Lead Backend Python Developer

We are looking for a highly experienced Lead Backend Developer to take ownership of our existing backend application, stabilise the architecture, and lead ongoing development and to start immediately.

This is not a support role. This is a hands-on leadership position for someone who can audit, optimise, scale, and future-proof a production-grade system.

You will be responsible for technical direction, code quality, performance, and backend strategy.

• 6+ years of professional experience in backend development
• 4+ years of strong Python production experience
• Proven experience owning and scaling live applications
• Experience leading backend teams or mentoring developers

• Expert-level Python programming skills
• Strong experience building and maintaining REST APIs using FastAPI
• Deep knowledge of SQLAlchemy ORM
• Strong experience with PostgreSQL, query optimisation, indexing, and performance tuning
• Solid understanding of backend architecture and system design principles
• Advanced Git workflows and code review practices
• Hands-on experience deploying and managing applications on AWS
• Strong understanding of application security best practices
• Experience working with Docker in production environments
• Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines

• Experience with microservices architecture
• Knowledge of background task processing systems
• Experience with monitoring, logging, and observability tools
• Exposure to infrastructure as code
• Experience scaling applications under growing traffic loads

• Take full ownership of the existing backend system
• Audit the current architecture and recommend structural improvements
• Lead backend development roadmap and technical decisions
• Refactor and optimise legacy code for scalability and performance
• Design new features with clean, scalable architecture
• Implement database optimisation strategies
• Ensure high test coverage and code quality standards
• Establish best practices for documentation and API standards
• Oversee deployments and ensure production stability
• Mentor junior developers and conduct structured code reviews
• Collaborate closely with product, frontend, and DevOps teams

• Strong architectural thinking and long-term planning mindset
• Ability to identify technical debt and fix it properly
• Ownership mentality, not task-based execution
• Clear and confident communication skills
• Calm decision-making under pressure
• High attention to performance, security, and scalability
• Someone who can step in and elevate the entire backend system