Job Description

About Nova Pioneer

Nova Pioneer is a pan-African network of schools reimagining education to develop innovators and leaders who will shape the future. With campuses across Kenya and South Africa, we deliver rigorous, values-driven learning that equips students with the skills, mindsets, and confidence to thrive in a rapidly changing world. We are extending this impact through blended digital and in-person programmes that help young people thrive after school.

About the Role

We’re looking for a full-stack engineer to help build an internal AI-powered curriculum design tool. The product will support educators in generating, editing, and publishing lesson plans based on Nova Pioneer’s curriculum structures, standards, and existing learning materials.

Key Responsibilities for the Role Include:

• Build and maintain a simple web-based application for teachers and admins.
• Develop the front end for lesson planning workflows and admin user management.
• Build backend services that retrieve curriculum content and generate structured lesson-plan outputs.
• Integrate AI services and semantic search over existing curriculum resources.
• Implement authentication, user roles, access control, and publishing workflows.
• Store, version, and retrieve lesson plans for reuse.
• Collaborate closely with product and education stakeholders to refine the user experience.
• Support testing, iteration, debugging, and deployment.

Required Skills:

• Strong experience as a full-stack engineer.
• Solid backend development skills; backend-heavy profile preferred.
• Experience building web applications from end to end.
• Familiarity with APIs, databases, authentication, and role-based access control.
• Experience working with AI tools or LLM integrations is a plus.
• Ability to work quickly, iterate with feedback, and build fit-for-purpose tools.

Core Skills:

• Experience with education, edtech, or workflow tools.
• Experience with semantic search or retrieval-augmented generation.
• Product mindset and comfort working directly with non-technical stakeholders.

Success Measures:

• A working internal tool that teachers can use to generate lesson plans.
• A system that preserves Nova Pioneer’s curriculum guardrails and structure.
• A reliable backend that stores and reuses approved lesson plans.
• Fast iteration based on educator feedback.

Additional Skills and Requirements:

• You are an excellent written and verbal communicator, able to represent a brand clearly and consistently across every channel and in person.
• You have strong attention to detail and take pride in a polished, on-brand user and partner experience.
• You understand best practices for youth safeguarding, data privacy, and responsible use of technology, ensuring ethical engagement with young people.
• You are a proactive problem solver who identifies issues early and follows through to resolution.
• You thrive in start-up or early-stage environments; able to pivot quickly, manage competing priorities, and deliver under tight timelines.
• You have a heart and belief in the African continent and are keen to shape young minds of innovators and leaders.
• You resonate deeply with our mission and culture principles in developing the next generation of innovators and leaders.

HOW TO APPLY

Does working at Nova Pioneer excite you? If so, then apply now!

To apply, please complete the form on the right-hand side of this page. We cannot process applications that are emailed to us.

Please note: You are encouraged to attach your resume in PDF format to protect formatting. All applications will be reviewed and applicants notified of the next steps.

There are a series of stages in the Nova Pioneer interview process and candidates will be moved forward in the process depending on their success in the previous stage. The process is as follows:

• Phone interview: a short conversation to understand your skills and experience a little better.
• Practical demonstration of what you can do: you will complete a written task or a demonstration related to the role you are applying for. Teachers participate in a half-day selection day at one of our campuses as well as deliver a lesson to a class.
• In-person/virtual interviews: at this point you will visit one of our schools to meet the team and participate in a series of in-person or virtual interviews.
• Final interview: you’ll have a final conversation with the hiring manager before decisions are made.

WORKING AT NOVA PIONEER

Nova Pioneer is a place where our people experience tremendous growth, fast!

We invest heavily in the growth of our people because it leads to greater mastery in both us and our students. “Novaneers” work harder and work longer hours than most schools but as a result, the growth they experience is extraordinary.

We offer consistent and ongoing personal development and provide clear career pathways that ensure that our people are always achieving their personal and professional best.

Nova Pioneer has a highly energetic, entrepreneurial environment where our people get to bring their creative and innovative ideas to life. We look for people who are flexible and who are able to adapt and respond quickly to adversity with a positive, can-do attitude (there are no problems, only solutions!).

We welcome challenges and roll with the punches because it makes us, and our students, better. There is no problem too big for us!

We bring infectious energy and enthusiasm to everything we do because joy fuels our work and learning.

Read more about our culture principles here.

Nova Pioneer will never request an application fee from candidates. If you are contacted with a request to pay a fee from someone claiming to be a Nova Pioneer Talent or Recruitment representative, please do not pay them and report it to us immediately on talent.ke@novapioneer.com or talent.sa@novapioneer.com.