Lead Software Engineer - Backend | Python

On-site \| Abu Dhabi

Position Overview

*Technical Leadership & Systems Design*

• Own the end-to-end technical delivery of assigned platform workstreams, from requirements and architecture through to deployment and post-release iteration.
• Lead systems design for complex, distributed, high-throughput backend services, ensuring decisions are principled, scalable, and well-documented.
• Set and enforce architectural standards across your team, including API design, data modelling, service boundaries, and inter-service communication patterns.
• Provide technical direction and hands-on contribution in equal measure — reviewing code, unblocking engineers, and writing production-grade code yourself.
• Identify and resolve systemic risks, technical debt, and performance bottlenecks proactively.
• *Backend Engineering*
• Design and build scalable Python microservices using event-driven and asynchronous architectures.
• Architect and implement high-performance REST APIs using modern Python frameworks (FastAPI, Flask, or similar).
• Lead the design of real-time data streaming and messaging systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ, Redis Streams, or similar).
• Oversee asynchronous task processing using distributed task queues (Celery, RQ, or similar).
• Define and govern ETL workflows and data pipelines using orchestration tools such as Airflow, Prefect, or Dagster.
• Drive database design and optimisation across relational (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and NoSQL (MongoDB, Redis) systems for high-throughput, mission-critical workloads.
• Champion observability, ensuring services are instrumented with appropriate logging, tracing, and monitoring.

*Code Quality & Architecture*

• Establish and uphold engineering standards for code quality, testing, and documentation across your team.
• Lead code reviews with a focus on correctness, maintainability, and architectural integrity.
• Apply and advocate for SOLID principles, domain-driven design, and modular architecture practices.
• Drive modernisation and refactoring efforts on legacy components where required.

*Team Leadership & Collaboration*

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of c. four engineers, fostering a culture of ownership, rigour, and continuous improvement.
• Conduct regular 1:1s, provide constructive feedback, and support the career growth of your direct reports.
• Partner closely with product managers, frontend engineers, ML teams, and DevOps to deliver features end-to-end.
• Communicate project status, risks, and technical decisions clearly to stakeholders and engineering leadership.
• *DevOps & Delivery*
• Champion CI/CD best practices and contribute to deployment automation and pipeline maturity.
• Oversee containerised application deployment using Docker and Kubernetes across multiple environments.
• Ensure secure, reliable, and observable services in line with the demands of regulated industry deployments.

*Continuous Learning & Innovation*

• Stay current with advances in backend engineering, distributed systems, and developer tooling — including AI-assisted development practices.
• Evaluate and propose new technologies and approaches that can improve platform quality or engineering velocity.
• Share knowledge across the wider engineering organisation through documentation, presentations, and mentorship.

Qualifications

• *Experience:*
• 8–10+ years of software engineering experience, with strong seniority in backend and distributed systems development.
• Demonstrated experience leading engineering teams or workstreams, with direct line management or technical lead responsibility.
• Proven track record of owning complex software projects end-to-end in a production environment.
• *Skills:*
• Deep expertise in Python; proficiency in TypeScript and Node.js (NestJS, Next.js) is advantageous.
• Strong command of systems design principles: distributed architectures, event-driven systems, API design, and data modelling, with sufficient frontend exposure (React, Next.js, or similar) to lead and collaborate effectively across a mixed backend/frontend team.
• Experience with SQL (PostgreSQL) and NoSQL (MongoDB, Redis) databases.
• Solid understanding of authentication and authorisation patterns (OAuth2, JWT, RBAC).
• Proficient with Git, Docker, and CI/CD tooling; exposure to Kubernetes and cloud platforms (AWS/GCP) is a plus.
• Comfortable leading in an agile, fast-paced product environment.
• Experience with or interest in AI-assisted development tools and workflows is a plus; strong engineering fundamentals are the foundation.
• *Education:*
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent professional experience.

Benefits

• Opportunity to work with a leading AI technology company.
• Collaborative and innovative work environment.
• Growing, entrepreneurial and forward-thinking culture.
• Career growth and professional development opportunities.
• Exposure to a thriving ecosystem working from our Abu Dhabi HQ.
• 21 days of paid annual leave.
• Comprehensive private health insurance.
• Visa sponsorship for international candidates.