Alter Engineering Fellowship
Alter finds and supports high-growth tech ventures in emerging markets. Our mission is to catalyze development by supporting visionary entrepreneurs. We find the top tech companies around the world that have the potential to create economic opportunity at scale. We support high-character founders that are not only building their companies, they’re defying all odds to build their countries and are inspiring others to do the same.
Alter was founded three years ago out of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Alter currently works with 12 ventures in Nigeria, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cuba, Afghanistan, and Haiti with operations launching in Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Kenya, and South Africa this year. Since 2015, our ventures have created 2,334 jobs, now generate est. annual revenues of $492M+, and serve 2M+ customers.
Alter Engineering Fellowship Program
For more information, please see the full Alter Fellowship Brochure.
Alter's Engineering Fellowship is open to software engineers, data scientists, and data engineers that are passionate about crafting solutions to technical challenges at scale. Fellows spend at least 3 months embedded in the engineering team at an Alter partner company, developing core technologies that will scale the impact of the business. We welcome engineers across broad ranges of experience and levels of expertise.
Projects: Fellows have the flexibility to design their projects in conversation with the company leadership, based on their experience and needs of the company.
Your experience:
- Play a critical role in scaling technology for a leading venture
- Step up in new or advanced roles with full ownership and autonomy
- Be immersed in a new business culture and geography
- Lead and/or mentor teammates while building capabilities
- Gain access to the Alter network of leaders and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and beyond
Potential projects could include (but not limited to): architecting an increasingly complex back-end infrastructure of Bangladesh's largest ride-hailing company, using big data to guide a Bangladeshi grocery delivery app's product development, operational workflows, and customer-product interaction.
Orientation
Fellows are highly encouraged to attend Alter’s biannual orientation and short training program in San Francisco – which takes place in twice a year: in the winter (early January) and summer (early July). While participation is optional for Product Fellows, orientation gives the opportunity for Fellows to meet each other and learn more about Alter’s model and its partner companies. For Product Fellows that are unable to attend the biannual training, live/recorded webinars will be hosted to provide key information relevant to the Fellowship. For all Fellows, an Alter guidebook to the country and directory to Alter staff and Fellows will be provided.
Program structure
Length: Fellows have the option to embark on project-based experiences that can be tailored with the venture as needed with a minimum requirement of 6 months.
Timing: Projects launch on a rolling basis, so applications will be always open and matched with a company on-demand.
Location: Projects can be in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey and the US.
Logistics: Host companies will provide Fellows with housing, transportation, and a stipend that will be sufficient to cover living expenses within the country.
Reporting: The Fellow will be embedded within the organization and report to the CEO and/or other senior leaders within the host organization.
Application Process
- Please submit your resume and a response to a Fellowship Preference survey. Alter will work with its portfolio companies to select candidates for interviews.
- Once selected for interviews, you will have two 30-minute initial interviews with Alter’s core team/previous Fellows. These interviews will focus on cultural fit and your past experiences in the role.
- Based on fit and interest, you will have follow-up interviews with technical leadership of the ventures, which may include a coding interview or a brief take-home project. While Alter facilitates the process, your Fellowship placement will depend on mutual interest between you and the portfolio company. You will also have the chance to discuss the scope of the project at this time.
Requirements
- You have experience working at a top tech company or start-up in the US or abroad
- You are currently pursuing a Master's degree and have precious internships at top tech companies in the US
- You are willing to relocate to any of the respective countries and spend a minimum of 6 months working with our ventures
- You are open-minded, curious, and exude excellence