Chief Technology Officer

Shukran is a fast-growing fintech helping service workers in hospitality and tourism access tips digitally—and much more. Beyond tipping, our platform unlocks financial services like credit services, insurance, and digital payments for a previously underserved workforce.

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As the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), you will lead Shukran’s end-to-end technology strategy and guide the architectural evolution of our platform as we scale across multiple markets including Kenya, Zanzibar, Tanzania, and Botswana.

This role requires a seasoned technology leader with deep engineering expertise, strong product instincts, and experience scaling platforms in early-stage environments. You will architect modern systems, integrate AI into meaningful real-world use cases, and build products that service workers, hospitality clients, and partners genuinely love.

You will work closely with executive leadership to build a world-class engineering culture and ensure

1. Strategic Technology Leadership

• Lead the development and execution of Shukran’s long-term technology strategy aligned with business goals and growth plans.
• Define and own the technical vision ensuring systems are secure, scalable, and optimized for performance and cost.
• Advise the CEO and leadership team on emerging technologies, risks, and innovation opportunities.
• Translate business, operational, and product requirements into clear engineering roadmaps and implementation plans.
• Strengthen organizational readiness for future innovations including digital payments, platform automations, and AI-driven intelligence.

2. Platform Architecture, Engineering & Delivery Oversight

• Architect and guide development of core systems powering Shukran’s platform workflows.
• Oversee backend, frontend, middleware, API integrations, and mobile components.
• Establish and enforce engineering standards: CI/CD, QA, monitoring, documentation, and release processes.
• Troubleshoot and resolve high-level technical challenges, ensuring reliability, uptime, and data integrity.
• Continuously optimize system components to support new features, customer scale, and financial transaction volumes.

3. Payment Infrastructure, External Integrations & Partnerships

• Oversee integration, scaling, and maintenance of payment rails, KYC/AML systems, card issuing/capture workflows, and settlement processes.
• Evaluate new partners, vendors, and technologies for strategic adoption.
• Lead technical engagements with regulators, auditors, enterprise clients, and strategic partners.
• Provide expert input in investor, payments, and compliance due diligence processes.

4. Data Systems, Analytics & Automation

• Design and maintain Shukran’s data architecture ensuring security, accuracy, and reliability across all workflows.
• Lead detection and resolution of data anomalies and reconciliation issues.
• Identify opportunities for automation across operations, support, finance, and product workflows.
• Introduce AI/ML where practical to improve fraud detection, customer insights, automated reporting, and operational efficiency.

5. Security, Compliance & Risk Management

• Enforce robust standards of system security, data privacy, infrastructure protection, and access control.
• Ensure compliance with fintech, payments, and regulatory requirements (KYC, AML, PCI-level standards where applicable).
• Establish monitoring and alerting systems to detect failures, anomalies, or fraudulent activity.
• Lead responses to security incidents, outages, or technical risks.

6. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Operational Support

• Work closely with Product teams to refine requirements, validate user needs, and enhance product-market fit.
• Provide technical support for operational issues impacting customers, partners, or internal teams.
• Set up internal tools, environments, and permissions that enhance productivity across teams.

7. Team Leadership, Coaching & Capability Building

• Mentor engineers and foster a culture of ownership, learning, and high performance.
• Assist in hiring, onboarding, and structuring a world-class engineering team.
• Establish engineering practices that emphasize reliability, testing, documentation, and continuous improvement.
• Lead by example through clarity, communication, and high standards.

• 15+ years of software engineering and technical leadership experience.
• Proven track record of building and scaling tech products from concept to traction, ideally across multiple startups.
• Deep expertise in cloud infrastructure, scalable backend systems, and modern DevOps practices.
• Hands-on experience with AI/ML systems: LLMs, NLP, recommendation engines, computer vision, chatbots, predictive models, etc.
• Strong product sense with the ability to collaborate closely with design and product teams.
• Experience leading diverse engineering teams in high-growth, early-stage environments.
• Excellent communication and ability to simplify technical complexity for non-technical audiences.
• Deep commitment to purpose-driven innovation and Africa’s digital future.

Leadership, Mindset & Product Excellence

• Builder’s Mindset: You are obsessed with creating high-utility, well-crafted solutions that solve real problems.
• Visionary Yet Hands-On: You set long-term direction but can roll up your sleeves to unblock technical execution.
• Product Obsession: You deeply care about usability, customer experience, and building products people truly rely on.
• AI-Curious & Practical: You understand where AI/ML can create real value — and where it shouldn’t be applied.
• Collaborative Leader: You coach, elevate, and multiply the impact of engineers, PMs, and designers around you.
• Mission Alignment: You’re excited about transforming Africa through innovation and empowering service workers.

Integrity, Professionalism & Accountability

• High Integrity: You make decisions that prioritize user trust, system security, and ethical responsibility.
• Professionalism: You operate reliably, communicate clearly, uphold commitments, and bring a calm, structured approach to complex challenges.
• Ownership & Accountability: You take responsibility for outcomes, maintain high standards, and consistently deliver excellence.

Fintech, Payments & Systems Reliability Traits

• Financial Systems Discipline: You understand the precision, compliance requirements, and risk controls needed in financial infrastructure.
• Security-First Mindset: You design secure-by-default systems that protect user data, transactions, and infrastructure at all times.
• Compliance-Oriented Thinking: You work comfortably within KYC, AML, PCI-level obligations and design systems that meet regulatory needs by default.
• Resilience & Reliability Focus: You prioritize uptime, redundancy, and system fault tolerance — because financial platforms cannot fail.
• Operational Excellence: You value documentation, observability, monitoring, testing, and rigorous engineering processes.
• Vendor & Integration Maturity: You know how to evaluate, integrate, and manage fintech partner systems (payments, KYC, issuing, settlement) sustainably and securely.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: You rely on structured analytics, logs, telemetry, and data patterns to improve performance, detect anomalies, and guide architecture decisions.
• ⭐ Execution, Innovation & Adaptability
• Platform Thinking: You design scalable systems that support multiple markets, services, and future product lines.
• Performance Under Ambiguity: You thrive in dynamic, evolving startup environments and make sound decisions with imperfect information.
• GTMD (Get Things Massively Done): You combine clarity, urgency, and execution excellence to ship meaningful outcomes quickly.

Our Internal Tech Stack

• Cloud: AWS, GCP
• Microservices: Kubernetes, Docker
• Backend: Python (Django, Flask, FastAPI), Golang
• Frontend: React, Next.js, TypeScript
• Mobile: React Native for cross platform, Swift
• Database: PostgreSQL, Vertex AI-integrated datasets

• Opportunity to shape the long-term tech strategy of a fast-scaling, purpose-driven fintech.
• Ability to lead AI-powered innovation solving real-world challenges in African markets.
• A creative, high-trust environment where builders and innovators thrive.
• Competitive compensation and leadership visibility across our markets.
• A pathway to build a legacy transforming financial inclusion at scale.

To apply for this position, please click the "Apply on Company Website" button to submit your application through the company's application system.

Application deadline: January 05, 2026