Machine Learning Engineer (Remote)

Machine Learning Engineer (Remote)

tl;dr: Early-stage EdTech startup hiring a Machine Learning Engineer - (UK/Africa-timezones, between GMT-3 and GMT+3). We help students access quality study material and knowledge quickly and affordably on WhatsApp using AI. Details about us, the role, and interview process below. πŸ‘‡πŸΎπŸ‘‡πŸΎπŸ‘‡πŸΎ

Who we are

FoondaMate helps students access quality study material and knowledge quickly and affordably on WhatsApp using AI.

We build chatbots that bring quality study material and curated internet search to messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Our goal is to help the 300M+ students currently unable to use the internet to study, or struggling to find useful information, access the information they need to succeed.

Over 1 million students use FoondaMate as a WhatsApp/Messenger contact (study buddy) to help them with homework and prepare for tests.

We're on a mission to equip students in the emerging markets and beyond with the tools they need to succeed.

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Our suite of conversational AI applications, include a WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger chatbot that bring curated internet search + quality study material to students β€” using the hardware and software they already have access to. You can try out the existing product here: https://api.whatsapp.com/send?phone=27600703213&text=hello

This has been working. Since our launch 2 years ago we have been used by 1M+ students from 150+ countries across the globe. Our focus to date has been on the African market, but we are now expanding to more regions.

Also, we are kind of TikTok famous πŸ™ˆπŸ˜

πŸš€ We're currently working on expanding our reach and launching into new markets.

Role overview

FoondaMate.com is looking for a Machine Learning Engineer to help us better interpret user intent from large volumes of text data as well as monitor and improve the quality and accuracy of our proprietary databases.

About You

None of these are requirements, but do describe the kinds of people that we think would be most effective at FoondaMate right now.

  • 3+ years of experience as a Machine Learning/Software/Data Engineer, or Data Scientist with a proven track record of building production applications using Object Oriented Programming languages.
  • Expertise in advanced string manipulation techniques, text representation, statistics, and classification algorithms.
  • Proficiency in machine learning tools and frameworks such as Tensor-flow, NumPy, spaCy, NLTK, and PyTorch.
  • Strong understanding of web development, HTTP, REST, and databases (e.g. Postgres or MySQL).
  • Experience deploying production applications on popular frameworks such as Flask, Django, Laravel, or Spring.
  • Familiarity with AWS EC2, AWS RDS, and AWS S3.
  • Strong written communication skills and experience working in a remote, written-communication-first environment.
  • Proven ability to document work to enable easy ramp-up for others and prevent single-point-of-failure scenarios.
  • Proficiency in Git and Github.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and optimise Natural Language Processing systems to accurately interpret user intent from large volumes of text data.
  • Leverage machine learning techniques to monitor and improve the quality and accuracy of our proprietary databases.
  • Utilise computer vision technologies to digitise and organise handwritten notes and scanned documents.
  • Continuously improve and localise machine learning models for improved performance and relevance.

Benefits

Salary Range: $2,600.00 - $3,250.00 (USD) per month β€” open to negotiation if you have more experience

  • NB: We are legally obliged to pay you in your local currency β€” you cannot be paid in USD unless if USD is legal tender in your country. You will be employed by a local legal entity in your country and paid in the legal currency in your country.See local Rates for countries we are actively looking to hire from for this role:
    • South Africa: R 40,000.00 - R 50 000 monthly
    • Nigeria: ₦ 1,065,000.00 - ₦ 1,350,000.00 monthly
    • Ghana: β‚΅ 19,500.00 - β‚΅ 25,500.00 monthly

  • MacBook Pro as work laptop
  • 15 days paid leave each year (in addition to official Local Public holidays)
  • Flexible remote work policy
  • An opportunity to do exciting, fulfilling work with great teammates

Why you might be excited about us

  1. You'll have the opportunity to solve a massive global problem and help improve access to online tools for students in developing countries.
  2. As a small company, you'll have the chance to make a big impact and take on significant responsibilities without getting bogged down by bureaucracy.
  3. We believe in the power of focus time and asynchronous communication, so you'll have the freedom and flexibility to do your best work without being bogged down by meetings.
  4. We offer a transparent salary structure and a Career Progression Framework that enables our team to track and record their personal career growth.
  5. You'll have the option to work remotely, and we're committed to helping you build a career you're excited about.

Why you might not be excited about us

  1. Everything under β€œWhy you might be excited about us” above.
  2. We are a small company with a current team size of approximately 10 people. If you prefer larger, more established companies, this may not be the right fit for you at this time. However, as a team member, you will have the opportunity to help shape our company's culture.
  3. As an early stage startup, our projects and priorities may shift as we continue to grow and develop.
  4. We operate at a fast pace and expect team members to not only meet expectations, but also to grow and develop in their roles.
  5. Our users love our product, but there is still room for improvement. This means that there may be some challenges to overcome, but they will not be overwhelming.
  6. Due to the level of responsibility and creativity involved in our projects, they may not be perfectly defined at the outset. We expect team members to bring their own experience and perspective to help guide decision-making and raise any concerns they may have.

What we are currently struggling with

  1. Developing for emerging markets where mobile data can be unreliable and many users have entry-level smartphones. We need to ensure that our products are accessible and functional on these devices.
  2. Working in underrepresented markets where users may not be fluent in English but are expected to use English-language technology. We are support multiple languages in our applications, but managing the quality of these translations at scale can be challenging.
  3. Consolidating and organising large amounts of poorly-managed data that we need to verify and restructure for use in our products. This can be a time-consuming and difficult process.

How to apply

If this role sounds interesting to you, get started by completing the challenge below:

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FoondaMate ML Engineer Coding Challenge-001

Deadline: March 20, 2023 at 23:59