Graduate Fellow – Tech for Social Good

Location: Bangalore or Chennai

Full-time

Application: Click to Apply

About Reap Benefit

Reap Benefit’s mission is to build skills and agency in young people so they can solve real climate and civic issues in their own communities.

We are building first-mile changemakers, the Solve Ninja Movement, young people who don’t wait for someone else to fix what they see every day. We believe that if India is to improve at scale, local communities must improve. And if local communities are to improve, young people must become capable actors within them.

Our mission is to activate 10 million citizens by 2030 - to solve civic & environmental problems in their local communities - to reshape citizen participation & strengthen local self -governance.

So far, we have:

• Activated 1.2+ lakh Solve Ninjas (80% continuing as civic intermediaries)
• Enabled 1+ lakh civic actions, 3413 campaigns, and 552 innovations
• Built hyperlocal Solve Ninja communities in 18 states
• Partnered with 5 government bodies across 4 states

🔗 Learn more
🎥 Hear what President Obama had to say

About the Role

• Designation Options: Tech Solutions Fellow / Open-Source Software Fellow / Product Innovation Fellow
• Duration: 18 Months (Fixed-Term)
• Expected Start Date: August 15th
• Preferred Location: Bangalore or Chennai
• Compensation: Rs. 35,000/- PM

The Impact of Your Work

At Reap Benefit, we create open-source technology that helps solve local problems. From our WhatsApp AI Mentor Bot—which helps citizens take action in their own neighborhoods—to our community platform Samaaja, our tech is designed to empower people. We are looking for an

adaptable software engineer who loves to experiment, build creative solutions, and write reliable code that brings people together to improve their communities.

Growing Your Career with Us

• Learn from Experts: You will be mentored by experienced technology leaders, including Kailash Nadh (CTO, Zerodha). This is a unique chance to learn how to build simple, efficient, and powerful software that works for everyone.
• Build a Strong Foundation: If you are considering further studies in computer science or public policy, this role offers hands-on experience in solving real-world problems. You will lead projects that help over 100,000 active users make a difference in their cities.
• Work with Modern Technology: You will work with helpful AI tools, exploring how technology can support different languages and encourage positive community behavior.

What You Will Do

• Co-develop and build modular features for Changemaker Hub .
• Help design and manage our WhatsApp Chatbots and AI interfaces to ensure they are helpful, safe, and easy for thousands of people to use every day.
• Conduct thorough code reviews, implement robust backend logic, and build technical APIs/webhooks for system-wide tool integrations.
• Ensure our data practices are safe and fair, building tools that are accessible and useful for everyone, especially grassroots communities.

Who We Are Looking For

• Recent graduates (or final-year students) with a degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or an equivalent hands-on project portfolio.
• A curious learner who embraces modern tools, including AI, to write and debug code. We value your problem-solving process and deep understanding of logic over the specific tools or methods you use to execute the code.
• Strong foundational skills in modern web tech (JavaScript/TypeScript, React on frontend, Node.js/Python on backend) and open-source contribution workflows.
• A team player who believes technology should be used to help others and create positive change.

Selection & Technical Evaluation Process

• Timeline: Shortlisted candidates will be invited for personal/technical interviews beginning the 2nd week of June.
• Application Prerequisites: Candidates must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) via two primary action items:

Task 1: The "Why" Essay

A concise 200-word statement outlining what deeply inspires you to explore this hybrid intersection of civic-tech, community action, and development accelerator systems.

Task 2: Hands-On Technical Evaluation (Code Review Challenge)

We want to see how you approach real-world code. Please review the front-end code for https://ai.samaajdata.org to show us your debugging and problem-solving skills.

• Repository Link: https://github.com/reapbenefit/mcp_frontend

Ground Rules for AI Use

We believe in using the best tools available. Using AI (like ChatGPT or Claude) to help with your review is encouraged. To help us understand your process, if you use an AI tool, please include the prompts you used at the end of your report.

Submission Protocol

You must log your code review findings using a standardized spreadsheet layout.

Instructions to set up your log:

1. Make a copy of this google sheet document.
2. Start logging your findings in the format provided.
3. Optional: If you answered "Yes" in Column G, check the second tab "AI Prompt References" with two columns to fill it up accordingly: [Prompt Reference ID] and [Exact Prompt Text Used].

4. Ensure the sharing settings on your Google Sheet are set to "Anyone with the link can view" and submit the link along with your essay.
5. Please write to: hr@reapbenefit.org cc: gauthamraje@reapbenefit.org