Automation Engineering Lead (AI & Automation)

About the role

One Acre Fund is looking for an Automation Engineering Lead to build and scale Tupande’s AI‑driven automation capability. The role combines hands‑on engineering, strategic partnership with senior leadership, and technical stewardship to accelerate impact for over one million smallholder farmers.

Key responsibilities

• Define and drive Tupande’s AI, automation and engineering strategy aligned with long‑term vision.
• Partner with senior leaders to translate business priorities into a clear automation roadmap.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend investments that improve customer experience, operational efficiency and financial sustainability.
• Lead design, prototyping and delivery of high‑impact AI, automation, integration and software initiatives.
• Guide solution architecture decisions to balance speed, quality, sustainability and scalability.
• Conduct architecture, solution and technical quality reviews to ensure reliability, maintainability, security and scalability.
• Establish integration standards across enterprise systems, AI platforms, middleware, APIs and third‑party technologies.
• Oversee successful delivery, adoption and performance monitoring of automation solutions.

Required profile

• Proven leader in AI and automation engineering with a track record of delivering large‑scale solutions.
• Strong ability to partner with business leaders and translate strategic goals into technical roadmaps.
• Hands‑on experience in designing, prototyping and deploying AI‑driven automation systems.
• Excellent judgment on technology evaluation, risk assessment and innovation prioritisation.

Required skills

• AI solution design
• Automation engineering
• Enterprise system integration
• API and middleware architecture