We value demonstrated ownership and shipped systems over logos or credentials. Must-Haves (non-negotiable): Strong experience in Python backend systems (Django, FastAPI, or similar frameworks), Experience designing and maintaining event-driven or asynchronous systems, Deep understanding of: transaction management, idempotency, concurrency, and data modeling in relational databases (Postgres preferred), Experience with background workers / queues (Celery, SQS, etc.), Comfort with AWS infrastructure and production observability, Experience instrumenting systems for analytics and ML pipelines, Strong testing discipline (unit + integration + scenario testing), AI-native builder: You use AI as a force multiplier — accelerating exploration, testing, and refactoring — but you deeply understand the systems you ship.