Backend Engineer (Intern / Early Contributor)

About the role

Cornerstone is building a trusted payments ecosystem for Africa and seeks a Backend Engineer intern to help design, build, and scale core systems that move money securely across the continent.

Key responsibilities

• Build and maintain reliable APIs and backend services.
• Ensure performance, security, and scalability of systems.
• Collaborate with frontend and product teams to launch new features.
• Write clean, maintainable, and testable code.
• Participate in architecture, design, and deployment discussions.
• Investigate and fix bugs to keep systems running smoothly.

Required profile

• At least 1 year of experience in backend development.
• Proficiency in Node.js, Python, Go, or a similar language.
• Understanding of databases (SQL or NoSQL) and API design.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or similar).
• Interest in learning new technologies in a startup environment.

Required skills

• Node.js
• Python
• Go
• SQL
• NoSQL
• AWS
• GCP
• Docker
• Kubernetes
• CI/CD
• DevOps tools

What we offer

• Real‑world experience building digital payment systems.
• Mentorship from experienced engineers and founders.
• Opportunity to work on live projects impacting real users.
• Flexible, collaborative remote environment.
• Letter of recommendation upon successful completion.
• Potential full‑time role after internship based on performance.