TL;DR

We need a senior full-stack engineer who moves fast, owns outcomes end-to-end, and cares deeply about public safety. You’ll help build the future most-used security platform on the planet.

Why Community Wolf?

• Impact that matters – our tools already keep neighbourhoods safer; your work will reach millions.
• Small, expert pack – you’ll work with founders and first hires only. Low process, high output.
• Real ownership – generous equity within the UK Holding Company and scope to shape product, culture and stack.
• Straight talk, quick shipping – measure in days, not sprints. We prefer “it’s live” to “it’s planned”.
• Strong network – backed by The Baobab Network and plugged into global AI circles.

What we’re looking for:

Must-have

• 5+ years shipping production software across frontend and backend.
• Understanding of Service-Orientated Architecture
• Familiarity and experience with the Meta Cloud API and WhatsApp Business API
• Experienced in the following frameworks: Next.js, React.js and Express.js
• Next.js (serverless), Python, AWS Lambda.
• Working knowledge of MongoDB and event-driven design.
• Comfort integrating LLMs into (tool calling, structured output)
• Has already integrated LLM’s into your workflow, be that coding assistant, MCP’s, or Command-line AI tools.

Nice-to-have

• Golang experience (we may port heavy services later).
• GIS or mapping knowledge.
• Background in public safety or civic tech.
• Built voice or chat agents.
• Ability to demo previous AI/LLM-powered products,systems or services.
• Experience in one of our focus markets outside SA/UK.
• You should enjoy context switching between frontend, backend and infra, hold firm views on code quality yet know when pragmatism wins, and be willing to visit South African townships or Brazilian favelas for field work if needed.

Your day-to-day

• Plan, build, test and ship features across React apps, serverless API and data pipelines.
• Own our Meta and WhatsApp integrations: message ingestion, LLM-driven workflows, safety logic.
• Design scalable, observable services on Cloud Platforms like AWS and Vercel.
• Pair with founders on rapid prototypes; later, harden them for enterprise customers.
• Mentor future engineers; help set engineering standards, incident processes and tooling.
• Speak openly about progress – we share wins and learnings in public.

Our current stack

• Frontend – React 18 / Next.js 14 (App Router, server components).
• Backend – Python (FastAPI), TypeScript/Edge runtime on Vercel, AWS Lambda for heavy jobs.
• Infra – AWS (API Gateway, DynamoDB, S3, EventBridge), Vercel, Terraform CDK.
• AI – OpenRouter, OpenAI, XAI, Claude
• Integrations - Meta, Twillio
• IDE(sort of) - Cursor/Windsurf, Lovable and Claude Code*
• Observability – Grafana Cloud, Prometheus, Sentry

We are forever testing new tools if they cut lead time without adding drag.

*If you aren't using LLM's to help you build then we don't think this role is for you!

The deal

• Salary – R80k reviewed every six months.
• Equity – option grant with standard 4-year vest.
• 25 days holiday plus local public holidays.
• Work kit and co-working budget.
• No red tape – we skip allowances and perks until profitable, then reassess.

How to apply

• Apply on LinkedIn.
• Take-home task – If moved into this stage, build a tiny service (≤ 4 hours).
• Two technical calls – code review & system design.
• Team trial – one paid day with the team (Online, Johannesburg or Cape Town).