Social Enterprise Job Opening: Engineering & Design Manager

Social Enterprise Job Opening: Engineering & Design Manager

Job Description
Are you an engineer looking for a fast-paced management position that exposes you to all facets of product design? Do you have a passion for social enterprise and want to use your technical skills to improve the livelihood of African farmers?

Anza is looking for an exceptional Engineering & Design Manager (EDM) to lead product development and manage our engineering and design team.

Company Description
Anza is an award-winning international development startup that develops low-cost, income-generating technologies for African farmers. We have impacted over 2500 lives with solar cookers and hand-sanitation solutions in East Africa, but have recently shifted our focus to a revolutionary pushcart that has been in development for 6 months. By enabling more efficient transport of water and other agricultural products, the Anza cart provides users with a 15x-30x first year return on investment and the means to pull themselves out of poverty. Anza is the Swahili word for “start,” and economic empowerment for the bottom billion starts here.

Position Description
Anza is seeking a driven and experienced engineer to lead the design of innovative products that will bring life-changing income to millions of impoverished Africans.

Following a successful pilot of the Anza cart in April, we plan to turn our prototype pushcart into a commercial-grade product that can be mass-produced to meet enormous demand in East Africa. The EDM will lead this process. In addition to managerial experience, the ideal candidate will have technical experience throughout the product development process. This includes experience with front-end design brainstorming, rapid prototyping, engineering for manufacturability, and optimization for shipping.

Anza hopes to transform millions of lives, and you will be an integral part of our management team as we work toward that goal.

Responsibilities
• Lead a small team of mechanical engineers and industrial designers to build a final Anza cart that is suitable for mass production and distribution.
• Work directly with the CEO to organize and implement piloting of Anza cart prototypes in Africa to gain direct user feedback and design input.
• Work directly with manufacturers in Asia to setup the Anza cart for mass production.
• Create a prototyping shop capable of supporting R&D as Anza grows.
• Refine and expand our product line to meet the needs of East African farmers and consumers in other regions as our operations grow.

Skills/Experience
• Background in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on product development (minimum of 3-5 Years of experience working in all phases of product development required)
• Engineering degree from a four-year college required, advanced degree a plus
• Extensive experience leading product prototyping, prior work in an innovative product development environment a plus
• Expertise in CAD (Solidworks preferred)
• Engineering project management experience required, work with industrial designers a plus
• Swahili and/or Mandarin proficiency a plus

Work Style/Character
• Passion for international development and design for $1-a-day consumers
• Self-motivated, “can do” attitude; able to work well independently and in teams
• Flexibility to work in a constantly changing startup environment
• Willingness to travel extensively to East Africa and work in a hands-on environment with African farmers and engineers
• Creative and imaginative with an interest in product design

Compensation
Anza offers compensation commensurate with comparable enterprises.
Location and Travel

Position is based out of Washington, DC, but extensive travel to Africa and Asia will be required.

TO APPLY
Send a cover letter and resume to jobs@anzatechnologies.com. Please write “EDM Job Opening” in the subject line.

To learn more please visit our website at www.anzatechnologies.com.