Build payroll software
Kenya actually needs
PawaHR is a founder-led company in Nairobi solving a specific, hard, and unglamorous problem: making statutory payroll compliance work for Kenyan SMEs — and for the accountants who look after them — without spreadsheets or WhatsApp approvals.
We are not hiring at the moment. When a role opens, it is posted on this page.
Early days. Real problems. Direct impact.
We are not trying to be a large company. We are trying to build a good one — where every line of code is written to run a real payroll, and every decision is visible to the people it affects. Growth would be the outcome, not the goal. What we won't trade is the quality of the work or the trust it carries.
The work matters
A Kenyan employer has to file PAYE, SHIF, NSSF, and the Housing Levy correctly every month. Getting it wrong means penalties, disputes, and unpaid people. Our code is not abstract.
The interesting problems live in the edge cases — how a commission or on-call allowance is taxed in the month it is paid, or how a partial month of leave draws against a balance.
You'll be seen
There is no layer of management between your work and the people who use it. You will talk to customers, watch the product fail, and be the one who fixes it. At a larger employer you would be one of a hundred; here, what you build in your first year becomes the product for the next decade.
A high bar — for a reason
The employers who choose PawaHR will trust it with payroll that has to be right the first time. That is a high bar, and we hold it deliberately: the work is hard, we expect the people we hire to meet it, and we take the process of finding them seriously. Those expectations exist for the people whose salaries depend on our accuracy.
Nairobi-based, Kenya-first
Our compliance engine is built around Kenyan law — PAYE bands, SHIF, NSSF tiers, the Housing Levy. That focus is the product's advantage, and it means the problems you work on are locally real, not imported.
A few honest notes
Not a list of perks. Just the things that shape the day-to-day more than any policy document.
- Nairobi, in person for the hard problems PawaHR is based in Nairobi. Compliance and payroll move fastest when people work through the hard problems together, so the first roles will be in person for that — regular working sessions in Nairobi — with the quieter deep-work hours remote.
- Monthly rhythm, real deadlines Payroll and statutory filing run on a monthly cycle whether the software is ready or not. That creates a real rhythm — intense around release, quiet between. No performative long hours; no pretending deadlines aren't deadlines.
- Long-term by design We are building a company people can grow with, not one to flip. The people we hire early shape what this becomes, and we plan around them staying. That is the expectation we hire against.
The principles that shape the work
These are the same values that guide the product, from the About page — not a separate set invented for a careers page. Here is what each one means for the work.
Accuracy above all
The decimal point matters. Every deduction is verified meticulously, every time. If a payroll calculation is wrong by a shilling, that is a bug — not a rounding error.
Local first, global standards
Kenyan compliance, world-class engineering. We build for local regulations without compromising on quality, and we don't pretend the two are in tension.
Friction fighters
We hunt down manual processes, outdated forms, and slow approvals — and we remove them. If a step exists only because "that's how it's always been done," it is a candidate for deletion.
Transparent by default
Clear calculations, clear communication, clear code. No hidden fees, no confusing deductions, no surprise scope. The same principle applies to how we talk to each other and to candidates.
Pawa spirit
We bring energy and power to HR. We don't just process payroll; we power businesses. At work, that means owning a problem from the first report to the shipped fix — and bringing the same energy to the hundredth payroll run as to the first.
Current openings
Every open role will be listed here with its scope and requirements. We hire deliberately, and only when there is a real gap.
No roles open right now
When a role opens, it will be listed here with its scope and requirements. If a role isn't listed here, it isn't ours.
A note on recruitment integrity
- PawaHR never charges for applications. There is no application fee, no processing fee, no deposit, and no payment of any kind at any stage of our hiring process. If anyone — including someone presenting themselves as a PawaHR employee, recruiter, or partner — asks you for money, a deposit, or a favour in connection with a role, they are acting in bad faith.
- Every genuine role is listed on this page. If someone claims to be recruiting for a PawaHR role that is not listed here, they are not acting on our behalf.
- Report it. If you're asked for money, or if you experience any form of harassment or misconduct during a PawaHR hiring process, email careers@pawahr.com with the subject line "Recruitment integrity". We take every report seriously and will investigate.
What to expect
When a role opens, the process runs in four steps. It is the same for every candidate.
Conversation
An initial conversation about your background, what you've built, and what you want to work on. Depending on the role, this may be a call, a video session, an email exchange, or a walkthrough of work you've already produced. We tell you what PawaHR is and isn't — directly.
Work sample
A short exercise relevant to the role. For engineers, a small feature or a code review; for others, a written problem. We tell you upfront whether it's paid, and we don't reuse samples across candidates.
Deep-dive
A working session with us — reading code together, talking through the exercise, discussing how you would approach something real.
Outcome
Every applicant hears back once the decision is reached. A role with many applicants takes time to review properly, and we don't rush a decision to hit an arbitrary deadline.
Careers questions, answered
The things candidates ask us before or after applying.
Not right now. Every opening is posted on this page, which the Company menu links to. PawaHR does not accept speculative applications: if a role is not listed, it is not open.
Please don't. Applications are considered only for a listed role, so anything sent while no role is open is deleted without being read. When a role opens, apply to it on this page.
PawaHR is based in Nairobi. The first roles will be in person by default — regular working sessions in Nairobi for the hard problems — with the quieter deep-work hours remote. The exact balance is agreed with whoever joins.
Watch this page: every opening is posted here when it opens, and the Company menu links to it. If a role isn't listed here, it isn't ours.
PawaHR never charges for applications, and every genuine role is listed on this page. If anyone asks you for money, a deposit, or a favour in connection with a PawaHR role, or if you experience any form of harassment or misconduct during our hiring process, email careers@pawahr.com with the subject line "Recruitment integrity". We take every report seriously and will investigate.