Chief Software Architect

Location: Abuja Work Mode: Primarily onsite, with flexibility for hybrid arrangements as required Employment Type: Full-time Reports To: Chief Executive Officer & Board of Directors Salary: ₦1,200,000 – ₦2,000,000 per month (plus additional benefits)

This role requires a hands-on technical leader with strong software development experience, not just a manager. The ideal candidate must be a builder and system architect who can personally design, develop, and scale secure, high-performance platforms.

You will translate complex government and institutional challenges into practical, scalable software solutions, while driving speed, efficiency, and cost optimization.

Key ResponsibilitiesSoftware Development & Architecture • Design and own the end-to-end architecture of AI-powered digital platforms. • Lead full-stack software development, from system design to deployment and optimization. • Build and oversee MVP-driven product development, ensuring rapid iteration and deployment. • Personally contribute to coding, architecture decisions, and system design where necessary.

AI & Platform Engineering • Develop and deploy AI-native systems, including LLM-powered workflows and intelligent automation. • Integrate AI capabilities into scalable, secure, and production-ready applications.

Security, Compliance & Infrastructure • Own system security, data protection, and governance, especially for sensitive government data. • Implement secure-by-design architecture and ensure compliance with regulatory standards. • Oversee cloud infrastructure, DevOps pipelines, and system reliability.

Leadership & Team Building • Build, mentor, and manage a high-performing engineering team. • Lead hiring decisions and define engineering standards and best practices. • Drive a culture of execution, accountability, and technical excellence.

Stakeholder Engagement • Serve as the primary technical liaison to government stakeholders, boards, and partners. • Clearly communicate complex technical solutions to non-technical audiences.

Execution & Optimization • Drive faster delivery cycles using modern engineering practices and AI tools. • Continuously improve systems and processes to achieve 10x efficiency gains.

Required Experience & QualificationsExperience • Minimum of 10+ years in software engineering and technical leadership roles. • Proven track record of building and deploying scalable, production-grade software platforms. • Strong hands-on coding experience (backend, frontend, or full-stack) is mandatory. • Experience working on AI-driven applications or data-intensive systems is highly preferred. • Background in government, fintech, or enterprise platforms is an added advantage.

Education • Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field preferred. • Practical, hands-on experience is more important than academic credentials.

Other Qualities • Calm under pressure; able to balance long-term strategy with short-term execution. • Can personally build what they architect. • Comfortable defending technical decisions to boards and explaining them to non-technical government stakeholders (e.g., Permanent Secretaries). • Deeply committed to system integrity, security, and public trust.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: ₦1,200,000.00 - ₦2,000,000.00 per month

Application Question(s): • Do you reside in Abuja? • What programming languages do you currently use actively, and when last did you write production-level code? • Have you built or integrated AI/LLM-powered solutions? • This role requires you to be hands-on (coding + architecture) while leading. Are you comfortable with this? (Yes/No)