean into product thinking, help shape the roadmap, and collaborate closely across disciplines to solve real-world problems. The specific team you’ll join is still being finalized—it could be:</p> <ul> <li>Our <strong>Programs Engineering</strong> team (getting cash in the hands of people experiencing extreme poverty),</li> <li>Our <strong>Fundraising Engineering</strong> team (raising more money for recipients), or</li> <li>Our <strong>International Rapid Response</strong> team (getting cash to disaster-affected communities within 5 days of a crisis—anywhere in the world)</li> </ul> <p>No matter the team, you’ll play a central role in scaling our impact: getting more money, to more people, more efficiently.</p> <p>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. We’re looking for someone excited to wear multiple hats, move quickly, and define what great engineering looks like in a mission-driven org</p> <p><strong>Level: Senior Software Engineer</strong></p> <p><strong>Travel Requirement: </strong>Must be able to travel ~1-2 times per year to one of our countries of operation for team retreats or field visits.</p> <p><strong>What you’ll do:</strong></p> <ul> <li>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.</li> <li>Own end-to-end development of new features and services, from architecture through deployment and monitoring.</li> <li>Improve our developer workflows by strengthening CI/CD pipelines, reducing manual steps, and increasing test coverage.</li> <li>Collaborate with cross-functional teams (product, ops, data) to understand real-world needs and ship tools that directly support program delivery in the field.</li> <li>Debug and resolve production issues across our stack, with a focus on root cause analysis and long-term fixes.</li> <li>Advocate for sustainable engineering practices, including testing, documentation, and monitoring</li> <li>Help shape our tech roadmap with an eye toward scale, maintainability, and recipient experience</li> </ul> <p><strong>What you’ll bring:</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Exceptional alignment with </strong><a href="https://www.givedirectly.org/givedirectly-values/"><strong>GiveDirectly Values</strong></a> 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.</li> <li>Language Requirement: English</li> <li>4+ years of industry experience creating production-caliber software and systems</li> <li>Experience with backend architecture: databases, cloud services, APIs</li> <li>Experience building infrastructure to deploy software</li> <li>Experience with strongly-typed, object-oriented programming such as Java, C#, Go, etc. and scripting langu