Product Engineer (Field Tools)

Better Cotton; Delhi; Hybrid; INR 1,800,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid in Delhi

Global mobility up to 1 month per year

Flexible core hours 10am–4pm (local)

Learning & development

Generous leave package

Enhanced parental benefits

Make your mark

Job summary

The Product Engineer at Better Cotton Initiative designs and builds digital tools for farmers, field teams, and programme partners. You will blend product judgement with hands-on software engineering to deliver reliable field-facing applications in production.

With 5+ years of experience, you will own end-to-end product delivery, work across frontend/back-end/data layers, and use AI coding agents to accelerate development while maintaining quality and security.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of relevant experience building and shipping production digital products.
• Experience taking products from prototype to production and continuous improvement.
• Experience with frontend, backend, and data layers.

Responsibilities

• Review and stress-test requirements before build.
• Partner with Product Designer to shape simple mobile/offline/multilingual flows.
• Translate solutions into prioritized, testable delivery increments and build features.
• Use AI coding agents to accelerate delivery without compromising quality, security, or maintainability.
• Write automated tests and instrument products to track adoption, performance, and reliability.
• Release features safely, support rollout, iterate based on field feedback.
• Set clear objectives with line manager and own agreed outcomes.
• Take ownership of objectives aligning with team priorities.

Skills

English proficiency

Product sense

AI coding agents

Education

Bachelors in Computer Science or related

Tools

TypeScript

React

Python

SQL

Cloud

Job description

About the Job

The Product Engineer designs and builds the digital products that farmers, field teams, programme partners, and BCI teams rely on to collect data and carry out field activities. The role combines product judgement, design sensibility, and hands-on software engineering to turn field and programme requirements into simple, reliable products in production. The Product Engineer is key strengthening the quality and usability of Better Cotton's field-facing digital tools and, in turn, the efficiency of field operations across our programme geographies.

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 programme teams, identifying unclear assumptions and unnecessary complexity before build begins.
• Partner with the Product Designer to shape simple, effective user flows for mobile, offline, and multilingual field use.
• Translate agreed solutions into clear, prioritised, testable delivery increments, and build high-quality features across frontend, backend, and data layers.
• Use AI coding agents throughout prototyping, development, testing, and debugging to accelerate delivery without compromising quality, security, or maintainability.
• Write automated tests and instrument products to track adoption, performance, and reliability in real-world field conditions.
• Release features safely, support their rollout, and iterate based on field feedback and product usage data.
• Work collaboratively with the line manager to set clear, outcome-based objectives that align with function-wide and organisational goals.
• Take ownership of agreed objectives, ensuring alignment with team priorities and performance expectations.

Experience

the following skills, knowledge, and experience:

• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
• 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.
• Experience taking products from prototype through production, rollout, and continuous improvement.
• Strong product and interaction-design judgement, gained working closely with designers and subject-matter experts.
• Experience using AI coding agents (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot) as a core part of development, testing, debugging, and code review.
• Experience testing, deploying, monitoring, and supporting production applications.
• Experience with agriculture, field operations, offline products, multilingual interfaces, geospatial workflows, or products for users with varying digital literacy is valuable.
• Experience building modern web applications using TypeScript, React, and related frontend technologies.
• Experience developing backend services, APIs, and databases using Python (or a comparable language), SQL, and cloud-based infrastructure.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is essential.
• Proficiency in Hindi, Urdu, Swahili, or other relevant languages would be advantageous.

What we offer

• Hybrid working opportunity, with the office days based in Delhi.
• 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 Delhi. Better Cotton Initiative offers flexible working, with core hours being 10 am - 4 pm. The position may require limited international travel.

Better Cotton Initiative does not use artificial intelligence or in its hiring process. Every application is reviewed by our Talent Acquisition team and relevant hiring managers to ensure a fair and human-led assessment experience.

Our hiring process

Initial Screening

Applicant screening is a crucial step in our recruitment process. This stage may involve a brief phone interview or video call to evaluate your suitability for the position. During this screening, we review resumes and cover letters, and may conduct initial background checks to narrow down the pool of applicant. Internal candidates are encouraged to inform their line manager about their application to promote transparency and help facilitate a smooth transition if selected.

Interviews

If you successfully pass the initial screening, you will be invited for interviews. The interview process at Better Cotton Initiative may include one or more rounds of interviews with various stakeholders, such as the hiring manager, team members, and potentially senior management. As an internal candidate, you may have discussions regarding your current responsibilities and how they will transition to the new position.

Assessment and Testing

Depending on the role, you might be required to complete assessments, technical tests, or skills evaluations to gauge your competency and suitability for the position. Internal candidates may have the option to demonstrate their existing skills through current job performance or past project outcomes.

Reference Checks

Once you progress further in the process, reference checks are conducted to validate your work history, skills, and qualifications, and for some roles, your education and criminal history. Internal candidates may be asked for references from current or previous supervisors within Better Cotton Initiative to provide insights into their performance and capabilities.

After completing interviews, assessments, and reference checks, the hiring team evaluates your performance and fit for the role. If you are selected and your references are relevant and satisfactory, you will receive a formal job offer letter outlining the terms of employment, compensation, benefits, and any other relevant details. For internal candidates, the offer process may include a discussion about how your transition to the new role will be managed and any support needed for a smooth handover.

About Better Cotton Initiative

Better Cotton Initiative is aglobal not-for-profit organisationsupporting theproduction of moreequitableandsustainable cotton at farmlevel. We exist to catalise 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.