What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lead Backend Engineer, Python position at launch2?
WHO ARE WE?
Launch Potato is a digital media company with a portfolio of brands and technologies. As The Discovery and Conversion Company, Launch Potato is a leading connector of advertisers to customers at all parts of the consumer journey, from awareness to consideration to purchase.
The company is headquartered in vibrant downtown Delray Beach, Florida, with a unique international team across over a dozen countries. Launch Potato's success comes from a diverse, energetic culture and high-performing, entrepreneurial team. As a result, the company is always looking for like-minded teammates and partners.
MUST HAVE:
- Experience with containerized Python/Django (or FastAPI) services, including deployment on AWS.
- Proven track record collaborating with Data Science teams and deploying ML endpoints to production.
- Proficiency in troubleshooting production bugs in systems with limited QA support.
- Strong grasp of SQL databases, CI/CD (especially CircleCI), and infrastructure as code (Terraform preferred).
- Comfortable contributing ideas, giving peer feedback via pull requests, and driving technical improvements autonomously.
EXPERIENCE: 4 years of professional development experience using Python and deploying backend systems using Python frameworks like Django or FastAPI.
YOUR ROLE
Enable Launch Potato’s Data Science team to scale machine learning innovation by supporting and deploying ML infrastructure across business-critical services.
Outcomes (Performance Expectations):
- ML Deployment & Support
- Deploy machine learning pipeline and endpoint changes in partnership with the Data Science team, ensuring scalable, production-grade integrations.
- Identify and remove backend bottlenecks that limit the Data Science team’s ability to experiment, iterate, and deploy new models.
- Service Ownership & Technical Execution
- Maintain and improve backend services owned by the team, with a focus on reliability, performance, and clarity of ownership.
- Troubleshoot, debug, and resolve production issues across LP services, even without a dedicated QA team.
- Infrastructure & DevOps Enablement
- Stand up and maintain infrastructure using tools like Terraform, ECS, and Lambda in a containerized AWS environment.
- Contribute to continuous deployment pipelines and improve CI/CD workflows using tools like CircleCI.
- Code Quality & Team Collaboration
- Participate in and lead thoughtful code reviews that enable knowledge sharing and promote best practices.
- Deliver maintainable and testable code using frameworks like Django and tools such as Pytest, while fostering a culture of shared responsibility and mentorship.
- Product Awareness & Impact
- Approach projects with a product-oriented mindset—understanding how backend systems connect to user-facing goals and company OKRs.
- Proactively suggest engineering improvements or inefficiencies based on your knowledge of team workflows and LP’s product ecosystem.
Competencies:
- Collaborative: Open to feedback, communicates clearly across functions, and adds value through shared knowledge (especially during pull request reviews).
- Curious & Proactive: Suggests improvements in tooling, deployment, or infrastructure and thinks beyond assigned tasks.
- Detail-Oriented: Writes maintainable, testable code with a strong grasp of debugging principles and Python design patterns.
- Execution-Driven: Manages time effectively, prioritizes impact, and consistently meets engineering goals without micromanagement.
- Growth Mindset: Seeks to understand LP’s products and business context to make informed backend decisions and support data-driven goals.
TOTAL COMPENSATION
Base salary is set according to market rates for the nearest major metro and varies based on Launch Potato’s Levels Framework. Your compensation package includes a base salary, profit-sharing bonus, and competitive benefits. Launch Potato is a performance-driven company, which means once you are hired, future increases will be based on company and personal performance, not annual cost of living adjustments.
Want to make your impact in a profitable, high-growth company? Apply now!
Since day one, we've been committed to having a diverse, inclusive team and culture. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity company. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion.
We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
