About Sand

Sand Technologies is a global Physical AI company using data and AI to make critical industries work better. We partner with governments, cities and enterprises to improve how essential systems operate across healthcare, water, energy, telecommunications and infrastructure.

Our work delivers proven real-world impact. We have built AI systems that help manage London’s water supply, supported telecom network planning across hundreds of cities, and developed digital healthcare platforms serving tens of millions of people across Africa. From intelligent command centers to AI-powered infrastructure platforms, we help organizations sense, analyze and act in complex environments.

Our people are ambitious, curious and relentlessly practical. Our teams work alongside clients in the field, solving hard problems and deploying solutions that last. With colleagues across Africa, Europe, the UK and the US, we operate across the full stack - from research and engineering to deployment and capability building.

Our mission is simple: to harness AI to solve humanity’s most pressing challenges.

About the role

Sand is scaling rapidly across Africa, partnering with Ministries of Health to deploy the Health Operating System (HOS) — a decision-support and execution platform that transforms how health systems sense, analyze, and act on data. The HOS is already operational across multiple countries, with plans to expand to 15 countries by end of 2026, supported by 80+ Forward Deployed Engineers.

As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you are the technical spearhead of our client engagement in Tanzania. Unlike our roaming FDE roles, this is a permanently embedded position. You will be based full-time within the Ministry of Health in Tanzania, becoming a long-term extension of the client's operational team. Your mandate is to build deep institutional relationships, develop comprehensive understanding of the national health system, and deliver sustained value over an extended engagement — not just rapid sprints, but lasting transformation.

This is not staff augmentation. You are an amalgamation of three roles:

1. The Software Engineer — Deep technical acumen to build and deploy production-grade solutions using Sand's product suite
2. The Product Manager — Strategic foresight to understand client problems, influence business objectives, and identify expansion opportunities
3. The Consultant — Client-facing finesse to navigate complex stakeholder relationships, manage scope, and transfer knowledge

Your primary mission is to prove our value fast, delivering functional solutions rapidly using Sand's products, playbooks, and tools, and then maturing those solutions into mission-critical infrastructure that the Ministry depends on daily. Over time, you become the institutional memory of the deployment — the person who understands the data landscape, the stakeholder dynamics, and the operational realities better than anyone.

Who We're Looking For

The Forward Deployed Engineer is a highly ambitious individual. You are someone who is deeply keen on learning — someone who dives in headfirst to solve some of the hardest, most complex problems in global health. You thrive on understanding the technology, understanding the stakeholders, understanding our product suite, and weaving all three together to deliver solutions that change how health systems operate.

This role is not for someone looking for comfort or routine. It is for someone who wants to step outside of their comfort zone, build something they can be proud of, and grow faster than they thought possible. The FDE programme is a career accelerator — an intensive rotation that exposes you to technical depth, strategic thinking, and client leadership in equal measure, all while working on problems that matter for millions of people.

For this permanently embedded role, you also need the maturity and resilience to sustain deep client relationships over months and years — not just weeks. You will become the face of Sand in Malawi, and that requires patience, cultural fluency, and the ability to navigate institutional complexity while maintaining momentum.

Key Responsibilities

Serve as Sand's Permanent Technical Presence in Tanzania

• Embed full-time within the Ministry of Health, becoming a trusted member of the client's extended team
• Develop deep, longitudinal understanding of the national health data landscape, institutional dynamics, and operational priorities
• Build and maintain relationships across all levels of the Ministry — from frontline data officers to senior leadership
• Act as the primary technical point of contact for all Sand activities in-country, coordinating with launchers, country directors, and visiting FDE teams

Drive On-Site Value Delivery

• Rapidly unlock, explore, and integrate client data sources (e.g., DHIS2, SCADA systems, network management platforms, operational databases)
• Understand client problems through prototyping and rapid value delivery — deploying POCs and MVPs using Sand's product components and playbooks
• Transition initial solutions into hardened, production-grade systems that the Ministry relies on daily
• Own the long-term health of deployed solutions — monitoring adoption, troubleshooting issues, and iterating based on user feedback
• Deliver and track value generated through deployment of Sand products

Enable Product-Led Growth

• Lead with Sand's existing product suite — know the products by heart and where each solution is most effective for the domain you're deployed in
• Document learnings, client challenges, and successful solutions as reusable patterns for the broader FDE community
• Drive discovery and expansion by uncovering new opportunities on the ground

Build Local Capacity and Sustainability

• Work alongside Ministry teams to co-create solutions and progressively transfer knowledge, ensuring they can operate and maintain systems independently
• Identify, recruit, and mentor local data engineers, scientists, and analysts to build sustainable in-country capacity
• Develop training materials and documentation tailored to the local context, language, and skill level
• Be the continuity that ensures handover isn't a cliff — you bridge the gap between Sand's deployment and the Ministry's long-term ownership

Feed the Platform Feedback Loop

• Channel field learnings back to improve the core product through structured mechanisms (Technical Deep Dives, Solution Swarms, pattern documentation)
• Turn "gravel roads" into "paved superhighways" — document solution patterns so the next FDE can move faster
• Contribute field feedback that influences 30% of the product roadmap

Requirements — Essential

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related technical field
• 5+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering, data science, system deployment, or technical leadership
• Proficiency in at least one of: Python, SQL/PostgreSQL, JavaScript — with ability to write production-grade code
• Strong problem-solving skills with a bias toward action and rapid prototyping
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills — comfortable presenting to senior government or corporate stakeholders and translating between technical and non-technical audiences
• Experience working with or deploying to government, public sector, or large institutional clients
• Proven ability to lead local technical teams and build capacity
• Willingness to relocate and be permanently based in Tanzania for the duration of the engagement (12-24+ months)
• Language: Local language proficiency is a significant advantage

Requirements — Preferred

• Experience with data integration, ETL pipelines, and working with diverse data sources
• Experience in one or more of Sand's focus domains: health informatics/digital health, water utility operations, telecommunications network operations, or energy systems
• Familiarity with domain-specific platforms (e.g., DHIS2, OpenMRS for health; SCADA, GIS for water/energy; OSS/BSS for telecom)
• Experience with BI and dashboarding tools, particularly Apache Superset
• Experience with data transformation tools such as dbt or Airflow
• Comfort working with data dictionaries, reporting requirements, and identifying common data quality issues
• Knowledge of data security, privacy, and interoperability standards (e.g., FHIR for healthcare, GDPR, local data sovereignty requirements)
• Experience operating in resource-constrained environments (unreliable power, limited connectivity)

Work Environment

This is a permanently embedded role. You will work on-site at the Ministry of Health in Tanzania 4 days per week, with 1 day for focused remote work, internal collaboration, and knowledge sharing with the broader FDE community. You should expect to be based in Zanzania for a minimum of 12-24 months.

You must be self-driven, comfortable operating as Sand's primary technical representative in-country, and disciplined with online collaboration tools to stay connected with the broader Sand team across geographies. Cultural sensitivity, adaptability, and genuine interest in the local context are essential — you are not passing through, you are putting down roots.

What drives our operations? Our people! We’re looking for a sharp, data-driven Operations Specialist to drive Driver Growth, Planning, and City Expansion in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

With over 200 million customers in 50+ countries, Bolt is one of the fastest-growing tech companies in Europe and Africa. And it's all thanks to our people.

We believe in creating an inclusive environment where everyone is welcome, regardless of race, colour, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or disability.

Our ultimate goal is to make cities for people, not cars, and we need your help to achieve this mission!

As an Operations Specialist – Driver Growth, Planning & City Growth, you will play a key role in launching and scaling secondary cities across Tanzania. You will drive structured driver acquisition, lead city expansion initiatives, and ensure a healthy balance between supply and demand. This hands-on role requires strong analytical thinking and execution discipline. You will manage the driver acquisition funnel, translate data into clear action plans to drive growth, and work closely with local teams and cross-functional stakeholders, including Marketplace, Driver Engagement, and Rider teams, to ensure these cities become high-performing marketplaces with sustainable supply-demand balance.

• Own and manage the end-to-end driver acquisition funnel from lead generation to activation and active driver performance
• Drive driver growth through scout programs, referrals, and other acquisition channels to meet supply targets
• Improve onboarding experience through driver engagement centres (DEC), clinics, and compliance processes
• Monitor and improve activation quality and early retention metrics (7-day and 30-day retention)
• Identify and resolve bottlenecks across onboarding, compliance, and activation processes
• Support expansion into new and secondary cities across Tanzania by building and executing structured growth plans
• Ensure marketplace balance by collaborating closely with Marketplace teams on supply-demand dynamics
• Run targeted initiatives to drive both driver activation and ride demand at the city level
• Monitor, analyse, and report on key performance metrics across driver growth and city performance
• Translate data insights into prioritised execution plans and support forecasting of supply needs
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Marketplace, Driver Engagement, and Rider teams to drive overall performance

• You have 3–5 years of experience in operations, logistics, mobility, or marketplace businesses
• You have strong analytical skills and experience working with Excel/Google Sheets and performance dashboards
• You are proactive, structured, and comfortable working in ambiguous, fast-paced environments
• You have a strong execution mindset with the ability to balance fieldwork and analytical tasks
• You are a confident communicator, able to collaborate with field teams and cross-functional stakeholders
• You have a strong interest in mobility, marketplace growth, and solving real-world operational challenges
• Experience in Tanzania or similar markets is an added advantage

Experience is great, but what we really look for is drive, intelligence, and integrity. So even if you don’t tick every box, please consider applying!

• Play a direct role in scaling cities and building a high-performing marketplace.
• Own end-to-end driver growth and expansion initiatives with real business impact.
• Gain exposure to regional markets across East Africa.
• Work in a fast-paced, execution-driven team with strong ownership culture.
• Accelerate your professional growth with hands-on experience and learning opportunities.
• Enjoy a collaborative environment focused on solving real-world mobility challenges.

*Some perks may differ depending on your location.