Back End Developer
1 day ago
Sheffield
Senior Backend Engineer Work Location: UK (Remote) - You must be UK based with a full right to work Type: 6 to 12 months contract (with potential of converting to permanent) Reports to: CTO Experience Level: Senior / 5–10 years Salary: £75,000 to £80,000 (Flexible - Depending on experience) About Our Client Key requirements: Python, Fast APIs, AWS (Lambda), AI code generation tools: Cursor, Copilot or similar. Also experience working with AI/ML, and curiosity about AI is essential for this role. Our client is an early stage AI start-up in the education sector. They’re on a mission to redefine how students learn through intelligent tutoring and empower teachers with data-driven insights into learning progress using ML, GenAI, and modern data systems. Their cross-functional team of engineers and product leaders is building a platform that powers both mobile and web apps for users. They’re now on the lookout for a hands-on Senior Backend Engineer who can take ownership of backend architecture, scale system performance, and mature their DevOps and CI/CD practices. What You’ll Do • Design, build, and maintain scalable backend services and RESTful APIs using Python (FastAPI/Django/Flask) (Essential), • Architect and optimise AWS infrastructure (Lambda, ECS, EC2, RDS, S3, CloudFront, etc.) for reliability and cost efficiency, • Build and manage PostgreSQL databases hosted on Amazon RDS, including schema design, query optimisation, and backups, • Collaborate with frontend engineers (React/React Native/Swift) to integrate APIs with web and mobile apps, • Lead DevOps automation - CI/CD (GitHub Actions), infrastructure as code (Terraform/CDK), observability (CloudWatch, Grafana), • Work closely with AI engineers to integrate and deploy machine learning pipelines into production systems, • Implement security, monitoring, and data governance best practices, • Mentor team members, set coding standards, and contribute to architectural decisions with the CTO What You’ll Bring • 5+ years of experience in backend development (Python, Node.js, or Go), • Strong expertise in AWS (Lambda, ECS, EC2, RDS, S3) - highly desirable, and DevOps pipelines (advantage but not essential), • Exposure to integrating AI/ML services or APIs into production systems, • Experience working with AI code generation tools such as Cursor, Copilot, or a similar tool. This essential, as the team work these tools for speed and efficiency., • Deep understanding of PostgreSQL (schema design, optimisation, migrations) and RDS management, • Proven experience building RESTful APIs for high-performance web and mobile applications, • Familiarity with Swift or React Native API integration workflows, • Experience with containerisation (Docker, ECS/EKS/Kubernetes), • A passion for start-up environments — ownership, speed, and hands-on problem solving Why Join • Join an early-stage founding team shaping the platform and product direction from the ground up, • Work with cutting-edge AWS and AI technologies in a fast-paced, high-autonomy culture, • Collaborate closely with experienced product and AI leaders