Senior Full-Stack Developer / Technical Lead - National Addressing & GIS Platform (D.A.S)

Location: Djibouti (on-site, hybrid, or remote with strong EAT / GMT+3 overlap) Type: Full-time or long-term contract

Project: Djibouti Address System (D.A.S) - national digital addressing, mapping & postal logistics platform

Reports to: Project owner / D.A.S program lead

About the project

We are building the Djibouti Address System (D.A.S) - the official national platform that will create, register, verify, and manage proper addresses for every property, business, street, and area in Djibouti.

Once live, D.A.S will be the country's official address database and operational backbone, used by La Poste Djibouti, government departments, emergency services, delivery companies, businesses, and citizens. It covers address registration, GPS/field data collection, geocoding and postal zones, parcel sorting and delivery routing, proof of delivery, and address verification at a national scale.

This is foundational national infrastructure - the kind of system a country builds once. We are starting with a serious MVP and expanding from there, and we want a technical leader who can own the architecture from day one., As Senior Full-Stack Developer / Technical Lead, you will architect the platform, set the technical direction, and lead delivery of the MVP. You will personally build core backend services, the geospatial data layer, the APIs, and the admin dashboard - and define the standards the rest of the team works to., * Design the overall system architecture across web, mobile, GIS, and database layers.

• Build the backend, database schema, and secure REST/GraphQL APIs that power the public website, field-staff mobile app, admin dashboard, and La Poste operations platform.
• Design and implement the geospatial data model (addresses, properties, GPS coordinates, postal zones, boundaries) using PostgreSQL + PostGIS.
• Build the admin dashboard for task assignment, data approval/rejection, staff monitoring, address management, and reporting.
• Define and enforce role-based access control (RBAC), audit logging, and secure handling of government-level national data.
• Design APIs that support offline-first mobile data collection and later sync, so field staff can work in low-connectivity areas.
• Set engineering standards (code review, branching, testing, CI/CD) and mentor/coordinate other developers (GIS, mobile, frontend, DevOps).
• Make pragmatic technology decisions and document architecture clearly for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Requirements

We're looking for a proven senior engineer who has shipped real, production systems - not just prototypes., * 7+ years professional software development.

• 5+ years building full-stack web applications in production.
• 3+ years designing and working with relational databases (schema design, query optimization, migrations) - ideally PostgreSQL.
• 2+ years in a technical lead, architect, or senior ownership role (leading delivery, setting architecture, mentoring others).
• At least one end-to-end platform you architected and shipped to production (multiple modules, real users).

Core technical skills (must-have)

• Backend: Node.js with NestJS (or strong equivalent such as Express) or Laravel (PHP). You should be fluent in at least one of these stacks and comfortable owning the backend end to end.
• Frontend: React and/or Next.js - able to build clean, professional dashboards and interfaces.
• Database: PostgreSQL - advanced schema design, indexing, transactions, performance tuning.
• APIs: Designing secure, well-documented REST and/or GraphQL APIs for web and mobile clients.
• Authentication & security: RBAC, JWT/OAuth, audit logging, encryption at rest and in transit, secure data handling, and an understanding of building for sensitive/government-grade data.
• Architecture: Designing scalable, maintainable systems; clear separation of concerns; documenting decisions.
• Version control & collaboration: Git, code review, structured branching, and team workflows.

Strongly preferred (a major plus)

• Geospatial / GIS: Hands-on PostGIS experience, and familiarity with maps and geocoding using OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Google Maps API, or similar. Experience with coordinates, boundaries, postal zones, or routing is highly valued.
• Mobile integration: Experience building backends that support Flutter or React Native apps, including offline-first data collection and sync (conflict handling, queued uploads, photo + GPS capture).
• Cloud & deployment: AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud - or experience with secure local/on-prem hosting (relevant for government data-residency requirements).
• CI/CD, containerization (Docker), and basic DevOps to get the MVP deployed reliably.

Bonus / nice-to-have

• Experience with logistics, postal, delivery, address, or mapping systems.
• Experience delivering government or public-sector software, or systems handling national/sensitive data.
• French and/or Arabic language ability (working language with La Poste and government stakeholders; English is fine for the core technical work)., * A pragmatic builder who ships, not just plans.
• Comfortable being the most senior engineer in the room and setting the direction.
• Clear communicator who can explain technical trade-offs to non-technical decision-makers.
• Self-directed, reliable, and able to take ownership across an ambiguous, early-stage project.
• Genuinely interested in building meaningful national infrastructure with real public impact.