M-KOPA Solar Senior Hardware Engineer (Fault Analysis) Job in Nairobi Kenya

M-KOPA is seeking
 

Position Title: Senior Hardware Engineer (Fault Analysis)
 

Location: Nairobi
 

Position Start: ASAP
 

Reporting to: Head of Engineering/Head of Device Operations

About M-KOPA Solar: M-KOPA Solar, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, is the global leader of “pay-as-you-go” energy for offgrid customers.

The company was founded in 2011 by former executives behind M-PESA (the world’s leading mobile payment platform) on the belief that mobile technology could revolutionize energy services in emerging markets the same way it has already revolutionized the delivery of communications and financial services.

In under 2 years since commercial launch (Oct 2012), M-KOPA has connected over 100,000 homes in East Africa to solar power. 

As of Q4 2014 the company is adding over 10,000 new homes each month and employs nearly 500 full time staff with offices in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the UK and Hong Kong.

M-KOPA works in partnership with leading mobile network operators including Safaricom in Kenya, and is busy developing additional pay-as-you-go products and services. 

The company has also begun licensing its technology to partners in markets outside East Africa.

In 2013 M-KOPA was given the Excellence in Sustainable Finance Award by the Financial Times and IFC, and in 2014 was selected by Bloomberg New Energy Finance as the world’s top New Energy Pioneer. The company’s innovative business model has been profiled in leading global media including The Economist, the BBC, Bloomberg, the Financial Times and Wired. 

Overall Purpose: M-KOPA has over 100,000 units in market (each unit contains four different electronic devices), and is currently undertaking the piloting of five more potential products. 

It is vital to the company that product returns are quickly diagnosed and accurately so that information can be fed into production (in the case of units that are in market) and into development (in the case of units that are in the piloting phase).

Where possible returned devices will be repaired for use in a new refurbishment program (in order to minimize electronic waste). 

This program requires the quick identification of faulty components and the structuring of repair processes and quality control processes.
 

Key Accountabilities
 

1. Fault Diagnosis: Provide technical leadership for a team to diagnose new faults on M-KOPA’s commercial products and its products under pilot:

• Troubleshoot returned devices to identify faulty components and set up process to easily identify and categorize future returns


• Identify characteristics (common symptoms) of particular device issues that can be used to confirm that problem over the phone with a customer, or potentially identify the problem emotely (based on data uploaded from the device)

2. Refurbishment: Lead a program of work relating to device repairs and refurbishment. M-KOPA requires a robust, comprehensive long-term strategy and operational resources to deal effectively with all field returns and warranty swaps:

• Set up processes for quickly identifying common faults


• Set up processes for repairing devices, and for ensuring the quality of the repair work


• Ensure workshop conditions are of the highest standard to guarantee the longevity of devices that are repaired


• Manage the technical standard of outgoing quality control for refurbished units

Incumbent Requirements
 

Education: Minimum Bachelors, preferably a Masters degree in electrical engineering or electronics;
 

Experience: Experienced in troubleshooting and fault analysis of consumer based electronic products; good team management experience (work load prioritization and supervision);
 

Knowledge / Skills: Strong communicator; hands-on team leadership; ability to clearly report device issues to a non engineering audience; ability to diagnose problems at a PCB level with or without the circuit schematic
 

Required: Based Nairobi; minimum three years work experience in a fault analysis/diagnosis role;
 

Beneficial: Knowledge of ‘connected devices’ (GSM)
 

Remuneration: Competitive covering a monthly salary, performance bonus and medical benefits reflective of the candidate’s experience and skills.

To Apply
 

To apply, send an updated detailed copy of your CV and a cover letter expressing why you feel you would be an excellent candidate for the role to careers@m-kopa.com with the subject EV-SHEFA-0315
 

Please Note: Due to the large number of applications received by us, we regret that you will not be contacted unless you are short listed for the post and invited for an interview. 

Therefore, if you have not heard from M-KOPA within 4 weeks of the date of the deadline your application, you should assume that you have not been successful on this occasion.

This measure has been taken in the interests of efficiency and cost effectiveness and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.