Job description

About M-KOPA Solar

M-KOPA Solar, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, is the global leader of "pay-as-you-go" energy for off-grid customers. 

Since its commercial launch in October 2012, M-KOPA has connected more than 700,000 homes in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to solar power, and is now adding over 500 new homes each day.

The success of M-KOPA (M= mobile, KOPA= to borrow) stems from making solar products affordable to low-income households on a pay-per-use installment plan. Customers acquire solar systems for a small deposit and then purchase daily usage "credits" for KSH 50, or less than the price of traditional kerosene lighting. After one year of payments customers own their solar systems outright and can upgrade to more power.

All revenues are collected in real-time via mobile money systems (such as M-PESA in Kenya) and embedded GSM sensors in each solar system allow M-KOPA to monitor real time performance and regulate usage based upon payments. This connected design means that M-KOPA is processing vast amounts of data via the company's proprietary cloud platform, M-KOPAnet.

M-KOPA employs over 1000 full time staff across East Africa and sells through a network of retail outlets and over 5,000 direct sales agents. It has also commenced licensing its technology to partners in other markets. 

M-KOPA has been recognised for its pioneering business mode and scale, notably winning the 2015 Zayed Future Energy Prize, being selected as the top New Energy Pioneer at the 2014 Bloomberg New Energy Finance awards and earning the 2013 FT/IFC Excellence in Sustainable Finance Award.

M-KOPA has also successfully tested a range of new products that leverage its relationship with customers, and M-KOPA's unique competencies in mobile telecommunications and IoT. To ensure that the research and development of new products add value to (and do not distract from) its core business, M-KOPA has established the M-KOPA Labs. Labs is a dedicated business unit within M-KOPA, based in Woking, Surrey, UK, that defines and tests extensions of the M-KOPA asset based credit model for off-grid power to new products and services.

Key Accountabilities

• Developing, testing and troubleshooting of M-KOPA’s products
• Electronics hardware design using schematic capture tool e.g. OrCad
• Component sourcing and selection
• Documenting new designs, writing specification and test reports
• Support new product pilot testing in the field
• Troubleshooting on complex technical problems
• Working with third party manufacturers where required
• Technical inputs to the research and development of new M-KOPA products
• Developing new concepts at an early stage with the Hardware team and exploring technical feasibility
• Firmware design for prototyping new hardware concepts

Candidate Requirements

Qualifications:

• Degree in Electronics Engineering

Experience:

• The candidate should have at least five years relevant experience in most of the following area:
• Innovation and technical excellence in electronics hardware design
• Developing new products, from concept to mass production, building prototypes, testing, troubleshooting and fault analysis
• Knowledge of schematic capture and PCB design tool e.g. OrCad
• Analogue, Digital and Power Electronics Design, e.g. Switching regulator design, microcontroller, power protection circuit and battery charger circuit.
• Hands on experience using lab equipment for testing and debugging
• Ability to work as part of multiple discipline team
• It will be a plus if the candidate has experience in some of the following areas:
• Product development for low-income customers in emerging markets
• Battery charger design for lithium-ion battery
• Understand lithium-ion battery electrical characteristic, safety protection and testing
• Understand product design safety standard
• Knowledge of programming C language based microcontrollers
• Experience of working with electronics manufacturing facilities (on either supplier or customer side)
• Internet of things, machine to machine communication
• E Vehicle
•  E Vehicle, GSM Technology, RF design, TV and lighting technology
• Solar energy, battery technology
• Electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and metering

REMUNERATION

Competitive package (dependent on skills and experience), covering company performance bonus, medical insurance, life insurance, company pension, enhanced maternity & paternity benefits, 33 days annual leave (including 8 bank holidays).

PLEASE NOTE

M-KOPA Solar is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained staff. Women, minorities and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. In compliance with applicable laws and in furtherance of its commitment to fostering an environment that welcomes and embraces diversity, M-KOPA does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, creed, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and parenting status), disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status or genetic information in its programs or activities, including employment.

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 four weeks after 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.

M-KOPA reserve the right to close or extend the job closing date dependent on the number of applicants received.