Lead Backend Python Developer

Job Description

Lead Backend Python Developer

Location

Austin, TX

Position Summary

We are seeking a hands-on Lead Backend Python Developer with strong technical leadership experience to drive backend development and coordinate an offshore engineering team.

The candidate will act as the technical bridge between the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) and offshore developers, translating architectural requirements into actionable development tasks while ensuring code quality, technical standards, and timely delivery.

This role requires approximately 50% hands-on coding and 50% technical leadership, code reviews, mentoring, and delivery coordination.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate offshore development teams, providing technical guidance and resolving development blockers.
• Translate architecture and product requirements into technical specifications, user stories, and development tasks.
• Design, develop, and maintain backend services and REST APIs using Python, FastAPI, and Flask.
• Implement asynchronous programming, dependency injection, Pydantic validation, and scalable backend solutions.
• Design and maintain microservices architectures using Domain-Driven Design (DDD) principles.
• Establish API standards using OpenAPI 3.0+, contract-first design, API versioning, and OAuth 2.0.
• Conduct code reviews and ensure adherence to coding standards, testing requirements, and CI/CD practices.
• Work with PostgreSQL, Alembic migrations, Oracle, and SQL Server.
• Manage containerized applications using Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift, and Helm.
• Support GitLab CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, deployment, and production troubleshooting.
• Implement monitoring and observability using Datadog, structured logging, and distributed tracing.
• Mentor developers, manage technical debt, and ensure delivery quality across distributed teams.

Required Technical Skills

• Strong hands-on experience with Python, FastAPI, and/or Flask.
• Deep understanding of asynchronous programming, Pydantic, and dependency injection.
• Expertise in REST API development, OpenAPI 3.0+, and API integration.
• Strong experience with microservices architecture and distributed systems.
• Proven technical leadership experience, including mentoring, code reviews, and development team coordination.
• Experience with PostgreSQL, SQL, and database migrations.
• Hands-on knowledge of Docker, Kubernetes, and GitLab CI/CD.
• Understanding of OAuth 2.0, JWT, and application security.
• Experience with automated testing using Pytest and integration testing.

Additional / Preferred Skills

• Node.js and React/TypeScript working knowledge.
• Experience with OpenShift, RKE2, Helm, and JFrog Artifactory.
• Datadog APM, OpenTelemetry, and distributed tracing.
• Kafka and event-driven architecture experience.
• Domain-Driven Design (DDD) and C4 architecture documentation.
• Experience working with offshore or geographically distributed development teams.
• Familiarity with Jira, Confluence, and GitLab.

Experience & Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional backend software development experience.
• 3+ years of technical leadership or coordination experience.
• Strong experience leading development teams without necessarily having formal people-management authority.
• Excellent communication, problem-solving, mentoring, and stakeholder coordination skills.
• Flexibility to work with US-based stakeholders and offshore teams across time zones.

Key Screening Priorities

• Proven technical leadership of development teams.
• Strong hands-on Python backend development (FastAPI/Flask).
• Async programming, Pydantic, and REST API design.
• Microservices and OpenAPI contract-first architecture.
• Offshore team coordination and code review ownership.

Important

The two primary requirements are technical leadership experience and deep backend Python expertise. Candidates must demonstrate both through actual project experience.