Senior DevOps Python FastApi AI Lead/ Developer/ IC ( Remote USA) Travel Required When Needed

Role: Senior DevOps Python FastApi Lead/ Developer/ IC with Azure and AI( Remote USA) Travel Required When Needed)

Experience: 10+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years at Principal IC level

# of positions: 2

Location: New York OR New Jersey Remote (but travel when required)

Backend Engineering - Required Primary Focus Area

• 12+ years of software engineering experience, including strong hands-on backend development experience in enterprise or product engineering environments.
• Strong hands-on experience with Python backend development, including production-grade API and service development.
• Strong hands-on experience with FastAPI; Django / Flask experience is acceptable as additional background, but FastAPI should be a primary skill.
• Proven experience building and supporting REST APIs, service-oriented architectures, microservices, and backend integration layers.
• Good understanding of authentication, authorization, API security, OAuth / OIDC concepts, managed identity, RBAC, and secure secrets handling.
• Experience with SQL databases such as PostgreSQL, Azure SQL, SQL Server, MySQL, or equivalent; NoSQL exposure such as Cosmos DB is a plus.
• Experience with Azure cloud-native application development and deployment using App Services, Functions, API Management, Storage, Key Vault, Application Insights, and related services.
• Hands-on experience with Git workflows, pull requests, branching strategies, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and production release discipline.
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills across API, service, database, integration, cloud runtime, and deployment layers.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work directly with product managers, architects, frontend engineers, QA, DevOps, cloud engineers, and customer stakeholders.

• Python: strong core Python, typing, async programming concepts, packaging, dependency management, reusable modules, and clean code practices.
• FastAPI: API routing, Pydantic models, dependency injection, middleware, authentication integration, exception handling, OpenAPI / Swagger documentation, and performance-aware API design.
• API Design: RESTful services, versioning, pagination, filtering, validation, idempotency, error contracts, retry patterns, rate limiting, and backward compatibility.
• Data Layer: SQL / NoSQL data modeling, SQLAlchemy / ORM usage, migrations, indexing, query optimization, transaction handling, and secure data access.
• Microservices: modular services, domain-driven boundaries, service-to-service integration, distributed tracing, logging, caching, resiliency, and fault isolation.
• Async / Event-Driven Processing: background jobs, queues, schedulers, pub-sub patterns, Azure Service Bus / Event Grid, and long-running workflow support.
• Quality Engineering: unit tests, API tests, integration tests, mocking, test data setup, code coverage, static analysis, and regression-safe backend delivery.

Must-Have Skills Summary

Area	Must-Have Expectation
Python	Strong hands-on backend development using core Python, clean modular coding, typing, and production-grade service development.
FastAPI	Primary backend framework skill for API routing, Pydantic models, dependency injection, middleware, OpenAPI, and high-performance APIs.
REST APIs	Strong API design, versioning, security, error handling, validation, pagination, logging, and integration patterns.
Azure Cloud	Practical Azure deployment and troubleshooting exposure for backend services using App Services, Functions, APIM, Key Vault, Storage, SQL / PostgreSQL, and monitoring.
Database	SQL / NoSQL design, ORM usage, migrations, query optimization, transaction management, and secure data access.
CI/CD & Quality	Git workflows, automated tests, build / release pipelines, code quality, security checks, and production readiness.
Ownership	Senior hands-on IC / lead developer; expected to code, review, troubleshoot, and own backend delivery outcomes.

Candidate Profile Summary

The ideal candidate is a senior hands-on backend developer with strong Python, FastAPI, and Azure cloud engineering experience.

The person should be able to independently build production-grade APIs, backend services, integration layers, data access modules, automated tests, and Azure-ready deployment components while maintaining strong engineering discipline, delivery ownership, and collaboration with product and platform teams.