Python Developer

Python Developer (Backend Platform Engineer)

Experience: 5-8 Years Experience

Industry: E-commerce, Online Retail, Digital Marketplace, Logistics Technology

Location: Cape Town preferred but JHB & Durban will be considered

Employment Type: 12 month renewable contract

Workplace Type: On-site

About the Role:

We are seeking an experienced Python Engineer to join a fast-paced, technology-driven e-commerce organization. The successful candidate will be responsible for building highly scalable backend systems, APIs, data integrations, and microservices that support high-volume online retail operations, customer experiences, fulfilment, payments, and logistics platforms.

You will work alongside Product Managers, Software Engineers, Data Engineers, Site Reliability Engineers, and DevOps teams to deliver robust solutions capable of handling millions of transactions and customer interactions.

Key Responsibilities:

Software Engineering

• Design and develop scalable backend applications using Python.
• Build and maintain RESTful APIs and microservices.
• Create high-performance services supporting order management, inventory, payments, customer experience, and logistics platforms.
• Develop reusable libraries and frameworks to accelerate product delivery.
• Produce clean, maintainable, and testable code.

Distributed Systems

• Design solutions capable of handling high transaction volumes.
• Optimize application performance, latency, and scalability.
• Troubleshoot production incidents and implement root cause fixes.
• Participate in architecture discussions and technology roadmap initiatives.

Cloud & DevOps

• Develop cloud-native applications on Azure, AWS, or GCP.
• Build containerized applications using Docker and Kubernetes.
• Support CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment processes.
• Monitor application health and reliability through observability tools.

Data & Integrations

• Integrate with internal and external systems through APIs.
• Design reliable event-driven integrations.
• Work with large datasets supporting operational and analytical platforms.
• Optimize database design and query performance.

Engineering Excellence

• Perform code reviews and mentor junior engineers.
• Advocate software engineering best practices.
• Drive automation and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate closely with Product and Engineering teams using Agile methodologies.

Required Technical Skills:

Programming

• Python (5-8 years commercial experience)
• Object-Oriented Design
• Design Patterns
• Multithreading and Async Programming

Backend Technologies

• FastAPI
• Flask
• Django (advantageous)
• REST APIs
• GraphQL (beneficial)

Databases

• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• Microsoft SQL Server
• Redis
• MongoDB (advantageous)

Cloud & Infrastructure

• Microsoft Azure, AWS, or GCP
• Docker
• Kubernetes
• Terraform
• Linux

Messaging & Event Streaming

• Kafka
• RabbitMQ
• Event-Driven Architecture

DevOps & Engineering Tools

• Git
• GitHub / GitLab
• Azure DevOps
• Jenkins
• CI/CD Pipelines

Monitoring & Observability

• Prometheus
• Grafana
• ELK Stack
• Datadog
• New Relic

Essential Experience:

Candidates should demonstrate experience in:

• Developing enterprise-scale backend platforms.
• Supporting systems processing thousands of transactions daily.
• Building scalable microservices architectures.
• Operating within Agile engineering environments.
• Working in high-availability production environments.
• Delivering API-driven integrations.
• Performance tuning and optimization.
• E-commerce, fintech, logistics, marketplace, or digital platform environments.

Nice-to-Have Experience:

• Online retail platforms.
• Last-mile delivery solutions.
• Warehouse Management Systems (WMS).
• Supply Chain technology platforms.
• Payment gateways and transaction processing.
• Recommendation engines and personalization systems.
• Search technologies such as Elasticsearch.
• AI/ML-powered customer experiences.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related discipline.
• Relevant cloud certifications advantageous:
• Microsoft AZ-204
• AWS Developer Associate
• AWS Solutions Architect
• Kubernetes Certifications (CKA/CKAD)

Key Competencies:

• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Customer-first mindset.
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced environments.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills.
• Excellent communication abilities.
• Passion for engineering excellence.
• Ownership and accountability.

Typical Technologies Used

• Python
• FastAPI
• Django
• Flask
• PostgreSQL
• Redis
• Kafka
• Docker
• Kubernetes
• AWS
• Terraform
• Elasticsearch
• GitHub Actions
• Prometheus
• Grafana
• Jenkins