Senior Software Engineer (Remote)

Overview

About GiveDirectly GiveDirectly (GD) aims to reshape international giving – and millions of lives – by providing cash grants directly to the world’s poorest. The Brookings Institution estimates that $70B of cash transfers would be required to eliminate the poverty gap; the aid sector currently spends $135B each year, much of it on evidence-free interventions. GiveDirectly wants to change that, establishing cash transfers as a benchmark for foreign aid – as the index fund is a benchmark for the financial industry – and in the process accelerating the end of extreme poverty.

GD has raised over $1B since launching in 2011, delivered cash to more than 1.5 million people in 15 different countries, and supported large-scale, experimental research indicating strong recipient impact of our programs. GD has been celebrated as an innovative non-profit by Fast Company and featured in major outlets including the New York Times Magazine, This American Life, Foreign Affairs, and The Economist. Our culture is candid, analytical, agile, and non-hierarchical.

Our global team of about 150, plus country operations teams of about 650, come from 21 countries and speak 69 languages. We work hard to create an environment where all team members can thrive, succeed, and grow. We support flexibility, care for each other, have fun, and create professional growth opportunities. Location: 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. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visas in the U.S. or U.K. at this time.

About This Role

Technology plays a central role in how GiveDirectly delivers cash — identifying recipients in hard-to-reach places, sending payments quickly after disasters, and powering the platforms our donors use to give. 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 across disciplines to solve real-world problems. The specific team you’ll join is still being finalized and could be one of the following:

• Our Programs Engineering team (getting cash in the hands of people experiencing extreme poverty)
• Our Fundraising Engineering team (raising more money for recipients)
• Our International Rapid Response team (getting cash to disaster-affected communities within 5 days of a crisis anywhere in the world)

No matter the team, you’ll play a central role in scaling our impact: getting more money to more people, more efficiently. 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.

Level: Senior Software Engineer

Travel Requirement: Must be able to travel about 1-2 times per year to one of our countries of operation for team retreats or field visits.

What You’ll Do

• Design and build scalable, reliable systems that power core operations — donor platforms, payment delivery to recipients, or crisis response tools reaching hundreds of thousands of people globally.
• Own end-to-end development of new features and services, from architecture through deployment and monitoring.
• Improve developer workflows by strengthening CI/CD pipelines, reducing manual steps, and increasing test coverage.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (product, ops, data) to understand real-world needs and ship tools that directly support program delivery in the field.
• Debug and resolve production issues across the stack, with a focus on root cause analysis and long-term fixes.
• Advocate for sustainable engineering practices, including testing, documentation, and monitoring.
• Help shape our tech roadmap with an eye toward scale, maintainability, and recipient experience.

What You’ll Bring

• Exceptional alignment with GiveDirectly values and demonstrated competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity. Applications from candidates with personal or professional experience in low-income and/or historically marginalized communities we serve are welcome and encouraged.
• Language: English.
• 4+ years of industry experience creating production-caliber software and systems.
• Experience with backend architecture: databases, cloud services, APIs; experience building infrastructure to deploy software.
• Experience with strongly-typed, object-oriented languages (Java, C#, Go, etc.) and scripting languages (Python, Ruby, etc.).
• High degree of ownership and autonomy — proactively improve systems and leave codebase in a better state than you found it.
• Strong analytical skills and communication — ability to break down complex problems, describe trade-offs, and collaborate with cross-functional partners.
• Bonus: Experience using Python and AWS in production.
• Bonus: Experience with payments/financial software and/or microservice/serverless architecture.

Compensation

At GiveDirectly, we strive to pay generously and equitably. We use an accredited third-party salary aggregator to ensure total compensation (base + bonus) falls within the 75th percentile of similar roles at similar organizations. We have a no-negotiation policy to ensure equity across roles. Read more about our compensation philosophy here.

• The United States annual base salary for this role is $157,500
• The Kenya annual base salary for this role is $92,500 USD
• The UK annual base salary for this role is GBP 108,150

This role is fully remote. If you are not based in the US, UK, or Kenya, we will share an estimated salary benchmark for your country during the hiring process.

Why Work at GiveDirectly?

• A positive and supportive team with opportunities for advancement
• A commitment to helping all staff develop and grow
• A competitive salary, including bonus
• A robust health benefits plan (details vary by country)
• Unlimited PTO (we encourage you to take it)
• Desk allowance and flexible work location

Working at GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. Flagging for US applicants: know your rights as an applicant.

Commitment to Safeguarding

As a global organization working with communities to eliminate extreme poverty, GD takes safeguarding seriously. GD is a member of the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and will check with previous employers about any abuse or misconduct involving potential hires. We may conduct other pre-hire screens, including reference checks, background checks, and sanctions screens. These efforts help us build trust with communities and prevent abuse to recipients and staff. GD observes local, national, and international laws protecting people and upholding a policy of zero tolerance for abuse or exploitation.

Reasonable Accommodations

We are committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible work environment. If you require accommodations during the application or interview process, or to perform the essential functions of the role, please email [email protected] with the subject “Accommodation Needed”. We will work with you to ensure reasonable accommodations are made.

Want to put your best foot forward on your GiveDirectly application? Take a look at our Candidate Application Prep Guide!

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