Google Announces Vacancies in Kenya for New Centre

Google is hiring for several roles in Nairobi, Kenya ahead of the launch of its new product development centre.

Among vacancies available are roles for engineers, researchers and UX/UI designers. One can apply for the roles via Google’s Careers Website.

The product development centre in Nairobi is Google’s first in Africa. It is the latest entrant in a growing list of big tech firms re-positioning themselves in Kenya.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai tweeted on Tuesday, April 19: “Excited to open our first product development center in Africa later this year. We’re hiring engineers, product managers, UX designers and researchers in Nairobi who want to build helpful products and services for people in Africa and around the world.”

A few weeks ago, Microsoft launched its Africa Development Centre (ADC) in Nairobi. Another ADC was launched in Lagos, Nigeria.

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Visa also launched its innovation hub in Nairobi. It is their first innovation hub in Africa and the sixth in the world.

The situation has triggered increased competition for tech talent in the country. Many startups which cannot match the salaries and perks offered by the majors could be some of the biggest losers.

Established firms including telcos, banks and other financial services firms have also been losing their highly skilled employees in Kenya as big tech scoops them up.

Many analysts have welcomed the renewed interest of big tech in Kenya, noting it will accelerate growth of the tech ecosystem in the country. At the same time, others have called for Kenyan tech talent to be remunerated at a comparable rate to their counterparts in other markets where the companies operate.

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