VP Engineering : HealthX

HEALTHX

Vice President of Engineering   |   Location: Nairobi, Kenya   |   Type: Full-Time   |   Reports to: CEO

Recruitment Partner: Dekaya Africa   |   dekayatech.com

HealthX is a fast-growing health technology company building digital infrastructure for healthcare delivery in Kenya and across East Africa. Our platform spans a mobile app (Android, iOS, Web), an EMR, pharmacy systems, USSD access, telemedicine capabilities, and emerging AI-powered health tools. We operate in a regulated environment and are scaling fast — with a mandate to turn our technology function into a standalone revenue-generating unit by 2027.

We are an effective, high-performance team. We move fast, we build real things, and we do not hide from hard problems.

This is a foundational hire. As VP of Engineering, you will take full ownership of HealthX’s technology strategy, team, and execution, leading day-to-day IT management and becoming the company’s vision bearer for all things technology.

You will report directly to the CEO and present to the board. You will inherit a capable tech team and be expected to lead, mentor, and elevate them. Within your first 90 days, IT operations should run without the CEO’s direct involvement. Within your first year, you will have laid the groundwork for Technology-as-a-Service as a new revenue line.

• Own and evolve the 5-year IT strategy, aligned to HealthX’s commercial and growth goals.

• Become the vision bearer for technology and IT direction.

• Present IT strategy, roadmap, and quarterly progress to the board with clarity and confidence.

• Establish a weekly reporting cadence with the CEO; protect the CEO’s time from operational IT noise.

• Drive the roadmap toward Technology-as-a-Service, a standalone revenue line by 2027.

• Lead, mentor, and manage the existing tech team (frontend, backend, infrastructure).

• Set sprint goals, execution metrics, and priorities, translating business needs into engineering delivery.

• Guide timelines when necessary, with data and alternatives, not just a yes/no.

• Move fast while managing the inefficiencies that come with scale.

• Own HealthX’s security posture, infrastructure stability, and uptime — non-negotiable.

• Manage on-premise infrastructure and integrations.

• Ensure full technical compliance with Kenya’s Data Protection Act / ODPC requirements.

• Evaluate and manage vendor relationships in cloud, telco, third-party platforms.

• Collaborate with the business to align technology development with commercial priorities.

• Evaluate and make build vs. buy decisions.

• Scope, plan, and begin delivering the TaaS model, packaging HealthX’s tech capabilities for external clients.

• Assist in evaluating resources and hiring additional tech talent as HealthX scales.

Domain

Stack

Mobile Flutter (Android, iOS, Web)

Web

React / JavaScript

Backend

Go + PHP and JavaScript services

• Proven experience leading technology teams at an African startup or high-growth company.

• Track record of speed: you have shipped things fast, in high-pressure environments, without hiding behind process.

• Strong EQ: you can give technical guidance to management, manage upwards with grace, and still move things forward.

• Deep command of InfoSec, infrastructure scalability, and uptime.

• Experience managing on-prem or hybrid infrastructure in regulated environments.

• Ability to translate technical constraints into business language — for the CEO and the board.

• Comfortable with change management: hot-fixes, production iterations, and pivot-ready execution.

• Experience in health tech, HMIS, telemedicine, or other regulated data platforms.

• Familiarity with Go, Flutter, or React-based stacks.

• Experience building or scoping TaaS / platform-as-a-service models.

• Previous success operating as a VP of Engineering, CTO, or Head of Engineering at a company with 5–50 person tech teams.

• Kenya Data Protection Act / ODPC compliance experience.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field; a Master’s or MBA is an advantage.

• 8+ years in software engineering, with at least 3 in a senior technical leadership role.

• Relevant certifications in cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, or project management (AWS, GCP, CISSP,PMP) are a plus.

• Demonstrated experience managing cross-functional teams and external vendors.

• Experience defining or contributing to an AI strategy — including governance frameworks, responsible AI principles, and a clear roadmap for integrating AI-powered capabilities into product and operations.

• Demonstrated ability to shape an enterprise data strategy — spanning data governance, data architecture, and the BI infrastructure needed to turn operational data into business decisions.

• You need a slow-paced environment to do your best work.

• You say yes to everything and sort it out later.

• You’re allergic to production systems and prefer greenfield-only work.