Lead AI Engineer - Financial Inclusion at M-KOPA

About the Job

• We're hiring our first Lead AI Engineer to lead a team that designs, ships, and scales automations and AI agents across M-KOPA. 
• This is a brand-new team within the business - the tech foundation is already proven, and now we need someone to lead it, scale it, and define what it becomes.

The Impact 

• Your automations and agents will directly improve how 2,300+ employees work across our global operations. 
• We've already helped over 7 million customers access over $2 billion in credit - and the tools you build will help that mission scale further and faster. 
• It's your chance to be part of something that's literally transforming lives across an entire continent.

The Opportunity

• Mission-driven engineering: Every automation you build helps internal teams and customer-facing staff deliver financial inclusion to Africa's Every Day Earners
• Global recognition: Join a company named by TIME 100 as one of the world's most influential and by the Financial Times as Africa's fastest-growing for 4 consecutive years (2022–2025)
• Scale challenges: 2,500+ employees across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, the UK, and Europe - internal teams that can't scale by hiring forever need intelligent tooling that actually works
• Environmental impact: We're carbon-negative, having displaced over 2 million tonnes of emissions.

What You'll Do

• At M-KOPA, you'll lead the AI Operations team from day one - owning delivery, growing the function, and proving the value. 
• Your team builds automations and agents for internal use and serves as internal consultants, helping Engineering integrate AI into customer-facing products. 
• Join us in combining cutting-edge AI tooling with purpose-driven work that makes digital and financial inclusion possible across Africa.

Responsibilities

• Lead two AI Ops Engineers — own their delivery, development, and day-to-day work
• Prioritize efficiently — manage competing requests from multiple teams by applying a clear prioritization framework you'll help develop and improve
• Build and ship automations and agents that measurably improve how internal teams and customer-facing staff work
• Keep the AI tooling stack healthy as usage scales across 2,500+ employees
• Stay current on emerging AI tools and technologies - know what's hype and what's actually useful
• Help refine AI training for the wider organization, including Engineering teams.

Technical Environment:

• AI & Agentic Frameworks: Claude, Claude Code, Anthropic tooling, LangChain, MCP, Google ADK (or similar agentic tooling)
• Automation & Prototyping: Scripting, workflow tools, AI-assisted development, rapid prototyping (Vercel/Railway)
• Enterprise Tooling: Identity automation (Entra), internal platforms, Notion, HiBob integrations
• Existing Foundation: Twelve months of Claude, Notion, HiBob, and Entra automations already running in production.

Our Approach:

• Build, don't just advise — this is a hands-on team that ships working automations and agents
• Prove the value, then expand — start with two engineers, demonstrate impact, grow from there
• Product-focused mindset — treat internal teams as customers and build tooling that works
• Cut through the hype — evaluate emerging AI tools on practical value, not marketing buzz.

What You Need

• We're looking for someone with a strong technical background and product-focused. You won't be building models - we have Data Science teams for that. 
• You'll be building agents, shipping automations, and leading a team that makes M-KOPA's internal operations smarter and faster.

Required Experience:

• Hands-on experience building automations — scripting, workflow tools, or AI-assisted development
• Hands-on experience building agents using agentic frameworks — LangChain, MCP, Google ADK or similar
• Background in enterprise tooling — rapid prototyping tools (Vercel/Railway), identity automation (Entra), or internal platforms
• People leadership experience — you've led or mentored engineers and can own a team's delivery and development.

Why This Role?

• This is a brand new team within the business, reporting to the Director of Security. 
• The tech stack is proven - twelve months of Claude, Notion, HiBob, and Entra automations already running. 
• The team structure is what's new. That's yours to shape. You'll start with two engineers. Prove the value. Expand from there.
• The problems are complex. 2,500+ employees across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, the UK, and Europe. 
• Internal teams that can't scale by hiring forever. Customer-facing staff who need tools that actually work.
• M-KOPA provides affordable financial and digital products to underserved communities across Africa - unlocking access to smartphones, credit, and insurance for millions of people. 
• The automations and agents you build don't just save time internally - they help that mission reach more people.