Gates Foundation AI Fellow - Africa Regional Offices

The Gates Foundation AI Fellows Program is recruiting its first Africa-based cohort to apply artificial intelligence to practical challenges in global health, development and education. This is a full-time, 12-month limited-term employment position based in Abuja, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg or Nairobi. Each fellow will lead one or two high-priority projects with the Foundation’s Africa team, government counterparts and partners. Example work includes decision-support tools for development finance, systems to reduce medicine stockouts, and AI-assisted health planning and supply-chain management. Fellows will prototype with modern AI and large language models, build and evaluate machine-learning solutions, prepare data pipelines, contribute reliable software, support responsible AI practice and help colleagues build practical AI capability. The programme offers hands-on responsibility for projects serving African institutions and communities, access to the Foundation’s network across government, civil society, academia and industry, collaboration with senior specialists, mentorship, and a portfolio of applied public-interest AI work. The official listing describes employee benefits but does not state a salary figure. Applications are made through the official Gates Foundation Workday page. Select Apply, create or sign in to a candidate account, complete the requested information and submit by 11 November 2026. The organiser does not specify a deadline time or timezone, so candidates should apply early. Applicants must choose a listed duty station and must already have legal authorisation to work in that country. Visa sponsorship and relocation support are not provided. Appointment is subject to the Foundation’s standard background check.

Applicants must hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, data science, engineering, applied mathematics or a relevant field, and have at least two years of experience applying AI solutions, preferably in health or agricultural systems. Candidates should demonstrate practical competence in AI and machine learning, model evaluation, large language models, software engineering and data work. Evidence may come from applied coursework, research, internships or early professional experience. They should be able to prototype end-to-end solutions, communicate with technical and non-technical colleagues, work across disciplines, teach others and apply equity, privacy, fairness and explainability principles. Applicants must be able to work full time for 12 months in Abuja, Nigeria; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Johannesburg, South Africa; or Nairobi, Kenya. Legal work authorisation for the selected country is required without visa sponsorship, and relocation support is not available.