Department/Group: VENN
Reporting To: Senior Software Engineer - Backend
Years of Experience 4+ years
Travel Required: 10%

About Raising The Village

We are Raising The Village (RTV) – an international development organization and a registered charity – on a mission to end ultra-poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Raising The Village is a fastgrowing organization on an accelerated growth path. We have 120+ national staff in Uganda and a team of 8 people in North America working together to lift communities out of ultra-poverty in lastmile villages. We operate at the intersection of direct implementation and advanced data analytics to inform progress, decision-making, and impact.

To date we have supported more than 665,000 people through our innovative holistic approach and are on track to expand to reaching one million people annually in the region by 2027.

We have achieved this tremendous growth with the support of our incredible partners from all around the globe who believe in our model and impact. Find out more about our programs and impact at: www.raisingthevillage.org.

Job Description

The Software Engineer – Backend plays a key role in the design, development, optimization, and maintenance of back-end infrastructure and services for web and mobile applications across RTV’s digital ecosystem. He or She works closely with Frontend Engineers, UI/UX Engineers, Quality Assurance Engineers, DevOps Engineers, and Product managers to deliver intuitive, scalable, and secure systems that directly support our mission to end ultra-poverty.

Key Responsibilities

1. Backend Development

• Develop and maintain scalable backend services and APIs using PHP Laravel and Node.js.
• Build and maintain RESTful and GraphQL endpoints for seamless integration across platforms.
• Optimize application performance across the stack for speed, scalability, and responsiveness.

2. Architecture & System Design

• Collaborate on overall system architecture with focus on maintainability, modularity, and reusability.
• Work within microservices architecture and contribute to service decomposition, containerization, and API-driven integration.
• Support cloud infrastructure planning and automation (AWS, Terraform, CI/CD).

3. Database Management:

• Design and optimize database schemas, queries, and indexing for efficient data retrieval.
• Implement database solutions (SQL, NoSQL) that meet application requirements.
• Ensure data consistency, availability, and reliability.

4. Security and Compliance:

• Implement security best practices to protect data and systems.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations related to data privacy and security.

5. Documentation & Team Collaboration

• Write clear and maintainable documentation for code, architecture, API endpoints, and workflows.
• Engage in daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and product planning cycles.
• Provide technical mentorship and peer support where relevant.

6. User & Technical Support

• Provide second-level technical support for issues escalated from users/clients.
• Troubleshoot user-reported bugs, performance issues, and integration concerns in collaboration with QA and DevOps teams.
• Support user onboarding, prepare technical documentation, and develop usage guides and training materials.
• Collect, analyze, and integrate user feedback into the development lifecycle to improve system usability and performance.

Technical Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering.
• 4+ years of backend development experience with a proven portfolio of applications.
• Proficiency in:
  • PHP Laravel, Express.js (Node.js) for backend development.
  • Microservices architecture, including containerization with Docker and Kubernetes.
  • RESTful and GraphQL API design and implementation.
  • Cloud platforms, specifically AWS, for deployments and infrastructure management.
  • Database management (SQL and NoSQL) and query optimization.
• DevOps tools and CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD).
• Familiarity with Object oriented programing and asynchronous programming, authentication protocols, and secure coding practices.

Personal Attributes

• Strong team collaboration skills.
• Problem-solving mindset with analytical skills.
• Passion for delivering high-quality user experiences and backend solutions.
• Ability to work independently and adapt to a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to integrity and innovation.

Raising The Village is committed to Equity and Inclusion in the workplace and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

• Develop and maintain scalable backend services and APIs using PHP Laravel and Node.js.
• Build and maintain RESTful and GraphQL endpoints for seamless integration across platforms.
• Optimize application performance across the stack for speed, scalability, and responsiveness.
• Collaborate on overall system architecture with focus on maintainability, modularity, and reusability.
• Work within microservices architecture and contribute to service decomposition, containerization, and API-driven integration.
• Support cloud infrastructure planning and automation (AWS, Terraform, CI/CD).
• Design and optimize database schemas, queries, and indexing for efficient data retrieval.
• Implement database solutions (SQL, NoSQL) that meet application requirements.
• Ensure data consistency, availability, and reliability.
• Implement security best practices to protect data and systems.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations related to data privacy and security.
• Write clear and maintainable documentation for code, architecture, API endpoints, and workflows.
• Engage in daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and product planning cycles.
• Provide technical mentorship and peer support where relevant.
• Provide second-level technical support for issues escalated from users/clients.
• Troubleshoot user-reported bugs, performance issues, and integration concerns in collaboration with QA and DevOps teams.
• Support user onboarding, prepare technical documentation, and develop usage guides and training materials.
• Collect, analyze, and integrate user feedback into the development lifecycle to improve system usability and performance.

• PHP Laravel
• Node.js
• Microservices architecture
• Docker
• Kubernetes
• RESTful API design
• GraphQL API design
• AWS
• SQL
• NoSQL
• DevOps tools
• CI/CD pipelines
• Object oriented programming
• Asynchronous programming
• Authentication protocols
• Secure coding practices

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering.
• 4+ years of backend development experience with a proven portfolio of applications.
• Proficiency in PHP Laravel, Express.js (Node.js) for backend development.
• Proficiency in Microservices architecture, including containerization with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Proficiency in RESTful and GraphQL API design and implementation.
• Proficiency in Cloud platforms, specifically AWS, for deployments and infrastructure management.
• Proficiency in Database management (SQL and NoSQL) and query optimization.
• Experience with DevOps tools and CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD).
• Familiarity with Object oriented programing and asynchronous programming, authentication protocols, and secure coding practices.
• Strong team collaboration skills.
• Problem-solving mindset with analytical skills.
• Passion for delivering high-quality user experiences and backend solutions.
• Ability to work independently and adapt to a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to integrity and innovation.