Senior Python Engineer

Summary
Senior Python Engineer for Pathfinder (strategic roadmapping & portfolio planning platform) at a travel agency.
Focus: backend, data processing, APIs, performance & scalability. Ukraine, ФОП 3 група

About the Client & Project
We are partnering with a travel agency. You will join a cross-functional team building Pathfinder - a complex, data-heavy web application designed for strategic roadmapping and portfolio planning.
The focus of this role is backend engineering, data processing, APIs, performance, and scalability.

About the Role
As a Senior Python Engineer, you will become part of a mixed internal and client-side team that includes:
Senior Python Engineer(s)
Senior Full-Stack Engineer
Senior JavaScript Engineer
Senior AQA / Manual QA
Senior DevOps
Senior Product Designer
Solution Architect
You will work closely with the Solution Architect and the rest of the team within a shared tech stack. The environment is lean, fast-moving, and start-up-like, with evolving requirements.

Key Responsibilities
Design and develop robust, scalable backend services and APIs
Build efficient solutions for large-scale data processing, transformation, and aggregation
Implement appropriate caching, queuing, batch processing, and optimisation where needed
Write clean, testable, and maintainable code with strong automated test coverage
Investigate and resolve complex technical and performance issues
Collaborate closely with Solution Architect, AQA, Manual QA, and Front-end developers
Design solutions with performance, scalability, reliability, and maintainability in mind
Make pragmatic technical decisions considering cost, performance, and development effort
Challenge unnecessary complexity and deliver what is actually needed

Requirements
Strong commercial experience with Python and modern Python frameworks
Proven ability to design and develop robust, scalable backend services and APIs
Experience building efficient large-scale data processing, transformation, and aggregation solutions
Strong knowledge of SQL and relational databases (query optimisation and data modelling)
Experience with REST APIs, service integration, and asynchronous / background processing
Solid understanding of software architecture and engineering principles (beyond framework-level development)
Ability to analyse technical problems and choose the most appropriate solution
Comfort working with complex data models and business logic
Strong focus on performance and efficiency, especially when processing large datasets
Clear understanding of the trade-offs between simplicity, scalability, and maintainability
Note: AWS experience is not required.

Nice to Have
Strong engineering fundamentals and a pragmatic, no-over-engineering mindset
Ability to take ownership of technically challenging backend and data-processing problems and deliver robust, evolvable solutions

Engagement Details
Location: Ukraine
Contract type: ФОП 3 група (FOP 3rd group)
Model: Direct Hire
Duration: 4 months (November start - contract will not be prolonged)
Start date: Beginning of November
Working hours: European time zone