Senior Backend Engineer - Cruise (Python/PHP/Kafka)

Location: United Kingdom / Athens; Workplace: Hybrid

Company

Maritime and logistics intelligence products that process vessel tracking, port intelligence, and maritime trade data for global shipping and commodity markets.

What you will do

• Architect, build, and scale high-throughput backend applications and microservices using Python and PHP.
• Develop real-time streaming and analytical pipelines with Kafka and ClickHouse for high-volume maritime tracking data.
• Optimize PostgreSQL queries and ClickHouse schemas for low-latency analytical workloads.
• Own monitoring, alerting, observability, and operational reliability across staging and production.
• Collaborate with Product Managers, Tech Leads, Cloud Platform teams, and client-facing technical teams.
• Mentor engineers through design reviews, code quality standards, and architectural best practices.

Requirements

• Approximately 5+ years of professional experience developing, scaling, and maintaining complex production backend systems.
• Strong proficiency in Python, PHP, and PostgreSQL.
• Production experience with Apache Kafka and ClickHouse.
• Experience designing RESTful APIs, distributed microservices, and high-concurrency architectures.
• Background in CI/CD, Docker, Kubernetes, and production observability or monitoring tools.

Nice to have

• Knowledge of maritime or geospatial systems, vessel AIS data, logistics, or global trade datasets.
• Experience modernizing monolithic architectures into event-driven microservices.
• Experience with AWS and Terraform.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid work arrangement.
• High-autonomy engineering culture based on owning systems from development through operation.
• Cross-functional collaboration with product, platform, and client-facing technical teams.
• Focus on modernizing core services and raising engineering standards.