Mobile App Developer

About Umba
Umba is a Pan-African digital bank serving customers in both Kenya and Nigeria. Our
mission entails providing accessible and cost-effective financial services across Africa,
enabling our customers to take charge of their financial well-being. We are committed to
seizing a unique opportunity to transform the financial landscape in Africa by harnessing the
power of machine learning to develop intelligent, affordable financial products tailored for
emerging markets. Our machine learning models are continuously improving, and we
leverage AI and automation to deliver banking solutions at the lowest possible cost to our
expanding customer base.
Umba is headquartered in Nairobi Kenya. Our primary focus is to offer a comprehensive
range of digital banking products through Android, iOS and Web Apps, and we take pride in
our culture of consistently surpassing customer expectations, which has fueled our rapid
expansion.
Umba acquired a deposit taking microfinance bank in Kenya in 2023, which has now been
named Umba Microfinance Bank. The bank has achieved fast growth since launch with
average monthly growth rate of 19% and 6x revenue growth in 2024.

Job Summary
We are seeking a skilled and motivated Mobile App Developer to join our digital banking
team. You will be responsible for designing, developing, testing, and maintaining secure and
scalable mobile banking applications that deliver a seamless user experience. This role
requires a solid understanding of mobile platforms and secure coding practices in the
financial services industry. As a self-starter, you'll take ownership of the entire mobile
development lifecycle, from architecture decisions to UI/UX implementation, working
independently while collaborating with our product and backend teams.

What You'll Build
- Comprehensive fintech mobile app with loan origination, KYC verification, and payment
processing
- Document management system with camera capture, scanning, and upload capabilities
- Real-time dashboards for business banking, payroll, and account management
- Multi-country platform supporting Kenya and Nigeria with localized features
- Secure financial transactions with biometric authentication and fraud prevention.

Key Responsibilities
Technical Leadership

• Architect and develop the complete Android application using modern Android
technologies

• Design intuitive user interfaces that translate complex financial workflows into simple,
elegant experiences

• Integrate 100+ API endpoints for comprehensive platform functionality

• Implement security best practices including certificate pinning, data encryption

• Build offline-first architecture to handle poor connectivity across African markets
Product Development

• Translate business requirements into technical solutions independently

• Collaborate with design and product teams to create pixel-perfect implementations

• Optimize performance for large datasets and complex financial operations

• Implement real-time features including notifications, messaging, and live updates
Quality & Innovation

• Establish testing frameworks and maintain high code quality standards

• Drive technical decisions around architecture, libraries, and development practices

• Stay current with Android trends and introduce innovative solutions
Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of Android development with proven track record of shipping production apps

• Expert-level Kotlin and modern Android SDK knowledge

• Jetpack Compose mastery for building complex, dynamic UIs

• Strong architecture skills (MVVM, Clean Architecture, dependency injection)

• API integration expertise (Retrofit, OkHttp, REST APIs, JWT authentication)

• Database proficiency (Room, SQLite) and offline data synchronization
Fintech Experience

• 2+ years in financial services or fintech application development

• Security-focused development with understanding of financial regulations

• Payment integration experience (mobile money, bank transfers, transaction processing)

• Document management systems and KYC/AML compliance knowledge
Design & UX Intuition

• Strong design sensibility with ability to implement pixel-perfect UIs

• Material Design expertise and understanding of modern design principles

• User experience focus with ability to simplify complex financial workflows

• Attention to detail in animations, transitions, and micro-interactions
Self-Starter Qualities

• Independent problem-solving with minimal supervision required

• Proactive communication and ability to drive projects forward

• Technical decision-making skills and ownership mentality

• Adaptability to fast-paced startup environment
Preferred Qualifications

• African fintech market experience (Kenya, Nigeria, or similar markets)

• M-Pesa or mobile money integration experience

• Multi-country application development with localization

• React or TypeScript knowledge for cross-platform understanding

• CI/CD and DevOps experience with Android deployment

• Open-source contributions or technical writing experience
Technical Environment

• Modern Android stack: Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, Material Design 3

• Architecture: Clean Architecture, MVVM, Dependency Injection

• Backend integration: REST APIs, JWT authentication, real-time updates

• Tools: Android Studio, Git, CI/CD pipelines

• Collaboration: Figma, Slack, GitHub, code reviews

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