Norbert Okoth

Back End Developer @ Safaricom PLC

About

I'm a Software Engineer with 5+ years at building both the microservices that power M-Pesa and the integrations that connect it to core banking systems, payment gateways, and lending platforms — serving 60M+ users. I have hands-on integration experience with M-Pesa, Paystack, Daraja API, VISA, Mastercard, CBS systems, and core banking workflows.My work spans two areas:INTEGRATIONS:- Core banking system integrations (T24/Temenos, Huawei CBS)- Mobile money integrations — M-Pesa Daraja API (B2C, C2B, STK Push)- REST and SOAP API design, data mapping, and transformation- Financial messaging — ISO 20022 aligned workflows- Idempotency, retry logic, and reconciliation for financial systemsMICROSERVICES:- Event-driven architecture with Apache Kafka (millions of events monthly)- Java Spring Boot and Node.js backend services- CI/CD pipelines — Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Docker, Kubernetes- Cloud deployments on AWS- PCI-DSS and GDPR compliant systemsCurrently focused on applying this experience in financial inclusion —where reliable integrations directly change lives.

Country

Kenya

City

Nairobi County

Industry

Computer Software

Skill

Application Containers Cloud + Cloud Native Clusters Git Ops Kubernetes Pods Service Mesh, React Native, Understand GitHub Copilot data and architecture , Configure privacy, content exclusions, and safeguards, Improve developer productivity with GitHub Copilot , Apply prompt engineering and context crafting , Use GitHub Copilot features , Use GitHub Copilot responsibly, ConfigMaps Container Orchestration Ingress Minikube Secrets Volume Management, GitOps Logging Monitoring Orchestration Serverless Service Mesh, Cloud-Native Architecture, Scheduling, Software Observability, CLI, Graphical User Interface (GUI), System Configuration, Linux Security, File Management, Linux Distributions, Bash

Experience

Back End Developer

Safaricom PLC

2022-10 - 2026-1 · 3 yrs 4 mos

Westlands, Nairobi

• Cross-Border & Fintech Integration: Integrated card networks and Paystack APIs to enable secure, compliant cross-border transactions with multi currency support, while migrating billing workflows (SDP → Huawei CSB) to unlock new payment channels and drive 300% revenue growth. • Microservices & APIs: Built cloud-native microservices in Java Spring Boot, exposing REST APIs for millions of daily users; implemented resilience patterns (circuit breakers, retries, idempotency). • Frontend Collaboration: Partnered with frontend squads using React/Vue to integrate secure APIs, token management, and responsive components. • Event-Driven Systems: Designed Kafka-based workflows processing 10M+ subscription events monthly; deployed streaming pipelines for real-time responsiveness. • Performance & Availability: Developed reactive API proxy reducing latency by 40% and backlogs by 60%; optimized PostgreSQL schemas for high-throughput billing. • DevSecOps & Observability: Owned CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions), embedded automated testing, and implemented monitoring with Prometheus/Grafana, reducing incident diagnosis time by 50%. • Architecture Leadership: Contributed to architecture reviews, containerized services with Docker/Kubernetes, and mentored engineers on secure-by-design development.

Software Developer In Test

Safaricom PLC

2022-2 - 2022-10 · 9 mos

Westlands, Nairobi.

Automated high-volume financial transactions with over 70% test coverage, reducing manual test cycles and increasing release confidence across mission-critical payment flows. Integrated automated tests into CI/CD pipelines, significantly lowering regression rates and enabling faster, safer deployments. Faced challenges with inconsistent test environments, flaky UI tests, and limited visibility into backend data integrity. Addressed these by stabilizing Selenium-based test suites, implementing robust data validation using SQL, and enhancing logging for traceability. This reduced false positives and improved defect triage across teams. Collaborated in Agile squads to ensure quality delivery across backend and frontend services. Partnered with developers to design testable APIs and with DevOps to align test execution with release workflows. Improved defect reporting in Jira with clear reproduction steps and technical context, accelerating resolution times. Led efforts to expand test coverage for React-based UIs and backend APIs, validating state management, request/response contracts, and database persistence. This strengthened regression safety and minimized defect leakage to production, contributing to a more stable user experience.