Senior Backend Engineer (Contract to Hire)
$58,240–$120,640 year
Remote
Job Summary
Design PostgreSQL schemas, indexes, and queries for a high-write scheduling workload while owning performance troubleshooting and migrations at scale. Build, operate, and harden AWS infrastructure including Lambda, RDS, App Runner, and Bedrock using Terraform. Develop Python/FastAPI backend services and manage REST/OpenAPI contracts consumed by Next.js and React Native mobile apps. Integrate AI agents via Claude, Bedrock, and MCP tooling into daily code writing and testing. Collaborate with data teams on forecasting pipelines using Prophet, Pandas, and NumPy. Write pytest test suites, strengthen CI/CD gates in GitHub Actions, and participate in architecture decisions. Partner with product and mobile teams to ship end-to-end features from rough specs.
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of professional backend engineering experience
- production Python (FastAPI, Flask, or Django)
- Strong PostgreSQL expertise: Deep, hands-on PostgreSQL experience — schema design, indexing, query optimization, and migrations in a production system, not just CRUD access
- Solid AWS experience: Real ownership of AWS infrastructure — you've built and operated services on Lambda, RDS, and/or App Runner (or close equivalents), and are comfortable with IAM, networking, and cost trade-offs, ideally with Terraform
- Experience designing, versioning, and documenting REST APIs (OpenAPI/Swagger) consumed by multiple client platforms
- Comfortable with containerized local development (Docker / Docker Compose)
- Startup mindset: A self-starter who works well independently and is genuinely comfortable with ambiguity — you don't need a fully-scoped ticket to make progress, and you're willing to make a call and adjust rather than wait for perfect clarity
- Strong instincts for testing, code review, and pragmatic architecture trade-offs in a fast-moving product org
- Excellent written communication — you document decisions and can work asynchronously
Desired Qualifications
- Experience with ML/data tooling (Pandas, NumPy, time-series forecasting) or working alongside data science teams
- Experience integrating LLM APIs or agentic tooling (Claude, Bedrock, MCP) into production products
- Familiarity with Next.js/React/TypeScript, enough to collaborate across the stack on API design
- Background in workforce management, scheduling, HR tech, or other vertical SaaS
- Prior experience at an early-stage startup, where you owned infrastructure and data decisions with little existing precedent
- Experience mentoring engineers or leading technical design for a small team
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