Python Developer — Automation Platform (Middle to Senior)

About the Company

We're a European product company building automation for enterprise clients in regulated industries. Our systems process thousands of business transactions daily through web portals — correctness and reliability aren't aspirational, they're the product. A single wrong number in production isn't a failed test, it's a real-world operational impact on our clients.

The company is established and intentionally lean — experienced engineers, tight processes, zero bureaucracy. Leadership is hands-on — people who write code, debug production, and review PRs alongside the team, not just write requirements. Decisions happen in hours, ownership is real, and AI tools are part of our daily workflow — not an experiment. Our clients are in Italy, Germany, and the UK. You'll join an experienced team, remote-first.

Your Mission

Build the Python platform that drives enterprise web portals for our clients. You write services that process thousands of transactions daily — reliable, monitored, verified. You code, you debug in production, you own the outcome end-to-end. This isn't ticket-and-commit dev work — it's platform ownership.

What You'll Do

Core development

• Write Python services that orchestrate browser automation (Playwright), data flows, and API integrations
• Design retry logic, exception handling, and stateful workflows — real-world portals fail, your code handles it
• Build the backend that processes transactions end-to-end through forms, validations, and confirmations

Production ownership

• Debug overnight failures, investigate data anomalies, find root causes (not symptoms)
• Instrument services with logging, dashboards, and success-rate alerting
• Verify outputs and cross-check against source data — shipping is half the job, operating is the other half

Collaboration

• Active participation in team ceremonies — daily and weekly syncs, planning, retros. Video on, present, engaged.
• Real-time communication on Slack during working hours — fast responses, not "I'll reply tomorrow"
• Proactive status updates — flag risks and delays within hours, not days
• Clear written English for PRs, issue descriptions, and documentation

What We're Looking For

Must-have

• Python, 2+ years of production experience with code at meaningful scale
• Browser automation or stateful web interactions — Playwright, Selenium, or equivalent used in real projects
• Production ownership mindset — you check whether your code works in prod, not just on your machine
• Active AI coding tool usage with the habit of verifying AI output, not rubber-stamping it
• High-quality communication — you stay online, responsive, and engaged during working hours. If you prefer a low-communication, head-down-for-days style, this team won't feel right.
• Written English (B1+) — PRs, issues, docs
• Ukrainian FOP contractor — or able to register before start; we hire directly, not via EOR or staffing
• Overlapping CET business hours — active participation in team ceremonies with video on

Strong plus

• Workflow orchestration (Prefect, Airflow, Celery, or similar)
• REST API design and implementation (FastAPI, Flask, or similar)
• Data pipelines, ETL, and data validation
• AWS basics (ECS, S3, Lambda, CloudWatch)
• SQL (PostgreSQL) for data verification and analytics
• Docker

What We Offer

• Remote-first — work from anywhere in Ukraine or EU
• AI-native environment — we provide licenses for Claude Code, Cursor, or equivalent
• Level-based compensation — $2,200-4,500 net/mo, positioned at Middle, Senior, or Lead based on demonstrated depth. Structured review after probation.
• Direct impact — your work protects real client operations in production
• Lean team — no bureaucracy, decisions happen in hours, your contribution is visible
• Stack: Python, Playwright, AWS, PostgreSQL, Docker, CI/CD

Why This Role

You'll work directly with engineering leadership that stays in the code — writing automation, debugging production, and reviewing PRs with you. No layer between who decides and who builds, no HR filter between you and product decisions. The role has ~60% production maintenance (debugging failed runs, fixing overnight issues, investigating data anomalies) and ~40% building new automation workflows. If you want pure greenfield coding all day, this isn't it. If you want ownership of something real in production, it is.

We hire at Middle, Senior, or Lead — we don't pre-define your level. The interview decides based on demonstrated technical depth and ownership. Compensation scales accordingly within the $2,200-4,500 net band. A structured review after probation adjusts level and pay based on actual performance.

A Note on the Hire

This posting is sourced through RealAd. The role itself is a direct hire into an established European product company — a permanent seat in an experienced engineering team working on the company's own automation platform. Not agency, not outstaffing, not contract consulting. The employer's name is disclosed at the first interview, once mutual interest is confirmed.

Interview Process

We respect your time. Our process is:

1. Application review (≤24h) — we read your profile and cover message. Strong fits get a short behavioral form (12–15 min) to explore work style, ownership, and past experience.
2. Two interviews (30–45 min each) — first with the CTO: technical scenarios, ownership, AI demo, your questions. Second with our tech lead: implementation details and team fit.
3. Feedback within 48 hours after each stage — pass, decline, or move-forward update. Final offers follow within 5 business days of the last shortlisted interview.

You'll know where you stand at every stage, in writing.