Senior Backend Engineer
Ashworth and Parker Limited, Alexandria, VA, United States
We’re looking for a Senior Backend Engineer with deep Django and API experience to help build and scale the backend powering our mobile app, web platform, internal tools, payments, automation systems, and integrations.
You’ll operate as the senior backend IC leading implementation, while collaborating closely with our engineering leadership on architecture, larger decisions, and long-term direction. Over time, you’ll take on increasing ownership of backend systems and engineering standards.
This role demands reliability, strong problem-solving, and the ability to figure things out independently without compromising system stability.
ABOUT URBAN LEGEND:
Urban Legend is a tech startup that’s redefining influencer marketing for public affairs and advocacy campaigns. The Urban Legend Exchange is an invite-only platform where advertisers run campaigns that mobilize creators to drive meaningful and measurable actions in support of issues that matter.
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
Build and maintain high-quality backend systems using Django, Django REST Framework, and PostgreSQL
Improve and optimize complex Django Admin workflows to make our internal tools faster, more usable, and more robust
Design and refine database schemas, migrations, and data models for complex business logic
Develop reliable REST APIs consumed by our mobile apps, web platform, and partner integrations
Implement and maintain integrations with critical third-party APIs (Stripe, PayPal, Twilio, SendGrid, AWS S3, OpenAI, social platforms, Zapier, and more)
Manage async/background tasks using Redis, RQ, and related tooling
Work closely with the Product Design Lead and frontend engineers to ensure requirements are clear, feasible, and technically sound
Collaborate with the engineering leadership — reviewing architecture, aligning on best practices, and planning backend evolution
Participate in on-call rotation and help diagnose/resolve production issues when needed
Write high-quality tests (unit, integration) and maintain a stable CI pipeline
Contribute to performance improvements across the stack — query optimization, caching strategies, and backend efficiency
Help establish backend engineering standards as we grow the team
Make pragmatic technical decisions that balance speed, quality, and long-term maintainability
WHAT YOU’LL BRING:
Deep experience building production Django apps
Strong knowledge of Django REST Framework
Ability to design and optimize complex Django models, queries, and admin workflows
Comfortable with advanced ORM features and occasional raw SQL
Databases
Confidence navigating complex data flows and migrations
APIs & Integrations
Experience with REST API design and documentation
Experience integrating with third-party APIs and handling webhook systems
Ability to diagnose and debug flaky or unreliable integrations
Redis + job queue experience (RQ, Celery, or similar)
Understanding of task workers, retries, failure handling, and monitoring
Security & Auth
Familiarity with JWT-based auth, rate limiting, secure data flows, and general Django security best practices
DevOps & Tooling
Comfortable working with Docker
Experience deploying to Heroku or similar platforms
Familiar with GitHub Actions or other CI systems
Understanding of logging, monitoring, and error tracking (Sentry, etc.)
Testing & Quality
Strong testing habits (Django Test Framework, pytest-django)
Familiar with Factory Boy, Faker, or similar tools
Won’t ship code without understanding its impact on stability
BENEFITS:
Competitive compensation structure and bonus opportunities
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You’ll operate as the senior backend IC leading implementation, while collaborating closely with our engineering leadership on architecture, larger decisions, and long-term direction. Over time, you’ll take on increasing ownership of backend systems and engineering standards.
This role demands reliability, strong problem-solving, and the ability to figure things out independently without compromising system stability.
ABOUT URBAN LEGEND:
Urban Legend is a tech startup that’s redefining influencer marketing for public affairs and advocacy campaigns. The Urban Legend Exchange is an invite-only platform where advertisers run campaigns that mobilize creators to drive meaningful and measurable actions in support of issues that matter.
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
Build and maintain high-quality backend systems using Django, Django REST Framework, and PostgreSQL
Improve and optimize complex Django Admin workflows to make our internal tools faster, more usable, and more robust
Design and refine database schemas, migrations, and data models for complex business logic
Develop reliable REST APIs consumed by our mobile apps, web platform, and partner integrations
Implement and maintain integrations with critical third-party APIs (Stripe, PayPal, Twilio, SendGrid, AWS S3, OpenAI, social platforms, Zapier, and more)
Manage async/background tasks using Redis, RQ, and related tooling
Work closely with the Product Design Lead and frontend engineers to ensure requirements are clear, feasible, and technically sound
Collaborate with the engineering leadership — reviewing architecture, aligning on best practices, and planning backend evolution
Participate in on-call rotation and help diagnose/resolve production issues when needed
Write high-quality tests (unit, integration) and maintain a stable CI pipeline
Contribute to performance improvements across the stack — query optimization, caching strategies, and backend efficiency
Help establish backend engineering standards as we grow the team
Make pragmatic technical decisions that balance speed, quality, and long-term maintainability
WHAT YOU’LL BRING:
Deep experience building production Django apps
Strong knowledge of Django REST Framework
Ability to design and optimize complex Django models, queries, and admin workflows
Comfortable with advanced ORM features and occasional raw SQL
Databases
Confidence navigating complex data flows and migrations
APIs & Integrations
Experience with REST API design and documentation
Experience integrating with third-party APIs and handling webhook systems
Ability to diagnose and debug flaky or unreliable integrations
Redis + job queue experience (RQ, Celery, or similar)
Understanding of task workers, retries, failure handling, and monitoring
Security & Auth
Familiarity with JWT-based auth, rate limiting, secure data flows, and general Django security best practices
DevOps & Tooling
Comfortable working with Docker
Experience deploying to Heroku or similar platforms
Familiar with GitHub Actions or other CI systems
Understanding of logging, monitoring, and error tracking (Sentry, etc.)
Testing & Quality
Strong testing habits (Django Test Framework, pytest-django)
Familiar with Factory Boy, Faker, or similar tools
Won’t ship code without understanding its impact on stability
BENEFITS:
Competitive compensation structure and bonus opportunities
#J-18808-Ljbffr