Product Engineer

If we receive a high volume of applications, we may close this vacancy earlier than the advertised deadline, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

About the Job

The Product Engineer designs and builds the digital products that supply‑chain partners and Better Cotton teams rely on for supply‑chain workflows, traceability, reporting, and interoperability with external platforms. The role may suit someone from a software engineering or product management background – what matters most is the ability to build and ship production software, make strong product decisions, and recognise what makes a product clear, useful, and well designed. The role strengthens the reliability and usability of Better Cotton's supply‑chain digital tools and the integrity of the data that flows through them.

The Challenge

Looking ahead to 2030, we are targeting reducing GHG emissions from cotton production by half, big cuts in synthetic pesticide use, improve soil health across our network, improve farm income and support women’s empowerment among farmers and farm workers.

Responsibilities

In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Review and stress‑test requirements from subject‑matter experts and internal teams, identifying unclear assumptions and unnecessary complexity before build begins.
• Partner with the Product Designer to shape simple, effective user flows and product solutions for supply‑chain workflows.
• Translate agreed solutions into clear, prioritised, testable delivery increments, and build high‑quality features across frontend, backend, and data layers.
• Design and implement reliable integrations with internal systems and external platforms, supporting traceability, reporting, and interoperability.
• Use AI coding agents throughout prototyping, development, review, testing, and debugging to accelerate delivery without compromising quality, security, or maintainability.
• Write automated tests and instrument products to track adoption, performance, and reliability; release features safely and support their rollout.

Experience

the following skills, knowledge, and experience:

• Degree in a technical, product, or related field is valuable but not required; what matters most is demonstrated experience building and shipping production software.
• 5+ years of relevant experience, with a strong track record of personally building, shipping, and improving production digital products that users value and rely on; evidence of judgement, scope, and delivery matters more than tenure.
• Strong hands‑on engineering capability, gained through software engineering, product engineering, or a product role involving substantial software development.
• Experience taking products from prototype through production, rollout, and continuous improvement, and translating detailed requirements into simple, technically sound, maintainable solutions.
• Strong product and interaction‑design judgement, gained working closely with designers and subject‑matter experts.
• Experience building data‑intensive enterprise products, APIs, and integrations.
• Experience using AI coding agents as a core part of development, testing, debugging, and code review.
• Experience testing, deploying, monitoring, and supporting production applications.
• Experience with agricultural commodities, supply chains, physical traceability, chain of custody, enterprise platforms, or regulated workflows is valuable.
• Fluency in English is required
• Experience working across the full software development lifecycle, from frontend development through to backend services and cloud deployment.
• Familiarity with modern web technologies, APIs, integrations, and data‑driven applications.
• Knowledge of cloud platforms, CI/CD practices, automated testing, and maintaining reliable production systems.
• Experience using AI‑assisted development tools and collaborating with product, design, and technology teams using modern planning and design tools.
• Advanced proficiency in Hindi, Urdu, or Swahili would be advantageous.

What we offer

• - Hybrid working – one to two days/week in the central London office.
• - The opportunity to work from anywhere in the world for up to one month per year
• - Flexible working, with core hours from 10 am to 4 pm local time
• - Continuous learning and development
• - A generous annual leave package, including paid holiday, public holidays, additional paid days off during the festive season, study and exam days, and extra discretionary leave for life events such as family weddings or moving home
• - Enhanced parental benefits
• - The opportunity to make your mark and make a difference.

Working arrangements

The position is full‑time (40 hours per week) and will be based in London. Better Cotton Initiative offers flexible working, with core hours being 10 am – 4 pm. The position may require limited international travel.

About Better Cotton Initiative

Better Cotton Initiative is aglobal not-for-profit organisationsupporting theproduction of moreequitableandsustainable cotton at farmlevel. We exist to catalyse the cotton farming communitywithpartners,governments and others to continuously drive positive impact by setting standards and facilitating the supply and demand of more sustainable cotton from farm tobrand.In just 15 years we have aligned more than a fifth of the world’s cotton with our standard and helped farmers and farming communities thrive. Join us in building a better, more sustainable future for cotton worldwide.

About our Values

The post holder will be expected to operate in line with our workplace values which are:

• Trustworthy (including honest, transparent, credible)
• As having Integrity (including responsible, authentic)
• Positive (including problem-solving, pragmatic)
• Engaging (including adaptable, inclusive, holistic)
• Daring (including courageous, innovative, game-changing)

Better Cotton Initiative is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to good practice and transparency in the management of natural, human, and financial resources.

We have a zero-tolerance approach to any attitudes or behaviours that put children or adults at risk of harm. Safeguarding incidents are acts of serious misconduct and are grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including, dismissal and referral to relevant authorities for criminal prosecution. Therefore, all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks.