Software Engineer - Backend

Bright Purple Resourcing Ltd; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 83,000 - 88,000; Full time

Job summary

Bright Purple Resourcing Ltd is seeking a contract Backend Software Engineer (Python/Django) to help redesign the client portal for a B2B software business in Bath. This hands-on role targets mid-level to senior engineers who will own API and backend features from design through production, collaborating with product and QA teams.

You’ll design and maintain APIs, ensure test coverage, and contribute to CI/CD and observability.

Qualifications

• Experience building backend services in production.
• Strong Python and Django experience with ORM, migrations and testing.
• Design maintainable REST APIs with data modelling.
• Knowledge of authentication and secure API design.
• Experience with CI/CD.
• Ability to diagnose performance issues in live environments.
• Experience with cloud and IaC, ideally AWS.
• Clear communication of technical trade-offs.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and maintain backend services and APIs using Python and Django.
• Own work end to end from technical refinement to deployment and monitoring.
• Collaborate with product, QA, and platform teams to shape practical solutions.
• Make sound trade-offs across security, performance, maintainability, cost and delivery.
• Break complex work into increments and raise dependencies early.
• Write clean, well-tested code with good observability.
• Participate in code reviews and improve test automation, CI/CD and reliability.

Skills

Python

Django

REST APIs

SQL

CI/CD

AWS

Security

Testing

Tools

PostgreSQL

Docker

Redis

Sentry

Celery

Job description

Backend Software Engineer (Python/Django) x4 | Contract | £450 to £475 per day Outside IR35 | Bath, Hybrid or Remote

Bright Purple is partnering with a well-established B2B software business to bring in a contract Backend Software Engineers. You will join the team redesigning their client portal.

This is a hands-on role for an experienced mid-level or senior Python engineer. You will design and build the APIs and backend workflows behind new portal features and own your work through to production. You will work in a collaborative product team that values good engineering, uses AI-assisted development well and wants contractors who will add to technical decisions.

What you’ll be doing

• Designing, building and maintaining backend services and APIs using Python and Django
• Owning work end to end, from technical refinement through to deployment and monitoring
• Working closely with product, programme management, QA, platform engineering and other developers to shape practical solutions
• Making sound trade-offs across security, performance, maintainability, cost and delivery
• Breaking complex work into clear increments and raising dependencies and risks early
• Writing clean, well-tested, well-documented code with good observability built in
• Taking part in code reviews and helping improve test automation, CI/CD and production reliability

What you’ll bring

• Commercial experience building and supporting backend services in production
• Strong Python skills and production Django experience, including the ORM, migrations, configuration and testing
• A track record of designing maintainable REST APIs, with solid data modelling and relational database practice
• Good knowledge of authentication, authorisation, single sign-on patterns and secure API design
• A testing mindset and experience working with CI/CD
• Confidence diagnosing application, database and performance issues in live environments
• An understanding of cloud-hosted applications and infrastructure as code, ideally in AWS
• Clear communication and the ability to explain technical trade-offs to technical and non-technical colleagues

Nice to have

• FastAPI or another modern Python API framework
• PostgreSQL or MySQL, Docker, Celery, Redis and Sentry
• Asynchronous or event-driven processing
• AWS CDK, Terraform or similar
• Experience in agile, product-led or data-rich B2B environments