Backend Software Engineer (Python/Postgres)

TL;DR

Backend Software Engineer (Python/Postgres): Building backend systems to ingest, validate, and process customer-submitted farm lists against deforestation detection models and geospatial datasets with an accent on EUDR compliance, data workflows, and regulatory adaptations. Focus on refining geospatial processing, investigative debugging, improving observability, and maintaining resilient services under evolving requirements.

Global Remote (core hours 10am-2pm ET; anywhere supported by Deel EOR)

Salary: $135,000–$155,000 annually (US-based); competitive for non-US

Company

501(c)(3) non-profit and Y Combinator-backed startup using software to collect, analyze, and report data on coffee farmers’ conditions to improve their social, economic, and environmental livelihoods.

What you will do

• Develop and maintain backend features for EUDR services, including geospatial workflows, data validation, and error handling.
• Investigate and resolve data issues, tracing through assumptions and system behavior for the Support team.
• Work with ambiguous requirements, clarifying needs and implementing practical engineering solutions.
• Adapt systems to EU regulatory updates like new FAQs to ensure compliance.
• Perform general backend engineering: Python/PostgreSQL/PostGIS development, observability improvements, CI/CD contributions, and Terraform-based AWS changes.

Requirements

• Core hours: 10am-2pm Eastern Time, Monday-Friday.
• Strong ability to explain complex ideas to non-technical colleagues.
• Experience applying design patterns for modular software and teaching architectural solutions.
• Extensive Python experience, including applications and data processing; familiarity with Django or Flask.
• Advanced PostgreSQL skills: query optimization, joins, stored procedures, performance tuning.
• Practical Linux, Bash, Docker, AWS (EC2, RDS, CloudFront) experience.
• Minimum 7 years full-time backend engineering experience.
• Bachelor’s in computer science or equivalent software engineering training.

Culture & Benefits

• Fully distributed team of ~30 quirky, diverse engineers and data specialists across genders and backgrounds.
• Full-time individual contributor role with emphasis on independent work and collaboration.
• US: 401k matching, medical/dental/vision, FSA, 4 weeks vacation + 13 holidays + personal/sick time.
• Non-US: Competitive pay/benefits per local laws; all staff get annual retreats, education budget, field visits to coffee countries.
• Mission-driven focus on sustainability and empathy for smallholder coffee farmers.

Hiring process

• Apply via Greenhouse; 4-6 weeks process with 4 conversations (~5 hours) + ~4 hours prep.
• Introductory interview followed by detailed stages (see hirify.global.org/jobs for specifics).