Position Title
Founder & Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Location
Lusaka, Zambia (Hybrid/Remote)
Employment Type
Full-Time | Founding Team Member | Equity
LendGo is building the future of digital lending and financial inclusion in Africa. We leverage data, automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to create smarter lending decisions, streamline operations, and provide accessible financial services to underserved individuals and businesses.
As a founding CTO, you will play a critical role in shaping the company's technology vision, building scalable products, and leading the development of AI-powered lending solutions.
Role Overview
We are seeking an entrepreneurial and hands-on Founder & CTO with deep expertise in Data Engineering, Automation, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence. The ideal candidate will be responsible for defining and executing LendGo's technology strategy, building our engineering team, and developing innovative products that leverage data to drive lending decisions and operational efficiency.
This is a leadership role suited for someone who enjoys building from the ground up and is passionate about using technology to solve real-world financial challenges in Africa.
Key ResponsibilitiesTechnology Leadership
- Define and execute LendGo's technology roadmap.
- Design scalable, secure, and resilient platform architecture.
- Make key decisions on infrastructure, cloud platforms, and technology stack.
- Build and lead a high-performing engineering and data team.
Data Engineering
- Design and maintain data pipelines and data warehouses.
- Integrate multiple data sources including banking, mobile money, credit bureaus, and alternative data providers.
- Establish data governance, quality, and security standards.
- Build real-time analytics and reporting systems.
Automation
- Automate lending workflows, customer onboarding, KYC, compliance checks, collections, and customer support.
- Implement workflow orchestration and process automation tools.
- Drive operational efficiency through intelligent automation.
Machine Learning & AI
- Develop credit scoring and risk assessment models.
- Build predictive models for fraud detection, customer segmentation, and loan performance.
- Implement AI-powered decision engines.
- Lead the development of generative AI applications for customer service and internal operations.
- Ensure responsible and ethical AI practices.
Required QualificationsEducation
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field.
- Master's degree preferred but not required.
Experience
- 8+ years in software engineering, data engineering, AI, or machine learning.
- 3+ years in a senior technology leadership role.
- Proven experience building and scaling technology products.
- Experience working in fintech, banking, lending, or financial services is highly desirable.
Technical SkillsData Engineering
- Python, SQL, Spark
- Data Warehousing (BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift)
- ETL/ELT pipeline development
- Data Lakes and Data Governance
Machine Learning & AI
- TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-Learn
- Predictive modeling and risk analytics
- MLOps and model deployment
- Large Language Models (LLMs)
- Generative AI applications
Automation
- Workflow automation platforms
- API integrations
- Process automation and orchestration
- DevOps automation
Cloud & Infrastructure
- AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud
- Docker and Kubernetes
- CI/CD pipelines
- Infrastructure as Code
Preferred Experience
- Building digital lending platforms.
- Alternative credit scoring models.
- Mobile money integrations (Airtel Money, MTN MoMo, Zamtel Kwacha).
- Financial regulations in Zambia and broader African markets.
- Startup or founder experience.
Leadership Competencies
- Strategic thinker with strong execution capability.
- Entrepreneurial mindset.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
- Ability to recruit and mentor technical talent.
- Comfortable operating in a fast-paced startup environment.
Compensation
- Significant founding equity stake.
- Performance-based incentives.
- Opportunity to shape one of Africa's next-generation fintech companies.
Ideal Candidate Profile
We are looking for someone who can confidently say:
"I have built data platforms, deployed machine learning models into production, automated business processes, and leveraged AI to create measurable business value. I am excited to build and scale a fintech company from the ground up."