Senior Backend Engineer (Python)

Digital Waffle; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Digital Waffle in London offers a hybrid Backend Engineer role focused on AI-enabled development. You will design and scale Python/FastAPI APIs, work with AWS, and collaborate with product and design teams to deliver customer value.

The role emphasizes autonomy, owning delivery, and shaping engineering practices in a fast-growing startup; experience with AI tooling like Cursor and Claude is a plus.

Qualifications

• Strong commercial experience building backend applications with Python.
• Proven experience with FastAPI (essential).
• Experience operating cloud-native applications on AWS.
• Background in product-led startups or fast-paced engineering environments.
• Comfortable using AI-assisted development tools as part of daily workflow.
• Ability to work autonomously, own delivery and make technical decisions.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and scale backend services using Python and FastAPI.
• Develop reliable, well-tested APIs and distributed services on AWS.
• Collaborate with product managers, designers and frontend engineers.
• Work in short, iterative delivery cycles with cross-functional teams.
• Leverage AI-assisted development tools to accelerate delivery and code quality.
• Influence architecture, engineering standards and platform evolution.
• Shape engineering practices within a high-growth tech business.

Skills

Python backend

FastAPI

AWS

AI tooling

Autonomy

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Cursor

Claude

React

Job description

Hybrid (London/Remote)

If you're the kind of engineer who reaches for AI tooling as naturally as your IDE, enjoys solving real product problems, and prefers building new systems over maintaining legacy code, this could be the role for you.

We're working with a well-funded, rapidly scaling property technology business that's transforming a traditionally fragmented industry through AI, automation and modern software engineering. Following significant investment and strategic acquisitions, they're building the technology platform that will power the next stage of their growth.

This is an opportunity to join an engineering team where speed, ownership and modern development practices are encouraged, not constrained by process.

What you'll be building

As a Backend Engineer, you'll help design and develop the APIs and services that power a rapidly growing platform. Working closely with product managers, designers and fellow engineers, you'll ship features quickly, influence technical decisions and help shape how engineering is done as the business scales.

This is a genuinely AI native engineering environment. AI assisted development isn't an experiment, it's embedded into the team's workflow, enabling engineers to focus more on solving complex problems and delivering customer value.

What you'll be doing

• Design, build and scale backend services using Python and FastAPI
• Develop reliable, well-tested APIs and distributed services running on AWS
• Work in short, iterative delivery cycles alongside Product and Design
• Use AI assisted and agentic development tools (such as Cursor, Claude and similar technologies) to accelerate development and improve code quality
• Influence architecture, engineering standards and platform evolution
• Collaborate closely with frontend engineers building modern React applications
• Help shape engineering practices within a high growth technology business

What we're looking for

• Strong commercial experience building backend applications with Python
• Commercial experience with FastAPI (essential)
• Experience building and operating cloud-native applications on AWS
• Background in product-led startups, scaleups or other fast paced engineering environments
• Comfortable using AI assisted development tools as part of your everyday workflow
• Able to work autonomously, make technical decisions and take ownership of delivery
• A product mindset with a focus on building solutions that create customer value

Why this role?

If you've enjoyed working in high growth environments, embrace modern AI enabled development, and want to help build a platform with genuine scale and impact, we'd love to hear from you.