Reports to: Senior Engineering Manager

Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Start Date: June or July 2019 

Who we are

D-tree International is a leading digital health organization. We work to improve the quality of health systems in low and middle-income countries by exploiting digital technology in innovative ways. We are an interdisciplinary organization, working at the intersection of global health and technology. Expertise in both domains is essential to design and deploy systems which are both appropriate to particular contexts and effective in improving health outcomes. Our work is diverse, ranging from developing tools to supporting governments to engage with the private sector in Liberia, to an emergency referral system providing life-saving emergency transport to women and babies in Tanzania. We are currently supporting the Ministry of Health in Zanzibar to formalize a national digitally-enabled community health system which will utilize digital tools for more than 2,000 community health workers to provide community-level health services at scale.

These systems are cost-effective, significantly improve health systems and save lives. We are well positioned to expand our reach and impact throughout Tanzania in 2019 and beyond. We are looking to hire a Software Developer to diversify our in-house digital expertise to configure and digital systems on multiple software platforms.

Who you are

We are seeking a full-time Software Developer to work closely with the Director of Digital Solutions and Engineering Manager to design, develop, test and maintain mobile applications (Android) and back ends D-tree is using to build digital systems. This is a dynamic and challenging role requiring an individual with strong organization and communication skills as well as a solid background in professional Software Engineering.

You are someone who is always curious and an independent worker. You are just as comfortable learning new software platforms as you are working in a multidisciplinary team or meeting health workers in a village to understand the user experience. You have a passion for using technology to improve health systems. You are someone who can also clearly communicate about complex technical topics to non-technical audiences. You have worked as a software developer in multidisciplinary teams, developing, deploying and maintaining moderately complex web and mobile applications.

What you will do

Your main role will be to work with the D-tree technical team globally and in Tanzania to design, build, deploy and maintain mobile applications and back-ends. We support NGOs and governments to improve health systems with the technology that best fits the context. Working with our Engineering Manager, you will understand and define what it takes to build digital health systems to improve people’s well-being and reach our program goals. You will work with platform providers, external software developers and our team to build, configure or extend digital health tools. Once applications are deployed, you will manage troubleshooting and user support and participate in continuous evaluation and improvement.

Who we are looking for

We are looking for a motivated, passionate individual who is willing to wear multiple hats and do what it takes to make our programs succeed. At D-tree we are trying to push the envelope regarding what is possible with digital health systems. We are working in environments with extreme constraints and are looking for people who are inspired by these restrictions to come up with creative solutions. The following attributes are a general overview, but we will consider individuals who do not meet all of the details below if you have the right skillset and attitude.

Essential qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of work experience in a fast moving software development environment building Android applications
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field demonstrating computer science or software engineering skills (e.g. IT, computer science, information systems)
• Excellent analytic skills; ability to think logically and rationally about problems
• Must be able to work independently, multi-task, collaborate with a distributed team, be persistent and work under tight deadlines with minimal supervision
• Excellent written and spoken English
• Committed to solving some of the most pressing development challenges with an interdisciplinary and dedicated team

Desired qualifications

• Experience with Mobile HIS such as OpenSRP or DHIS2 (this is highly desired!)
• Experience with mobile health platforms or mobile data collection tools
• Experience with HTML, CSS, asynchronous JavaScript in a mobile web development context
• Experience with backend frameworks (node.js or java based), and document-based as well as relational database systems

Personal characteristics

• A can-do attitude: You remain optimistic in the face of adversity and creatively solve problems to get things done.
• An exceptional communicator: You understand complex technical topics and are able to communicate them effectively to non-technical audiences.
• A systems thinker: You are able to understand linkages and interactions between individual components in a health system, and design solutions to strengthen the overall system.
• An innovator: You enjoy thinking outside of the box and want to use that thinking to solve pressing global health problems.
• A detail oriented & strategic thinker: You pay attention to small details and focus on quality and consistency, but also have the ability to see the big picture and think strategically.