We're hiring a Python Developer to write and ship backend code on a small, fast-moving team building a consumer-facing web application — APIs, data, business logic, and the plumbing that makes the frontend work.
Summary
- Flexible Title: Can tailor to reflect your skills & experience.
- Flexible Time: Can do full-time, part-time, side-gig (off-hours), or fractional (contract).
- Flexible Commitment: Can do short-term, long-term, or intermittent.
- No degree required. Self-taught, bootcamp, and career changers welcome — Python is the language; the path doesn't matter.
Why so flexible? We're a FUNDED startup racing to launch end of Q3 2026. That gives us just 3 months to stack features while raising additional working capital. Feel free to jump in, help us ship, then bounce >> or stick around. A successful launch translates into lots of permanent jobs for those that want them. We're also interested in long-term "side gig" relationships, if that's what you're into—in our experience, a few expert hours often beat full-time learning-curve hours.
About Us
We're a credible, funded, remote-first startup backed by a growing team. We're pre-launch and moving fast.
About The Role
This is a Python-first backend seat — distinct from our general software engineer and frontend postings. If your day-to-day is writing Python (APIs, data pipelines, scripts, or service logic), this is for you. React and CSS are a separate posting.
We have a working product and a real engineering team. You won't be designing architecture from scratch or building alone. You'll own Python tickets — APIs, background jobs, integrations, data handling — in a codebase that's already structured and shipping to real users.
This is ideal for someone who has shipped real Python (Django, Flask, FastAPI, or solid scripting/automation work) and wants a focused backend seat without becoming a full-stack generalist or picking up frontend tickets.
Compensation
Up to $110,000 max total annual compensation in Tier 1 cities; cash and equity components to be negotiated. Given the flexible commitment model, comp will be structured accordingly — fractional or hourly arrangements welcome.
Tasks
What You'll Do in Your First 7 Days
- You've gotten your local development environment running and submitted your first Python PR
- You've reviewed the backend structure — how the API is organized, where the data models live, how we run jobs
- You've attended your first engineering standup and know how the team communicates
- You've shipped (or nearly shipped) a small API endpoint, data fix, or backend feature
- The team knows who you are, why you're here, and how you'll work together
What You'll Do Ongoing
- Build and maintain APIs — REST endpoints the frontend and mobile clients depend on, written cleanly in Python
- Own backend features — data models, business logic, integrations, and background tasks
- Fix backend bugs — investigate issues, trace them through the stack, and ship the fix
- Write tests — unit and integration coverage that travels with the code you ship
- Participate in code reviews — review others' Python PRs and learn from reviews of yours
- Keep the backend healthy — clean, readable Python that the next person can change without reading your mind
Requirements
What We're Looking For
Must-haves:
- Solid Python — you've written and shipped real backend code (not just scripts), whether in Django, Flask, FastAPI, or a comparable framework
- Comfortable with REST APIs: designing endpoints, handling auth, working with JSON
- Understand the basics: relational databases (SQL), Git, and how a backend connects to a frontend
- Can read and extend an existing Python codebase without needing everything explained
- Self-directed learner — you debug before you ask, but ask before you're stuck for hours
- Strong async communicator — clear PR descriptions and you flag blockers early
Nice-to-have:
- Django ORM, SQLAlchemy, or Alembic migrations
- Background workers / task queues (Celery, RQ, or similar)
- A GitHub repo or personal project you can point to
- No degree required — self-taught, bootcamp, or CS all count
- Comfortable in fast-moving, ambiguous environments
What You're NOT
- Not a frontend / React hire — you may read what the frontend needs; you're not building it
- Not a DevOps / infra hire — we have that covered; you're owning Python backend features
- Not a data scientist or ML engineer — this is product backend, not model training or analytics pipelines
- Not a solo developer — you'll have a team and a structured codebase around you
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Shipped Python backend code using Django, Flask, FastAPI, or comparable frameworks; REST APIs, SQL, Git, JSON, testing, debugging, code reviews, and async communication required.
Key Responsibilities
- building APIs
- owning features
- fixing bugs
Skills & Tools
Python, Django, Flask, FastAPI, REST, JSON, SQL, Git, Django ORM, SQLAlchemy, Alembic, Celery, RQ, GitHub
Job Details
- Category: Software Development
- Seniority: Mid Level
- Commitment: Full Time, Part Time, Contract
- Workplace: Remote — Laguna Beach, California, United States
- Salary: USD 70,000 – 110,000 / year
- Languages: English
About List Lab
A funded remote-first startup building consumer-facing web applications. — Industry: Information Technology