Lead Backend Engineer (Architecture)

TL;DR

Lead Backend Engineer (Architecture): Building and evolving backend architecture standards and leading cross-team technical design for complex initiatives, with an accent on system health, reliability, performance, and API design. Focus on driving technical debt reduction, improving engineering efficiency, and mentoring engineers.

Location: Remote-first, work from anywhere, with meaningful overlap with London working hours expected for this leadership role.

Company

hirify.global is a fast-growing fintech company based in London, focused on making ETF investing simple and accessible, trusted by over 120,000 clients with more than £2 billion in assets.

What you will do

• Define and evolve backend architecture standards (RFCs, ADRs, patterns, reference implementations).
• Lead cross-team technical design for complex initiatives, integrations, and platform-level changes.
• Own system health, including reliability, performance, observability, and incident analysis for systems like MySQL and Redis.
• Drive technical debt reduction through clear prioritization and measurable outcomes.
• Design and improve internal and external APIs, ensuring contracts, versioning, and backward compatibility.
• Improve engineering efficiency using CI/CD pipelines (TeamCity, GitHub Actions), automated testing, and Git practices.

Requirements

• 5+ years of backend development experience, including leading projects or small teams.
• Strong Python expertise and solid experience with Django or similar frameworks.
• Proven experience designing backend architectures and distributed systems.
• Strong understanding of relational databases, caching, and scalable system design.
• Ability to operate in ambiguity, take initiative, and drive technical decisions.
• English: B2+ required for excellent written and spoken communication.

Nice to have

• Experience in fintech, regulated industries, or internal platform/B2B systems.
• Familiarity with AWS, Docker, and messaging systems such as RabbitMQ or Kafka.

Culture & Benefits

• Remote-first and flexible, with the ability to work from anywhere.
• Unlimited vacation policy.
• Direct impact on business-critical systems and core architecture.
• Modern tech stack including Python 3.11, Django, MySQL, Redis, and AWS.
• Supportive, experienced team that values quality, learning, and results.
• Autonomy and trust to build scalable solutions without micromanagement.

Hiring process

• Initial intro call with the Talent team.
• Technical interview with the Backend team.
• Final conversation with the CTO.