About Organization
AfriLabs is a network organization supporting over 500 technology and innovation hubs across 53 African countries. We support the growth of technology hubs and their community to raise high potential entrepreneurs that will stimulate economic growth and social development in Africa. We do this by providing capacity building resources, financing, mentoring and networking opportunities to our network members.
Objective of Position
AfriLabs is seeking experienced and motivated Backend Developer with 3–5 years of experience to design, build, and maintain scalable server-side systems. The ideal candidate has solid knowledge of backend development practices, database management, and API development, with a proven ability to deliver clean, maintainable code and collaborate effectively in a team environment.
Primary Focus: Developing scalable, secure, and well-documented backend services and APIs.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
- Develop, test, and deploy backend services, including APIs and business logic.
- Optimize application performance and scalability.
- Ensure data integrity, security, and efficient database operations.
- Collaborate with frontend developers to integrate user-facing elements with server-side logic.
- Debug and resolve backend issues, ensuring system reliability and uptime.
- Participate in code reviews and mentor junior team members.
- Stay updated on emerging backend technologies and frameworks.
- Mentor junior developers and contribute to code reviews.
Key Deliverables
- APIs & Microservices
- Development of RESTful or GraphQL APIs with proper authentication and authorization mechanisms.
- Microservices architecture implementation where applicable.
- Clear API documentation using Swagger, Postman, or OpenAPI.
- Database Management
- Efficient design and management of relational (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and/or NoSQL (MongoDB, Firebase) databases.
- Database performance optimization and indexing.
- Data migration scripts and backups.
- Security & Authentication
- Implementation of authentication and authorization (OAuth, JWT, etc.).
- Secure data storage and transmission (encryption, SSL, hashing).
- Protection against common vulnerabilities (SQL injection, XSS, CSRF).
- Performance & Scalability
- Code optimization for handling high traffic and large datasets.
- Load balancing, caching (Redis, Memcached), and background task processing (Celery, Sidekiq).
- Implementing rate limiting and API throttling where necessary.
- Testing & Documentation
- Writing unit, integration, and end-to-end tests using Jest, Mocha, or PyTest.
- Producing clear and detailed backend architecture documentation.
- Version Control & CI/CD
- Regular commits and collaboration with frontend teams using Git.
- CI/CD pipeline contributions for automated deployments.
Requirements Qualification
- 3–5 years of experience in backend development.
- Proficiency in server-side programming languages such as Node.js and Python
- Strong knowledge of databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or Redis).
- Experience developing and maintaining RESTful APIs or GraphQL endpoints.
- Security using JWT auth, scheduling with node-cron for task automation, nodemailer for email service
- Familiarity with Git and version control workflows.
- Solid understanding of security principles and best practices (e.g., OWASP).
- Experience with AWS cloud platforms such as s3 buckets, ec2, amplify, api gateway, etc
- Ability to write clean, maintainable, and scalable code.
Reporting and Communication
This position will report to the Senior Technology Officer and provide:
- Weekly status updates.
- Participation in sprint planning and review meetings.
- Documentation of work and contributions.
Duration and Contract Terms
- The contract will be for 4 Months with the possibility of renewal based on performance and project needs.
- Compensation and benefits will be discussed during the hiring process.
Application Process
Interested individuals can send a maximum 1-page cover letter and CV(s)/portfolio(s) to procurement@afrilabs.com by the 31st of March, 2025. Also include your salary range in the cover letter.
AfriLabs will invite only shortlisted applicants for an interview.
DISCLAIMER
AfriLabs reserves the right to select and negotiate with any applicants as it deems in its sole discretion. This advertisement does not constitute a commitment by AfriLabs to award a contract.
This advertisement notice and the application process are totally free: Beware of fraudsters