Head of Engineering and Data

About Nuru Solutions

Nuru Solutions specializes in agricultural data by leveraging satellite imagery, weather statistics, ground-truth field information, and machine learning to provide granular farm-level insights. Their services support insurers and lenders in delivering targeted assistance to smallholder farmers across Kenya, Malawi, and Somalia. Having impacted tens of thousands of farmers, Nuru is committed to empowering these communities through enhanced climate resilience and financial access.

Role Overview

The company is looking for a seasoned technology leader to formulate and drive the technology strategy critical for scaling Nuru's platform. The successful candidate will lead the evolution of the core web platform into a multi-channel product suite including mobile tools for field teams and farmer outreach systems. This leadership position requires balancing strategic direction, team development, and hands-on technical decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct all technical facets including web, data, software, and product development, coordinating with any external collaborators.
• Devise and implement the holistic technology vision and roadmap aligned with business growth targets.
• Lead design and advancement of database and cloud infrastructure, machine learning models, and data pipelines incorporating satellite and climate datasets.
• Architect scalable, cost-effective, secure, and resilient data ingestion, storage, and analytic systems mindful of operational budgets and company growth trajectory.
• Automate machine learning and data workflows to lessen manual processes, thereby enhancing operational efficiencies without linear team expansion.
• Manage full software lifecycle from initial prototyping through deployment, with iterative improvements driven by user feedback.
• Integrate farmer-oriented communication channels (SMS, WhatsApp, mobile apps) with backend analytical systems.
• Prioritize and roadmap product features based on client demands, resources, and strategic objectives.
• Collaborate with CEO and operations leads to validate product innovations for technical feasibility and operational integrity.
• Maintain custody of intellectual property and cloud environments ensuring all development—internal or contractor-based—is performed on company-controlled systems with milestone-based acceptance.
• Enforce rigorous engineering standards, including code quality, documentation, testing, and DevOps protocols.
• Lead company data strategy encompassing automated collection and validation pipelines for diverse datasets such as satellite, weather, and ground-truth data.
• Maintain Nuru's two-stage validation process for models differentiating internal and independent validations to guarantee data and model credibility.
• Recruit, mentor, and guide the technology and data teams fostering innovative, collaborative, and accountable cultures while reducing external dependencies overtime.
• Serve as a strategic technical partner to leadership, contributing expertise in market opportunity assessments and investor communications.
• Ensure adherence to data privacy and security laws relevant to Nuru's operational regions.

Candidate Profile

• Minimum of 7 years in software engineering with at least 3 years in a leadership role involving production system architecture and delivery.
• Strong hands-on technical background in software development and systems design.
• Proven experience in building and scaling cloud-native platforms (AWS preferred) including data pipelines, APIs, and multi-channel product deployment.
• Fluency in delivering AI/ML-enabled products, orchestrating model deployment alongside data scientists.
• Ability to translate ambiguous client and field requirements into clear technical specifications and execution plans.
• History of successfully hiring, mentoring, and managing blended engineering and data teams.
• Preferred experience includes agritech, insurtech, fintech, geospatial or remote sensing sectors, GIS and satellite data knowledge, and startup environments.

Work Style

• Leadership-focused but maintains technical engagement with code and architecture decisions.
• Bridges the gap between engineering and data science teams ensuring product reliability and delivery.
• Maintains high standards for intellectual property management, model governance, and documentation.
• Excellent communication skills, adept at translating technical concepts for varying audiences including investors and partners.