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Title: Senior Associate Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)
Team:Engineering
Location: Nairobi, Kenya (with regular field exposure to schools/kitchens/ops sites)
Reports to:Engineering Manager (with day-to-day collaboration across Product, Engineering, Design, Data, and Operations)

Hungry kids can’t learn or grow.

Food4Education is an award-winning, locally rooted, and African-led solution to end classroom hunger. Building on more than a decade of learning by doing, we’re powering a new school feeding industry and sharing our blueprint to scale sustainable, nutritious, and affordable school feeding programs across Africa.

Today, we serve 600,000 kids DAILY in Kenya. But every day, we deliver more than a meal – improving nutrition and education outcomes for children while also creating jobs and opportunities for whole communities.

We are an experienced and trusted non-profit partner that operates with the excellence of a global business, reinvesting the value we create into local economies.

To learn more, please visit www.food4education.org

Our Values

At Food for Education, our values are guiding principles that provide us with purpose and direction and set the tone for our interactions with all stakeholders:

• Build with excellence and curiosity - We’re not afraid to try new things and iterate as much as we can to find the best and most efficient way to get results;

• Be the change you seek - We acknowledge that continuous improvement is a shared responsibility;

• We do what we say; and say what we do - We embrace an ownership mentality;

• Ask why; and commit - Share openly and question respectfully and commit fully. When we understand the why, we are able to work with a purpose.

We’re looking for a Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) who will champion the quality of our technology, ensuring every release is robust, reliable, and built for real-world challenges. Your work will directly safeguard the systems that connect children to nutritious meals every day.

You’ll design and drive automated and manual testing strategies for our mobile and web platforms, collaborating closely with engineers, product managers, and field teams. By deeply understanding the operational realities of schools, kitchens, and logistics, you’ll anticipate edge cases and prevent failures before they reach our users. Your attention to detail and proactive approach will help us deliver technology our stakeholders can trust no matter the device, connectivity, or environment..

• Own the end-to-end testing lifecycle for new features and modules—from requirement review → test planning → automation → execution → reporting → iterative improvement.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Design, Data, and Operations to define quality criteria and ship reliable solutions in iterative modules (Agile delivery, frequent releases).

• Design, build, and maintain automated test frameworks for multiple user personas (e.g., parents, tappers, school admins, kitchen teams, internal ops) and ensure coverage for role-based workflows.

• Develop and execute tests with operational constraints in mind: offline-first or low-connectivity patterns, device realities (older Androids), and high-stakes accuracy.

• Work closely with engineers to de-risk releases before deployment through rigorous automation and exploratory testing.

• Contribute to the evolution of our QA processes and tooling, advocating for best practices in CI/CD, regression prevention, and test data management.

• Continuously analyze test results, identify root causes of issues, and drive actionable improvements to critical flows.

• Communicate clearly, present findings and recommendations in reviews, and keep stakeholders aligned without drama.

• Maintain strong handoff discipline: clean test documentation, reusable scripts, and developer-friendly bug reports.

• 3–6 years experience in software testing or test automation, owning quality for complex features in a cross-functional team.

• Deep knowledge of test automation frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Appium, Cypress, or similar) for both mobile and web.

• Strong understanding of QA fundamentals: test strategy, planning, execution, reporting, and bug lifecycle management.

• Proficiency with at least one programming language (e.g., Python, Java, JavaScript).

• Experience working iteratively (Agile-style), shipping in increments, and improving based on feedback and data.

• Ability to translate messy real-world requirements into clear, testable cases—without over-engineering.

• Clear communicator: can explain trade-offs, align stakeholders, and collaborate tightly with engineers and product managers.

• Experience designing and executing tests for offline or low-bandwidth environments, especially in emerging-market or resource-constrained settings.

• Familiarity with the use of AI in testing.

• Familiarity with operational support tools such as logistics platforms, inventory management systems, field operations apps, or administrative dashboards.

• Hands-on experience integrating automated test suites into CI/CD workflows (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or similar tools) to ensure rapid, reliable deployments.

• Confidence in conducting acceptance testing or validating software to ensure solutions perform as expected.

We are an equal opportunity employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, colour, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.

Career Growth and Development

We have a strong culture of constant learning and we invest in developing our people. You will have weekly check-ins with your manager, and regular feedback on your performance. We hold career reviews every six months and set aside time to discuss your aspirations and career goals. You will have the opportunity to shape a growing organisation and build a rewarding, long-term career.

We aim to contact all our applicants, but due to the high volume of applications only shortlisted candidates are contacted. If you do not hear from us within two weeks your application might not be successful on this occasion. This does not mean you will not be considered for future roles so please keep an eye on our job board and apply for positions that match your skills and experience.