Software Development Intern

iSDA is seeking a Software Development Intern for a 3-month position to support the ongoing development of Virtual Agronomist, a WhatsApp-based AI service that delivers personalised, science-backed advice to farmers.

Virtual Agronomist has seen explosive growth in 2025, with advice given on over 280,000 farm plots. The intern will collaborate with our software development team to design, build, test, and deploy new features for Virtual Agronomist.

This role is ideal for early career candidates with a background in computer science or software development and a strong interest in conversational AI and improving agriculture. The internship offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of software engineering, decision science, machine learning, agronomy, and AI-driven user experiences.

The internship will include an honorarium of USD $1000 per month. ISDA is a remote-first company, and the role is 100% remote, with priority given to applicants based in Africa. There is an opportunity to extend the internship into a permanent position, subject to requirements.

Duties will likely include:

• Contributing to the design, development, testing, and deployment of Virtual Agronomist.
• Collaborating with the Science and Field team to introduce new capabilities and improvements to Virtual Agronomist.
• Troubleshooting and resolving issues to ensure the smooth functioning of Virtual Agronomist
• Providing technical support and guidance to end-users as needed.

Essential skills:

• Experience with Python

Desirable (but not required) skills:

• Knowledge of Git and version control workflows
• Experience with relational databases such as PostgreSQL and MySQL
• Familiarity with the FastAPI framework
• Strong interest in large language models (LLMs) and conversational AI

Instructions to Candidates:

Please send a recent CV (maximum 2 pages), including details of code you have written (publicly visible projects such as via a GitHub repository would be a benefit) to info@isda- africa.com. We’d like to get to know you, so please also include a cover letter of no more than 1 page that covers the following topics:

1. Tell us about yourself, your interests and what excites you about the internship?
2. What experience do you have that is suitable for this internship?
3. What languages do you speak and how proficient are you in each?
4. Anything else you think we should know about you!