Senior Software Engineer with Frontend, Architecture & Backend Expertise

Rescue.co is a rapidly growing tech startup revolutionizing emergency response. Our 24/7 Dispatch Center serves millions of Kenyans, while our platform powers Emergency Medical Service apps/clients.

Our vision? Emergency help is minutes away, anytime, anywhere. In the past five years, we've built a lifesaving platform and the largest ambulance and responder network in East Africa. Our platform has slashed response times by over 80%, saving countless lives.

Now, we're expanding and seeking dedicated team members to steer this next phase of growth. If you're passionate, hardworking, and ready to make a difference, join us! We're a diverse team of over 52 specialists in business, operations, software engineering, and emergency dispatch, based in Nairobi but reaching across Kenya and beyond. Focused on achieving goals, we're always refining our tech and operations, guided by values like agility, grit, and innovation.

If you're passionate about making a difference during crises and can stay calm under pressure, we want you. We value teamwork, multitasking, attention to detail, and a love for new technology. Ready to bring your best to work every day, grow your career, and make a real impact? Come join us.

Our Values:

• Consistency: We maintain high standards in everything we do.
• Design with EQ: We create with empathy, focusing on human needs.
• Always Questioning: We encourage curiosity and continuous improvement.
• Alignment: We work together towards common goals.

About the role:

We seek a skilled professional to join the team that will help develop and expand our (live & real-time) platform focusing on both frontend and backend architectures. You should be able to take ownership of a feature from start to finish and front to backend, understanding the entire stack and ideal architecture for scalability. You should have familiarity with working on complex live real-time SaaS platforms that require advance feature/functionality and 99.999% uptime. You will work closely with our dev team to ensure seamless integration and stepwise/modular implementation of new APIs, architectures, and frameworks as well as feature frontends. This role offers the opportunity to lead feature deployment and innovation on a real-time platform, including several data streams, integrations of a variety of clients, solving complex problems, and driving critical architectural changes.

What you'll do: 

Frontend Development

• Design and develop modern, scalable, and high-performance user interfaces using React, Redux, and TypeScript.
• Build reusable, maintainable UI components while ensuring optimal UX.
• Optimize frontend performance through techniques like lazy loading, code splitting, and asset optimization.
• Implement state management solutions and ensure seamless frontend-backend communication using GraphQL, REST, and WebSockets.
• Develop frontend testing strategies, including unit, integration, and end-to-end tests.

Backend Development

• Design and build scalable, event-driven backend services using Node.js and modern web frameworks.
• Develop robust APIs (GraphQL, REST, WebSockets) and optimize their performance, security, and reliability.
• Work with SQL and NoSQL databases, optimizing queries and ensuring data integrity and efficiency.
• Implement authentication, authorization, and security best practices.
• Develop backend testing strategies to maintain high system reliability.

Architecture & Performance Optimization

• Contribute to designing and improving scalable, modular system architectures for both frontend and backend.
• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks in database queries, API calls, and UI rendering.
• Ensure the entire stack follows best practices, clean code principles, and modern development standards.

Collaboration & Leadership

• Participate in pull request reviews, providing feedback on code quality, structure, and best practices.
• Engage in brainstorming sessions to discuss and define new features, architectural improvements, and performance optimizations.
• Work closely with designers, product managers, and engineers to create seamless, end-to-end solutions.
• Advocate for best practices in frontend and backend development, improving team workflows and developer experience.
• Support and mentor other engineers, fostering a collaborative and high-performing development culture.

Requirements

Core Technical Expertise

Frontend Skills:

• Strong experience with React, Redux, TypeScript, and modern JavaScript (ES6+).
• Proficiency in responsive design, CSS methodologies (e.g., BEM), and frontend performance optimization.
• Hands-on experience integrating APIs with GraphQL, REST, and WebSockets.
• Familiarity with frontend build tools, CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing (Jest, Cypress, React Testing Library).

Backend Skills:

• Strong proficiency in Node.js and backend frameworks.
• Experience designing microservices, event-driven architectures, and distributed systems.
• Deep understanding of SQL and NoSQL databases, query optimization, and data modeling.
• Knowledge of authentication, authorization, and security best practices.
• Experience with backend testing frameworks and CI/CD pipelines.

DevOps & Tooling:

• Proficiency in terminal and CLI tools for debugging, automation, and system interactions.
• Experience working with command-line utilities, scripting, and package managers (e.g., npm, yarn, bash scripting).
• Familiarity with Git, version control workflows, and CI/CD pipelines.

Soft Skills:

• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to provide and receive constructive feedback in pull request reviews.
• Problem-solving mindset with a focus on performance, maintainability, and scalability.
• Ability to work effectively in an agile development environment.
• Commitment to continuous learning and staying updated with modern technologies.
  

Bonus Points (Nice to Have):

• Experience with React Native, Flutter, or native iOS/Android development.
• Contributions to open-source projects or an active GitHub profile showcasing relevant work.
• Familiarity with Python or Golang for backend services.
• Experience managing large-scale projects using monorepo structures.
• Hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, or containerized environments.

Benefits

To ensure you bring your 100% self to work, we are happy to share with you what we are offering once you choose to join us at Rescue: 

• A chance to make an impact in a mission-driven organization.
• Fully remote role with the flexibility to work from anywhere.
• Unlimited paid time off.

How to Apply

This role is fully remote and offered on a full-time contract basis. The role is open to candidates residing within the EMEA time zones, spanning GMT to GMT+3. Join us in our mission to serve and uplift our community. Apply now, and let's make a positive impact together! 

P.S. While we're eager to learn about your experience, please submit your impressive journey in a one-page PDF CV. This helps us get started more quickly.

At Rescue.co, we believe in the power of authenticity. We value you for who you are, regardless of your gender, age, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, religion, veteran/military status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by local laws and regulations. Bring your true self to work!