Startup Contractor / Senior Backend Engineer (Outside IR35)

We are looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to join an early stage team that is actively reimagining software for an industry tech forgot.

For decades, blue collar businesses have powered the backbone of everyday life while relying on fractured, legacy infrastructure. They sit on vast amounts of unstructured, highly valuable data locked inside on-prem databases, servers, and CSV dumps. Data that their teams simply don't have the tools to leverage. By pairing modern LLM breakthroughs with reliable backend engineering, our client is changing that, transforming amorphous legacy data into clear, actionable insights for nontechnical teams on the ground.

Working directly alongside AI founders, you won't just write code; you will shape what modern data infrastructure looks like in this space. You'll take full ownership of the backend, building custom data pipelines, orchestrating Airflow style workflows, and turning messy real world inputs into structured data ready for downstream AI models. You'll design APIs, optimise low latency queries, and set the standard for testing, CI/CD, and deployment from scratch.

To thrive here, you’ll need six or more years of backend experience, deep Python expertise, and a proven track record of shipping production ready data pipelines and REST APIs. You don't need niche domain knowledge, but you do need a true builder's mindset: high autonomy, a passion for greenfield engineering, and a track record of thriving in fast-moving startup environments. Familiarity with tools like PostgreSQL, FastAPI, Docker, and GCP/AWS will make you stand out immediately.

If you are an experienced contractor ready to take full ownership of a greenfield stack and help scale a platform with real world impact, submit your profile to set up a conversation.