Software Engineer

Job description

Company: TapTip

Location: Remote / Zambia

Position Type: Founding Team / Full-Time or Contract-to-Full-Time

Industry: Fintech · Payments · Mobile Technology

Build the Technology Behind the Future of Digital Tipping

TapTip is a fintech platform being built to make digital tipping simple, fast, and accessible, particularly across tourism and service industries in developing markets.

Our mission is to bridge the gap between international visitors and local service workers by providing a fast, secure, and accessible way to give and receive digital tips.

Customers should be able to tip using familiar payment methods such as cards, Apple Pay, QR codes, and other digital payment options, while workers have a simple way to receive, track, and withdraw their earnings.

We are looking for a Founding Software Engineer & Lead App Developer to become one of the main technical builders behind TapTip.

This is not a position where you will simply receive small development tickets.

We are looking for someone who can take ownership of the product, understand the overall vision, make strong technical decisions, solve problems independently, and work directly with the founders to build TapTip into a secure and reliable fintech platform.

What You’ll Build

You will help develop, improve, and maintain the core TapTip ecosystem, including:

• TapTip mobile applications
• TapTip web applications
• User registration and authentication
• Customer tipping and checkout flows
• QR-code-based tipping
• Card payment integrations
• Apple Pay and digital wallet integrations
• Mobile money payout integrations
• User balances
• Transaction history
• Worker payout systems
• KYC and identity verification systems
• Administrative dashboards
• Compliance tools
• Notifications and email systems
• PDF transaction statements and exports
• Secure backend infrastructure
• Payment reconciliation
• Transaction monitoring and tracking
• APIs
• Webhooks
• Third-party financial integrations
• Internal developer and administrative tools

As TapTip grows, you will also help design new products and technical infrastructure for expansion into additional markets.

What We’re Looking For

We want someone who can actually build, not someone who only knows how to manage developers or generate code without understanding it.

You should be comfortable working across different parts of a product and figuring things out when there is not already a detailed technical playbook.

We need someone who can take an idea, understand the requirements, determine how it should be built, implement it, test it, fix problems, and help move it into production.

Frontend Experience

Strong candidates should have experience with technologies such as:

• React
• Next.js
• TypeScript
• JavaScript
• HTML
• CSS
• Modern responsive UI development

Backend Experience

Experience with:

• Node.js
• REST APIs
• Firebase
• Firestore
• Cloud Functions or similar serverless infrastructure
• Authentication systems
• Authorization and permissions
• Database architecture
• API integrations
• Webhooks

Mobile Development

Experience with one or more of the following is highly valuable:

• React Native
• Flutter
• Native iOS development
• Native Android development
• Cross-platform mobile development
• App Store deployment
• Google Play deployment

Payments & Fintech

Experience with fintech is highly valuable, including:

• Payment gateway integrations
• Card payments
• Digital wallets
• Mobile money
• REST APIs and webhooks
• Transaction processing
• Wallet or balance systems
• Payment reconciliation
• Payout systems
• KYC integrations
• Identity verification
• Fraud prevention
• Financial transaction security

Previous fintech experience is preferred but not mandatory if you are a strong developer who can learn quickly.

Equipment, Internet & Remote Work Requirements

Because this is a remote development role, applicants must have reliable equipment, reliable internet access, and consistent availability.

You must have your own computer or laptop capable of professional software development.

When applying, you must provide the specifications of the computer you plan to use for TapTip development, including:

• Laptop or desktop model
• Operating system
• Processor / CPU
• RAM
• Storage capacity
• Available storage space, if known
• Graphics hardware, if relevant
• Any other information you believe is relevant to your development setup

Applicants should also explain their internet situation.

Please include:

• Whether you have regular access to Wi-Fi
• Whether the internet connection is available where you normally work
• Your approximate internet speed, if known
• How reliable your connection is
• Whether you frequently experience outages or disconnections
• Whether you have a backup internet option such as mobile data or a hotspot
• Whether your internet connection can reliably support video calls, screen sharing, file uploads, development tools, GitHub, and online collaboration

A screenshot of a recent internet speed test may be requested during the application process.

Consistent Availability Is Important

We are looking for someone who is consistently available and responsive.

TapTip is an active startup project, and there will be times when updates, fixes, changes, testing, or technical discussions need to happen quickly.

The person in this role should be able to:

• Make changes to the application on a consistent basis
• Respond to development issues within reasonable working hours
• Join scheduled online work sessions
• Participate in video calls with the founders
• Screen share while working through technical issues
• Review features together with the team
• Make adjustments based on live feedback
• Troubleshoot issues collaboratively
• Communicate progress regularly
• Be available for planned development sessions each week
• Inform the team in advance when they will be unavailable

We do not expect someone to be online 24/7.

However, we do want a developer who treats TapTip as a serious responsibility and has enough consistency in their schedule to work closely with us.

Online Work Sessions

Some development sessions may be conducted through online calls where we work through parts of the TapTip application together.

These sessions may involve:

• Reviewing the current application
• Screen sharing
• Debugging together
• Discussing new features
• Testing updates
• Reviewing UI changes
• Planning technical architecture
• Reviewing Claude or ChatGPT-assisted development
• Implementing changes during the call
• Checking GitHub commits and code
• Discussing priorities for the next development session

You should therefore be comfortable communicating over video or voice calls and sharing your screen when necessary.

AI Development Tools Provided

TapTip will provide access to Claude and ChatGPT Plus for development work.

We expect our developer to understand how to use modern AI development tools effectively.

These tools may be used to assist with:

• Writing code
• Reviewing code
• Debugging
• Understanding unfamiliar codebases
• Application architecture
• Planning features
• Generating tests
• Reviewing potential security issues
• API integrations
• Documentation
• Refactoring
• Troubleshooting
• Researching technical approaches
• Increasing overall development speed

However, AI should be used as an engineering tool, not as a substitute for understanding software development.

You must be capable of reviewing, testing, debugging, understanding, and taking responsibility for any code produced with AI assistance.

We are not looking for someone who simply copies and pastes AI-generated code without understanding what it does.

Company AI Usage Policy

Claude and ChatGPT Plus access provided by TapTip is strictly for TapTip-related work.

Company-provided accounts, subscriptions, usage limits, and resources may not be used for:

• Personal projects
• Freelance projects
• School assignments
• Work for another company
• Personal research unrelated to TapTip
• Personal entertainment
• Unrelated AI experimentation

We want company-provided AI usage limits dedicated to TapTip so that we can maximize the amount of development work completed using the available resources.

Developers should understand how to use AI efficiently and avoid unnecessarily wasting context windows, message limits, or usage capacity.

Knowing how to properly structure prompts, provide useful context, review generated code, and efficiently work with AI development tools will be considered part of the role.

You’ll Be a Strong Fit If You

You may be a strong fit for TapTip if you:

• Can independently take a feature from an idea to production
• Understand frontend and backend development
• Have strong problem-solving skills
• Write clean and maintainable code
• Understand software architecture
• Can debug your own work
• Can work independently
• Can communicate clearly
• Have reliable access to a development computer
• Have stable internet access
• Can consistently attend scheduled online work sessions
• Can communicate progress regularly
• Understand the importance of security in fintech
• Are comfortable integrating external APIs
• Understand authentication and permissions
• Can work with databases
• Know how to use Git and GitHub
• Know how to use AI coding tools productively
• Can verify and understand AI-generated code
• Are willing to learn unfamiliar technologies
• Can research technical problems independently
• Take responsibility for the quality of your work
• Are interested in building a startup from an early stage
• Are comfortable working directly with founders
• Want significant responsibility rather than only being assigned small tasks

Your Role at TapTip

You will work directly with TapTip’s founders and play a major role in technical decisions.

Initially, you may be one of the primary engineers responsible for the TapTip application, meaning you will have significant influence over how the product is structured and developed.

This position may eventually grow into responsibility for:

• Leading additional engineers
• Reviewing code
• Managing technical architecture
• Managing application releases
• Developing engineering standards
• Building TapTip’s engineering team
• Helping interview future developers
• Managing development workflows
• Improving security and reliability
• Helping determine infrastructure strategy
• Supporting expansion into additional countries
• Supporting new payment providers
• Helping develop future TapTip products

We are looking for someone interested in growing with the company, not simply completing a short development project.

What Matters More Than Credentials

A computer science, software engineering, or related degree is welcome, but it is not required.

We care more about what you can actually build.

A strong:

• GitHub profile
• Portfolio
• Mobile application
• Web application
• Startup project
• Fintech project
• Payment integration
• Open-source contribution
• Personal software project

can be more valuable to us than formal credentials alone.

If you can demonstrate that you understand software engineering and can build reliable products, we want to hear from you.

Extra Consideration

You will receive extra consideration if you have previously built or contributed to:

• Payment platforms
• Digital wallets
• Banking applications
• Fintech products
• Remittance applications
• Mobile money systems
• Marketplaces
• Payment gateways
• Subscription platforms
• Financial dashboards
• KYC systems
• Identity verification systems
• Transaction monitoring systems

If you have built something relevant, show us.

We want to see what you can actually build.

How to Apply

Send your application to:

taptipzambia@outlook.com

Email Subject

Application – Founding Software Engineer & Lead App Developer – [Your Name]

Please Include

Your application should include:

• Full name
• Location
• Time zone
• GitHub profile
• Portfolio
• Previous projects
• Technologies you’re strongest with
• Mobile development experience
• Fintech or payment integration experience
• Experience using Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, or other AI development tools
• Current availability
• Days and times you are normally available to work
• Availability for online work sessions and calls
• Expected compensation
• A short explanation of why you want to help build TapTip

Computer / Laptop Information

Please also include:

• Computer or laptop brand and model
• Operating system
• Processor / CPU
• RAM
• Storage
• Any other relevant specifications

Internet Information

Please include:

• Whether you have reliable Wi-Fi access
• Approximate internet speed, if known
• How consistent your connection is
• Whether outages are common
• Whether you have backup internet or mobile data
• Whether you can reliably participate in video calls and screen-sharing sessions

Applicants may be asked to provide a screenshot of their internet speed test and computer specifications during the selection process.

Links to working applications, GitHub repositories, demos, or previous projects are strongly encouraged.

Help Build TapTip From the Beginning

TapTip is still being built.

That means the engineer joining us now will have the opportunity to influence the product from an early stage and become an important part of the company’s technical foundation.

We need someone who is talented, dependable, available, and ready to build.

We’re looking for a developer who can become a core technical member of TapTip, work closely with us, and help continuously improve the application as the company grows.

Apply to join TapTip and help us build the future of digital tipping.

Applications: taptipzambia@outlook.com