# Senior Software Engineer > Semata · Kenya (Remote) · Full-time · Posted 2026-08-13 **Workplace:** remote ## Description Our client is a well-established charity that mobilises volunteers to support individuals, local communities and public health services across the UK. They have developed a volunteering platform. Your role is to be the skilled and motivated Senior Engineer who helps guide the design, development, and delivery of the platform's Next.js front-end. Reporting to the CTO, you'll manage a small team of offshore engineers in your time zone while actively contributing to code, architectural decisions, and quality outcomes yourself. Our client's engineering today is a mix of hands-on development and AI-assisted coding, without disciplined TDD. You'll work directly with the CTO and the other Senior Engineer to move the team to an AI-assisted + TDD way of working — specs and tests agreed up front, AI coding agents handling the bulk of initial implementation, and engineering time increasingly spent on quality: refactoring, verification and system assurance rather than hands-on typing. You'll be critical for setting this standard, both by example in your own code and at each code review, especially in how rigorously AI-generated output is verified before it ships. We're looking for someone who has already worked this way and can bring that discipline in from day one — the benchmark we're aiming for is how leading AI labs build software. You'll thrive here if you enjoy the shift from author to architect and editor — defining intent, catching what AI misses, and raising the bar for the team around you. **What you will be doing** **Hands-On Development** - Design, build and maintain features primarily in Next.js, React and TypeScript - Write clean, testable code that adheres to team standards - Partner with team members to debug issues and deliver robust solutions **Driving the AI-Assisted + TDD Transition** - Work with the CTO and the other Senior Engineer to establish spec-first, test-first practices across the team - Help define what "spec and tests agreed before coding starts" looks like in practice - Coach engineers through the shift from ad hoc AI-assisted coding to disciplined TDD **Spec & Test-First Discipline** - Contribute to and validate the specification (stories, acceptance criteria, architecture, UI, data structures) before coding starts, so decisions are made once and not relitigated mid-sprint - Write or review unit tests against the spec ahead of implementation - Use AI coding agents (e.g. Claude Code, GitHub Copilot) to accelerate implementation once spec and tests are agreed **Quality, Refactoring & Assurance** - Treat QA, refactoring and system health as the majority of engineering time, not an afterthought - Verify AI-generated code for correctness, security and maintainability rather than assuming it's right - Use tooling such as SonarQube to maintain code quality - Raise blockers early **Technical Guidance & Mentorship** - Line-manage and provide technical leadership to a small team of offshore engineers in your timezone - Keep the team aligned with project goals and technical standards - Give complete, thought-through feedback during code review and handover - Model the spec-first, test-first approach by example **Collaboration & Communication** - Work closely with Product, Design and QA across the feature and story delivery flow - Proactively engage — raise questions or problems rather than waiting to be asked - Be available for quick syncs during the day - Clearly communicate progress, risks and technical decisions to the CTO and relevant stakeholders - What you need to know **Knowledge** - Strong experience in front-end development with Next.js, React and TypeScript - Component architecture, server-side rendering/static generation, and modern Next.js patterns (e.g. App Router, server components) - RESTful API integration from the front-end - Deep, practical understanding of test-driven development (TDD) — writing unit tests against a spec before implementation, not after - AI-assisted, agentic coding workflows and tools (e.g. Claude Code, GitHub Copilot), including how leading AI labs apply these practices to their own engineering, and how to critically verify AI-generated output - CI/CD pipelines and code quality tooling (e.g. SonarQube) - Strong problem-solving skills and comfort working in a spec-first, collaborative environment **Skills** - Next.js, React, TypeScript, JavaScript, Nest.js for back-end - RESTful APIs, API integration - Test-driven development and unit testing frameworks (e.g. Jest, React Testing Library) — end-to-end/Cypress testing sits with the Automated QA function, so this role collaborates with them on coverage rather than owning it directly - AI coding agents/assistants (e.g. Claude Code, GitHub Copilot) used in a disciplined, spec-first workflow - Coaching and embedding new engineering practices within a team - Git, GitHub, CI/CD (e.g. Azure DevOps) - Code quality and static analysis tooling (e.g. SonarQube) - Design-system implementation and Figma-to-code workflows - Clear written and verbal communication **Experience** - 8+ years of engineering experience, with strong recent focus on front-end/Next.js or React development. Experience with Nest.js for back-end is a plus. - Proven experience working in an AI-assisted + TDD development workflow — not just AI-assisted coding, but disciplined test-first practice — ideally close to how Anthropic and similar organisations build software - Experience leading or actively driving a team’s transition to a new engineering methodology, not just working within an established one - 1-2 years experience managing or mentoring developers, ideally in an offshore/distributed team setup - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related field (or equivalent experience) - Experience collaborating closely with Product, Design and QA in a fast-moving, sprint-based environment - Comfort setting technical direction directly with the CTO, without a Tech Lead layer in between - Track record of shipping production features end-to-end, from spec through to release ## Apply [Apply at Semata](https://apply.workable.com/semata/j/17F96E2EFE/apply) --- Powered by [Workable](https://www.workable.com)