Staff Python Engineer

Overview
Location:
Full remote
Schedule:
Full time
Job Purpose
We are looking for a highly Senior Python Engineer to operate at a Staff / Tech Lead level as an individual contributor, supporting the design, evolution, and reliability of complex backend systems.

This role focuses on solving high-impact, cross-domain technical problems, influencing architectural decisions, and providing strong technical leadership across teams, while operating as a contractor without formal people management responsibilities.

The ideal candidate combines deep backend expertise, strong systems thinking, and the ability to lead through influence, partnering closely with Engineering Managers and Senior Engineers to deliver scalable, maintainable, and high-performing solutions in distributed environments.

Responsibilities

• Act as a staff-level individual contributor, serving as a technical authority and reference point across multiple backend systems and domains.
• Lead and influence architectural discussions for complex, distributed systems, ensuring solutions are scalable, reliable, and maintainable.
• Drive the design and evolution of mission-critical backend services, collaborating with multiple teams and stakeholders.
• Solve highly complex and ambiguous technical problems that span multiple services, domains, or teams.
• Influence engineering best practices related to system design, performance, reliability, testing, and maintainability.
• Partner closely with Engineering Managers, Tech Leads, and senior engineers to guide technical direction and decision-making.
• Provide advanced technical leadership through mentoring, architectural guidance, and high-quality code reviews, supporting the growth of other engineers.
• Write high-quality, production-ready Python code and contribute hands-on to critical parts of the system.
• Ensure robust integrations across distributed systems, including APIs, data stores, and asynchronous communication mechanisms.
• Develop and maintain clear technical documentation for complex systems and architectural decisions.
• Contribute to identifying and reducing technical debt, balancing short-term delivery with long-term system health.
• Operate effectively as a contractor, leading through influence rather than formal authority

Experience & Qualifications

• Extensive professional experience working primarily with Python in complex, large-scale production environments, with demonstrated Staff-level technical impact.
• Proven experience operating at a Staff Engineer or Tech Lead level as an individual contributor, with impact across multiple teams or domains.
• Deep expertise in system design and architecture, with the ability to independently design, evolve, and influence scalable, reliable backend systems.
• Strong background in distributed systems, including Kubernetes (k8s), caching strategies, asynchronous communication, and core concepts such as the CAP theorem.
• Demonstrated ability to solve highly complex software problems involving multiple services, data stores, and integration patterns.
• Advanced experience designing and evolving APIs and backend services using frameworks such as Django, FastAPI, or Flask.
• Strong hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines, build systems, testing strategies, and production debugging in distributed environments.
• Expert-level proficiency with Git and modern code review practices.
• Solid experience working with both SQL and NoSQL databases, including data modeling and performance considerations.
• Ability to influence technical decisions and engineering practices without formal authority.
• Strong communication skills, capable of clearly articulating complex technical concepts to engineers and non-engineers alike.
• Fluent in English (written and spoken).