Deadline: August 5th, 2025
Location: Remote
Duration: 5 months (August 7 – December 31, 2025)
Background
AfriLabs is a pan-African network supporting innovation hubs, tech communities, and entrepreneurs across 53 African countries. We empower local innovators through collaboration, capacity-building, and initiatives that advance inclusive, tech-driven solutions to Africa’s pressing challenges.
In partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Meta, AfriLabs is implementing the AI Bias Reduction & Inclusive Data Generation Engine (AI BRIDGE). This initiative aims to foster equitable AI development by addressing gender bias in African language datasets and improving linguistic and cultural representation in AI systems.
About the Project – AI BRIDGE
AI BRIDGE is an innovative initiative engaging African developers in the creation of gender-sensitive, bias-free AI tools in local languages. After a successful hackathon (Phase 1), four top teams have now advanced to Phase 2, where they will build a gender sanitization engine targeting outputs in 17 African languages.
These teams will require expert mentorship and technical support to ensure their tools are scalable, inclusive, and aligned with ethical AI principles.
Role Summary – DevOps Expert (Consultant)
We are seeking an experienced DevOps Consultant to support the design and deployment of AI BRIDGE components. This includes guiding teams in building scalable infrastructure, setting up CI/CD pipelines, managing data workflows, and ensuring security, traceability, and ethical compliance.
Scope of Work
The selected expert will support teams in the following key areas:
a) Infrastructure & Deployment
- Recommend modular, resource-efficient infrastructure (cloud-native or local)
- Guide containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
b) CI/CD Implementation
- Setup CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins
- Automate code testing, model validation, and API deployment
c) Data Versioning & Experiment Tracking
- Support use of DVC, MLflow, or equivalent tools
- Ensure audit-ready documentation for transparency
d) Security, Privacy & Ethics
- Advise on ethical infrastructure and privacy standards
- Configure secure annotation platforms (e.g., Label Studio, Prodigy)
e) Tooling & Dev Environment
- Help establish standardized local/remote dev environments
- Guide use of Git workflows, Conda, Docker Compose, etc.
f) API & Platform Integration
- Assist in hosting secure RESTful APIs for AI BRIDGE modules
- Customize multi-user annotation platforms
g) Technical Capacity Building
- Provide mentoring and on-demand support to teams
- Offer strategic guidance on inclusive, sustainable DevOps practices
Qualifications & Experience
✅ General Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Engineering, DevOps, or related fields
- Proven experience deploying ML infrastructure and modular AI systems
✅ Specialized Expertise (in at least 2 areas):
- CI/CD implementation and ML workflow automation
- Advanced Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, or Ansible use
- Data versioning with DVC, experiment tracking with MLflow
- Deploying applications in low-resource or hybrid cloud environments
- Security and ethical handling of bias-sensitive data
- Coaching in agile, research-focused or interdisciplinary DevOps environments
Timeline
Duration: 5 months (August 7 – December 31, 2025)
Work Type: Remote consultancy
How to Apply
If Applying as an Individual Consultant, submit:
- Filled Vendor Request Form
- Cover Letter and CV/Portfolio
- Government-issued ID
- Financial Proposal (in USD)
- 1–2 references (organization name, email, and phone)
- Sample of previous work (preferably related to innovation/grant programs)
If Applying as a Company, submit:
- Filled Vendor Request Form
- Certificate of Incorporation & Company Profile
- CV of Team Lead
- ID of Team Lead
- Financial Proposal (in USD)
- Relevant references
- Sample of previous work
Note: Please use the attached vendor form (do not modify the template) and email your full application to: [email protected]
Subject Line: AI BRIDGE DEVOPS EXPERT
Evaluation Criteria
Technical Proposal – 65%
- Qualifications and expertise
- Submission of all required documents
- Proven experience relevant to the role
Financial Proposal – 35%
- Clearly stated budget (in USD)
- Indicate if your rate is negotiable
- Valid for at least 6 months
Important Notes
- Applications close by COB August 5th, 2025
- Download the vendor form before filling
- Women and Paid Hub Members are strongly encouraged to apply
- Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted
For questions or clarifications, reach out to:[email protected]
