Simprints Technology Ltd

Simprints Technology Ltd

http://simprints.com
Simprints builds identification systems for the "last mile" that integrate accurate, safe, and robust biometric technology into existing mobile tools. We are working at the exciting intersection of biometrics, technology and international development. Our goal is to radically disrupt the inaccurate way we currently track and deliver essential services, instead building a world where every person counts in the fight against poverty. Working with mentors from top companies like Google, Microsoft and ARM, we design and develop hardware and software using cutting edge and modern tools like Firebase, Android Architecture Components, and Kotlin that reach millions of beneficiaries. Simprints aims to support millions of people by 2021. Where we came from: In February 2015, Simprints ended its journey as a student group, and launched as a 'real' company. And by real we mean four very broke students camping out in co-working space, with a sort-of-working prototype and £90k in the bank. Three (almost 4!) years later we have come an extraordinarily long way. We have 5x-ed in head count and 20x-ed in budget, bootstrapping over $5M in funding from grants and revenues without taking a penny from investors. We have prototyped, developed, and launched the world's first biometric system design for frontline health and aid workers. Our technology stack spans manufacturing, mobile, cloud, and biometric algorithms. We've collected over 135,000 fingerprints to design a system truly intended to reach the last mile, built a global network of supporters spanning ARM to Google to McKinsey, and we're continuing to lead the fight for better privacy standards for biometrics. In 2017, experts from USAID, DFID, and the Gates Foundation awarded Simprints $2M as "one of the 15 most promising innovations to save the lives of mothers and children in developing countries". Most importantly, we are using cutting edge technology to fight poverty with partners in some of the most challenging places on earth. Our tech: The team: Over the last three years, our tech team has grown from our brilliant and hardworking PJ-wearing and slipper-wearing CTO to a team of 13 engineers. Engineering at Simprints focuses on learning, autonomy and excellence. In order to maintain these values as we grow Simprints loosely adopted agile squads from Spotify. We’ve got a ton to do, and only a few people to do it with! What our developers love:Tech is our core business. This is not a non-profit with an "IT department." Tech is what we do. It is how we approach every problem, and it is the core of our solution to a world with less poverty. Be a problem solver not a ticket pusher. Product brings us the problem we need to solve. As an engineer you are responsible for putting together the build specs, the execution timeline, and making sure it’s the most robust solution possible. You own your work. Learn from the best. Simprints values and encourages continuous learning, knowledge sharing and personal development. We do this through tech relationships (e.g. ARM, Google Deepmind + Firebase, Microsoft Research), a yearly education budget (e.g Udacity degrees, coursera, EdX, conferences), and internal lunch & learn sessions. Push modern tools to the limit. When Simprints builds something we always start with the same premise: How does the best in class do it? What are the tools they are taking advantage of? What is the best architecture to tackle this problem? How can we apply that to the developing world? Stay agile. Simprints has a tiny tech team for what we are trying to accomplish. We pull this off by staying agile and letting our engineers own what they build, from conception, to execution, to deployment. Fortnightly sprints with daily stand-ups, weekly demos and biweekly retrospectives ensure we are holding each other accountable and continuously pushing iterations. From the silicon to the cloud. Hardware, firmware, android and cloud, we do it all. Our developers have the opportunity to experience the full tech stack. Read more about our stack in the “tools of our trade” section. Build tech that scales. We have less than 15 engineers, and our next project is 4.2 million people. Each developer has a direct impact on millions.

Simprints Technology Ltd

Android Engineering Lead

Overview

Simprints builds innovative technology aimed to help some of the world's most vulnerable and marginalised populations access essential services. We work to radically increase transparency and effectiveness in global development, making sure that every vaccine, every dollar, every public good reaches the people who need them most. We design and develop both hardware and software by applying modern tools and pioneering technology in new, challenging contexts where there is little to no internet connectivity. Simprints is currently on track to help over 1.4 million people access critical services by 2021.

We are looking for an Android-focused engineering lead to join our growing tech team, working on either our core Simprints ID platform or specific projects. You will be responsible for the design, development, and maintenance of Simprints applications and their integrations, both with our internal back-end services and with external data collection applications. You will work on an agile, collaborative team with a commitment to clean code and robust design, along with a strong culture of continuous learning and improvement. You will help the project management team assess feature feasibility and create a plan of action. If building technology for global health sounds exciting, we want to meet you!

Responsibilities

  • Design technical infrastructure to help Simprints scale to support projects all over the world

  • Team with other Android engineers to write robust code that is easy to test and maintain, and runs reliably in challenging settings

  • Work on cross-functional projects by collaborating with back-end engineers, data analysts and project managers

  • Mentor junior engineers by guiding them through code reviews and making design decisions

  • Lead a small to medium team (2-5 engineers) and assess risks

  • Work close with project management to establish timelines and allocate resources

  • Participate in interviews and support hiring of new engineers

  • Create specification documents that outline designed solutions and a plan of action to achieve them

Minimum qualifications

  • Deep understanding of the Android SDK with at least 5 years of experience building, integrating, testing, and supporting Android applications for mobile and tablet devices

  • Solid understanding of the full software development lifecycle including application architecture design

  • Experience working within a team with a focus on code quality, where testing, code reviews, and continuous integration are the norm

  • Working knowledge of Kotlin (our code base is written entirely in Kotlin)

  • Familiarity with third-party libraries like Coroutines and Koin

  • Experience with Android Jetpack, especially Architecture Components (ViewModel, LiveData, Room, WorkManager)

Bonus points

  • BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science or a related field

  • Familiarity in working within a culture that incorporates radical candour, 360 feedback, and other techniques to build a high-trust team

  • Desire to become people manager

  • Experience building applications for offline or low-connectivity settings

Why Simprints?

  • Use the latest technologies:

    • Languages: Kotlin

    • Libraries: Jetpack, Coroutines, Koin, WorkManager

    • Testing: Mockk, Firebase Test Lab

    • Cloud: Firebase, BigQuery, Cloud Functions

    • Other tools: Bitbucket Pipelines, Jira

  • Make a positive impact on millions of the most vulnerable people in the world

  • Work in a team of dedicated and talented engineers committed to writing high quality code

  • Opportunities to see our tech in action by joining our deployments around the world: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, or Zimbabwe just to name a few

  • Incredible perks

    • Unlimited paid time off. Last year, the average Simprints employee took a total of 31 days off (annual leave plus UK bank holidays), an increase from 26 days two years ago

    • Truly flexible working hours. More efficient late at night? That’s fine by us, start after lunch. We are looking for people who get the job done, not for people who get the job done between 9am and 5pm

    • A generous Eduprints budget to spend on individual learning. In the past, Simprints engineers have spent this on attending tech conferences, enrolling in a Udacity nanodegree, and all the books you could possibly read

    • Two ‘LEGO Days’ each quarter where you can work on any project you want. Past projects have ranged from exploring image processing techniques to building a LEGO train to deliver beer around the office