CTO/ Lead Engineer

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