Senior Backend Engineer

HelloFresh; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Box Discount & wellness perks

Health & Wellness benefits

RRSP Matching

Vacation & PTO

Job summary

HelloFresh Canada is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to advance backend systems in a hybrid Toronto environment. You will help design and maintain the Python‑based planning engine, build scalable APIs with FastAPI, and collaborate with cross‑functional teams to deliver robust, end‑to‑end solutions that power production planning.

You will work closely with data engineers and product partners to implement reliable logic, explore event‑driven approaches with Kafka, and support internal React

Qualifications

• Strong Python backend experience with production systems.
• Experience building APIs with FastAPI and scalable services.
• Designs complex business logic with deterministic components.
• Proficient with relational databases and data platforms.
• Experience with cloud, containers, and orchestration.

Responsibilities

• Develop and co-own the Python-based planning engine backend.
• Build backend services with FastAPI for scalable API interactions.
• Work across architecture, deployment, and operations in a modern stack.
• Collaborate to translate domain knowledge into robust logic.
• Move toward event-driven patterns using Kafka.
• Support frontend needs for an internal React app.

Skills

Python

FastAPI

Backend engineering

React

AWS

Docker

Kafka

Airflow

PostgreSQL

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Snowflake

S3

EKS

Git

Job description

S'more about the team

The Production Scheduling Technology team builds and maintains the platform that powers how HelloFresh plans, sequences, and optimizes production across our operations. Our team has developed the first iteration of the next-generation internal system with a planning engine that now automates the end-to-end planning process – a system with deep impact on how millions of meals move through our network.

As we continue evolving this system, extending its capabilities, and preparing for expansion, we are looking for a Senior Software Engineer with strong backend experience, a talent for turning complex logic into clean, reliable systems, and enough full-stack fluency to support and enhance our internal application.

Above all, we are looking for people who will make HelloFresh better. We believe there are many different ways of developing skills and we love diverse experiences! So even if you don’t “tick all the boxes” but think you’d thrive in this role, we would really like to learn more about you.

Lettuce share what this role will be responsible for

• Build, enhance, and co‑own the Python‑based algorithmic engine that drives automated planning, including deterministic logic and constraint‑based components
• Design, develop, and maintain backend services using FastAPI, ensuring scalable, reliable API interactions with our internal application
• Work end‑to‑end across architecture, implementation, deployment, and operations within our modern technology ecosystem (EKS, RDS, S3, ElastiCache, Glue, etc.)
• Collaborate closely with engineers, analysts, and planners to translate domain knowledge into robust, maintainable system logic
• Contribute to the evolution of the platform toward event‑driven patterns using technologies like Kafka
• Support frontend needs for our internal React application, ensuring seamless integration between FE and BE layers
• Improve reliability through automated testing, performance tuning, and thoughtful system design
• Guide as well as learn through pairing, design discussions, and knowledge sharing to help strengthen collective ownership across a strong, team‑first environment
• Participate in shaping the future direction of an advanced system
• Work beyond your specialization when the problem demands it. Your specialization is your anchor, not your boundary.
• Operate what you build. You instrument, monitor, and improve your systems in production. Shipping is the beginning of the learning cycle, not the end

Sound a‑peeling? Here’s what we’re looking for

• Hands‑on experience working with AI tooling (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot) beyond casual experimentation. You use AI agents every day. You have a practical sense of how the context you provide to AI tools shapes output quality, and how to set boundaries on AI‑generated work.
• Strong software engineering experience with a focus on backend development and Python as the primary language
• Experience designing and building systems with complex business logic, including deterministic, constraint‑based optimizers, and MIP solvers
• Hands‑on experience building production‑grade APIs with FastAPI or similar modern frameworks
• Solid knowledge and experience with relational databases and comfortable working with data across various data systems (PostgreSQL, Snowflake, S3)
• Experience with event‑driven architecture and messaging technologies
• Working knowledge of cloud environments, containerization, and orchestration (AWS, Docker, Airflow)
• Experience contributing to or designing scalable architecture for internal tools or operational platforms
• Full‑stack capability with React or another modern FE framework — enough to support and enhance application
• Strong communication skills and a proactive, collaborative approach to working with engineers, analysts, planners, and product partners
• Comfort working through ambiguity and contributing clarity through simple, pragmatic design choices
• A mindset of continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and improving the systems
• Nice to have: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or related field
• Nice to have: Experience in Fulfillment, Logistics, Supply Chain, Production, or related field working with physical goods
• You take full ownership. You have a bias to ship. You finish the last twenty percent.
• You have product sense and are opinionated about what should be built and why, and you can back that opinion with data and user evidence.

Let’s cut to the cheese, this is why you’ll love it here

• Box Discount - Amazing discounts on 1 box per week! 75% discount on weekly HelloFresh and Chefs Plate meal kits AND 50% off weekly Factor meal box.
• Health & Wellness - Health & Dental benefits from day 1, a Health Spending Account, unlimited access to the Headspace app to meet your self‑care needs, and 25% discount on GoodLife fitness memberships!
• RRSP Matching - Competitive RRSP matching program offered
• Vacation & PTO - Time off is also an important part of self‑care! We offer generous vacation and PTO to help you create a good work‑life balance.
• Family Benefits - A parental leave top‑up program for expectant parents.
• Growth & Development - We support your career progression and invest in your continued learning through experiences and initiatives owned by our dedicated L&D team
• Work Hard & Have Fun - From team socials to engaging company days, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to experience the fun!
• Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives - With impactful ERG’s like FreshPride, Women Empowered and LIMES, we are committed to our diversity, equity & inclusion efforts.
• Food Puns - this one is kind of a big dill if you haven’t already noticed. We even have some punny meeting room names!

Flexible Hybrid Approach

At HelloFresh, we know that flexible work arrangements are essential in enabling you to do your best work, while balancing your personal and life needs. Offering remote work flexibility, along with the opportunity to interact and collaborate in the office are all a part of creating a great employee experience.

To meet these needs, we are pleased to provide Flexible Hybrid work. Flexible Hybrid is a people‑first approach that is based on choice, trust, personalization, and empowers teams to choose when and how often they work from the office and work from home, in addition to team days and company days. This means a minimum of 2 days in office per week, with most teams in office between 2‑3 days a week.

HelloFresh Canada uses AI‑integrated technology to help us process and evaluate applications more efficiently. This includes tools that screen and assess candidate qualifications based on the requirements for this role. While these tools assist our workflow, all final selection decisions are made by our hiring team.

This is a posting for an existing vacancy. We are actively seeking to fill this position.

Toronto, ON Pay Range

$120,000 — $150,000 CAD