Tech Lead - Aftersales Engineering

Stack

Responsibilities

• ▹Own the technical implementation of aftersales flows: device swap, repair, insurance claims, return and end-of-loan processing
• ▹Own the aftersales data layer capturing post-sale events, device state changes and outcomes for reporting and operations
• ▹Maintain the integration and contract with the Device Management Engineering squad
• ▹Design for operational configurability so market-specific processes need no engineering changes
• ▹Build dashboards and reporting for the aftersales operational team
• ▹Own the squad's architecture, API contracts, data models, integration patterns and Architectural Decision Records
• ▹Enforce Watu engineering standards: GitHub, mandatory PR review, coverage gates, OpenAPI documentation, runbooks, secrets management
• ▹Review and approve all squad pull requests, maintain the Definition of Done and own the release process
• ▹Drive sprint planning with the Product Owner: translate user stories into technical tasks, surface dependencies, flag risks
• ▹Review external partner code via PR access where the squad governs a partner
• ▹Support 4-6 direct reports day to day: unblocking, technical growth, direct and timely feedback
• ▹Model AI-native engineering within the squad

Requirements

• ▹7+ years of software engineering experience, including at least 2 years as the de facto technical authority for a significant product area or team
• ▹Strong backend fundamentals: distributed systems, event-driven architecture, API design, database design, testing strategy
• ▹Proven ability to give meaningful code review across the squad's full stack
• ▹Experience in an Agile/Scrum or Kanban environment, driving sprint ceremonies, backlog refinement and delivery alongside a Product Owner
• ▹Clear, direct communicator with engineers, Product and the Head of Engineering
• ▹Experience building post-sale or after-market workflow systems (warranty, repair, insurance, returns)
• ▹Strong integration engineering skills: service-to-service contracts in microservices kept stable across independent deployments
• ▹Understanding of operational workflow design: state machines, task queues, human-in-the-loop steps
• ▹Comfort in a domain where business processes are still maturing
• ▹OWASP Top 10 awareness as a baseline
• ▹Active use of AI/LLM tooling in the daily workflow

Nice to have

• ▹Experience in fintech, payments or digital financial services in Africa or LATAM
• ▹Experience governing external engineering partners or SaaS vendor integrations
• ▹Hands-on Java backend development (the primary backend language)
• ▹Familiarity with event-driven architecture, Kafka or equivalent message brokers

Soft skills

About the company

Watu is a fintech company operating across Africa and Latin America, providing device financing and financial services to customers historically excluded from the formal financial system. It finances motorcycles, smartphones and other productive assets through a technology-first, data-driven approach. Its platform supports millions of customer journeys across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and beyond, with continued expansion into LATAM.