Python Developer

Lexisnexis Legal; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to design, build, and operate scalable data platforms and services. You will mentor engineers and influence data engineering strategy while utilizing AI-assisted development practices to deliver high-impact solutions.

You will collaborate with analysts, data scientists, and engineers to ensure reliable data delivery, maintain APIs, and own infrastructure for data workloads in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Proficient in Python for building scalable data applications and pipelines.
• Strong SQL skills; design schemas and efficient queries for large datasets.
• Experience with APIs/services development, including FastAPI and SQLAlchemy.
• Background in Databricks and Terraform; end-to-end data systems ownership.
• Track record of data/backend engineering and making sound architectural trade-offs.
• Experience mentoring engineers and leading technical initiatives.
• Comfortable in fast-paced, collaborative teams with AI-assisted tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and operation of scalable data platforms and services.
• Mentor engineers, review code, and raise technical bar across the team.
• Collaborate with analysts, scientists, and engineers to meet data needs.
• Own data system design decisions balancing scalability, reliability, and maintainability.
• Develop APIs/services to expose data to internal and external consumers.
• Oversee data infrastructure—containers, orchestration, provisioning.

Skills

Python

SQL

API development

Databricks

Terraform

Data engineering

Mentoring

Architectural decisions

AI-assisted development tools

Tools

FastAPI

SQLAlchemy

Job description

Are you passionate about building scalable data platforms and enabling data-driven innovation?

Do you enjoy leading technical decisions, mentoring engineers, and leveraging AI-powered development tools to deliver impactful solutions?

About our Team

At LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions, our mission is to bring clarity to innovation by delivering better outcomes to the innovation community. Each and every day, the work our team does supports the development of new technologies and processes that ultimately advance humanity. Helping our customers reach their goals is our primary focus. We enable innovators to accomplish more by helping them make informed decisions, be more productive, comply with regulations and ultimately achieve superior results. Our overall success is measured by how well we deliver these results. We are proud to directly support and serve these innovators in their endeavors to better humankind.

About the Role

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will lead the design, development, and operation of scalable data platforms, services, and infrastructure that power critical business outcomes. Working closely with analysts, data scientists, and engineers, you will drive technical excellence, mentor team members, and help shape the future direction of the Data Engineering function. This role offers the opportunity to combine strong engineering fundamentals with AI-assisted development practices to deliver reliable, high-impact solutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, build, and maintenance of data pipelines and backend services using Python
• Write efficient, well-structured SQL for data extraction, transformation, and analysis, and set standards for query and schema design across the team
• Develop and maintain APIs and services (e.g. using FastAPI and SQLAlchemy) to expose data to internal and external consumers
• Own technical design decisions for data systems, balancing scalability, reliability, and maintainability
• Collaborate with data analysts, scientists, and other engineers to understand data needs and deliver reliable solutions
• Drive the design and upkeep of infrastructure supporting data workloads (containers, orchestration, provisioning)
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and improve the performance and reliability of existing data systems, including leading incident response and root‑cause analysis where needed
• Mentor other engineers, lead code reviews, and help raise the technical bar across the team

Requirements

• Deep proficiency in Python for building applications, pipelines, or services at scale
• Strong SQL skills, writing performant queries, designing schemas, and optimizing for large or complex datasets
• Experience developing and maintaining APIs and services, including background in Databricks and Terraform.
• Significant experience working in a data engineering or backend engineering environment, including owning systems end-to-end
• Demonstrated ability to make sound architectural and technical trade‑off decisions
• Experience mentoring engineers and/or leading technical initiatives
• Comfort working in a fast‑paced, collaborative team setting
• Experience working with AI-assisted development tools and supporting team adoption of AI capabilities

Work in a Way That Works for You

We promote a healthy work/life balance across the organisation. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people. With numerous wellbeing initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance and sabbaticals, we will help you meet your immediate responsibilities and your long‑term goals.

Working Pattern

Working flexible hours - flexing the times when you work in the day to help you fit everything in and work when you are the most productive.

About the Business

LexisNexis Legal & Professional® provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision‑making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services.