Backend Lead – Python & AWS

Attention: This position requires hybrid work (2-3 days per week onsite) in Evansville, Indiana, USA . Unfortunately, remote work is not an option for this role.

Please apply only if you:

• Currently live in or near Evansville, IN , or
• Are willing and able to relocate to Evansville, IN , and
• Can commit to the required hybrid work schedule .

Candidates who are unable to work onsite in Evansville will not be considered for this opportunity. Thank you for your understanding.

Experience: 10–14 years of overall IT experience, including 3+ years in technical leadership

Industry: Financial Services

Position Overview

Ness is seeking an experienced Backend Lead with strong hands-on expertise in Python development and AWS cloud services to lead the design, development, and deployment of scalable, secure, and high-performance backend applications.

The ideal candidate will combine deep Python programming skills, cloud-native application development experience, API and microservices architecture expertise , and proven technical leadership. The role involves working closely with solution architects, product managers, DevOps engineers, data teams, and other engineering stakeholders to deliver reliable enterprise solutions in a secure financial services environment.

Key Responsibilities

1. Backend Development & Python Engineering

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Lead the design, development, testing, and deployment of backend services and applications using Python.

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Develop scalable RESTful APIs and microservices using frameworks such as FastAPI , Flask, or Django.

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Establish coding standards, design patterns, reusable comp one nts, and engineering best practices.

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Review code, provide technical guidance, and ensure code quality, maintainability, performance, and test coverage.

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Optimize application performance, concurrency, database access, and resource utilization .

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Implement robust error handling, logging, validation, and exception management.

1. AWS Cloud Architecture & Development

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Design and develop cloud-native backend applications leveraging AWS services.

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Build and deploy applications using services such as:

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AWS Lambda and Amazon ECS/EKS

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Amazon API Gateway

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Amazon S3

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Amazon SQS and Amazon SNS

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Amazon RDS and DynamoDB

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AWS Step Functions and EventBridge

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AWS CloudWatch, IAM, and Secrets Manager

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Implement event-driven architectures, asynchronous processing, and distributed application patterns.

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Design for scalability, high availability, fault tolerance, disaster recovery, and cost optimization.

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Collaborate with cloud and infrastructure teams to implement secure and reliable deployment architectures.

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Experience with MuleSoft and Apollo GraphQL is a Plus

1. API & Microservices Architecture

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Define backend service boundaries, API contracts, integration patterns, and service communication strategies.

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Develop secure REST APIs and integrate with internal and external enterprise systems.

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Implement authentication and authorization using OAuth 2.0, JWT, IAM, and other applicable security mechanisms.

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Design asynchronous workflows using messaging and event-driven integration patterns.

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Ensure APIs meet requirements for performance, scalability, versioning, observability, and backward compatibility.

1. Database & Data Management

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Design efficient data models and optimize queries for relational and NoSQL databases.

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Work with PostgreSQL, MySQL, Amazon RDS, DynamoDB, or equivalent database technologies.

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Implement transaction management, connection pooling, indexing, and data consistency controls.

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Ensure appropriate data validation, integrity, access control, and protection of sensitive information.

1. Technical Leadership & Team Management

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Lead a team of backend developers, providing technical direction, mentoring, and code review.

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Translate business requirements into technical designs, development plans, and deliverable milest one s.

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Collaborate with architects, product owners, QA, DevOps, security, and business stakeholders.

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Drive technical decisions, resolve complex engineering challenges, and manage technical dependencies.

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Promote Agile engineering practices, continuous improvement, and shared ownership of production quality.

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Participate in sprint planning, estimation, technical discussions, and delivery reviews.

1. DevOps, Quality & Production Support

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Build and maintain automated testing and CI/CD workflows in collaboration with DevOps teams.

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Work with Git, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, AWS CodePipeline , or equivalent tools.

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Implement unit, integration, API, and performance testing using frameworks such as pytest .

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Support infrastructure automation using Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, or equivalent tools.

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Monitor application health, diagnose production incidents, conduct root cause analysis, and implement corrective actions.

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Establish logging, metrics, tracing, alerting, and operational readiness standards.

1. Security & Financial Services Compliance

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Implement secure coding practices and follow application security standards.

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Protect sensitive customer and financial information through encryption, access controls, and secure secrets management.

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Identify and remediate vulnerabilities in application code, dependencies, APIs, and cloud configurations.

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Support auditability, traceability, and compliance with applicable financial services security and privacy requirements.

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Partner with cybersecurity and risk teams to incorporate security controls throughout the software development lifecycle.

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Security Architecture Experience with MuleSoft and Apollo GraphQL is a Plus

Required Technical Skills

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10+ years of overall software engineering experience, with strong hands-on Python development expertise .

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At least 3 years of technical leadership or experience leading backend engineering initiatives.

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Strong proficiency in Python, object-oriented programming, data structures, algorithms, and software design principles.

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Experience with FastAPI , Flask, Django, or similar Python frameworks.

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Strong experience designing and developing RESTful APIs and microservices.

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Hands-on experience with AWS cloud services and cloud-native application development.

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Experience with AWS Lambda, API Gateway, S3, SQS/SNS, RDS, DynamoDB, IAM, and CloudWatch, or equivalent relevant services.

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Strong understanding of relational and NoSQL databases, SQL, schema design, and query optimization.

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Experience with automated testing, pytest , mocking, and test-driven development practices.

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Proficiency with Git, CI/CD pipelines, Docker, and application deployment practices.

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Knowledge of asynchronous programming, concurrency, distributed systems, and event-driven architecture.

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Strong understanding of application security, authentication, authorization, and secrets management.

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Excellent problem solving skills