Senior Python Backend Developer (Django/FastAPI) | Remote (LATAM, North Africa & Western Europe Only)

<p>&nbsp;</p> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold">About Ascend</h3> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Ascend (formerly FlyFlat) is a membership-based travel concierge service that delivers 24/7 end-to-end journey management for frequent travelers and corporate teams. Members save an average of 35% on business and first-class flights and reclaim hours of planning time, communicating directly with a dedicated human concierge team via WhatsApp to book flights, hotels, and ground transport, with proactive disruption management throughout the journey.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">The combination of white-glove service and proprietary technology is what makes the model work—and that's where this role sits. We're scaling the platform, the team, and the surface area of what a small engineering org can credibly own, including how AI-assisted development reshapes that ceiling.</p> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold">The Role</h3> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">As a Senior Python Backend Developer at Ascend, you'll lead development of our Python-based web applications using Django and FastAPI. You'll architect scalable solutions, implement best practices, and help shape our technical direction while working with modern cloud infrastructure.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Beyond traditional engineering, you'll play a meaningful role in how Ascend adopts AI-assisted development—both inside Engineering and in the tooling, standards, and guardrails we extend to the rest of the organization. We expect AI to be a first-class part of how our team ships, reviews, and operates, and we want someone who has opinions on what that should look like.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">This is a remote role paying $3500 - $4500 per month, DOE.&nbsp;</p> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold">Who You Are</h3> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">You're an experienced developer with deep Python expertise and a passion for building high-performance web applications. You combine technical excellence with pragmatic problem-solving and enjoy the challenges of a growing company. You're also fluent in modern AI-augmented development: you know when to reach for AI tools, where they fall short, and how to build the structures (prompts, skills, review processes, evaluation harnesses, access controls) that let a team use them productively and safely.</p> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold">What You'll Do</h3> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Lead development of features using Django and FastAPI</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Architect and implement scalable web applications</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Establish technical standards for our Python codebase, including standards for AI-assisted contributions</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Optimize our cloud infrastructure (Railway, with selective AWS usage)</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Build and maintain the AI tooling, prompts, and skills the engineering team relies on day-to-day, and treat that work as a real engineering deliverable rather than a side project</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Help define the company-wide policies, guardrails, and enablement that let teams across Ascend use AI tools effectively without creating IP, security, or data-handling risk</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Mentor developers, conduct thorough code reviews, and help raise the bar for how we evaluate AI-assisted work</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Collaborate with product managers and designers</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Implement testing and evaluation strategies, including for workflows that involve AI in the loop</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Evaluate new technologies, AI and otherwise, to enhance our tech stack</li> </ul> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold">Must-Have Skills &amp; Qualities</h3> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">5+ years of Python web development experience</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Strong proficiency with Django and FastAPI frameworks</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Expert knowledge of web development best practices</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with PostgreSQL and ORM frameworks</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Solid understanding of front-end technologies</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Advanced Git skills and collaborative workflows</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with Agile methodologies and CI/CD</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Demonstrable experience using AI coding assistants (e.g., Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot) on production work, with sound judgment about when AI output needs more scrutiny or rework</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Excellent problem-solving and communication skills</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Ability to balance technical excellence with business needs</li> </ul> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold">Bonus Points For</h3> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with AWS services and/or Railway</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Knowledge of cloud architecture and infrastructure</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with microservices and containerization</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">API design and scalability expertise</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience designing reusable AI artifacts (prompts, skills, agents, internal tooling) that encode team expertise rather than living in one person's head</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience setting up AI guardrails at an organizational level: code review policies for AI-assisted contributions, IP and data-handling practices, secrets and access controls, model and tool selection, evaluation frameworks</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience enabling non-engineering teams (operations, concierge, growth, finance) to use AI tools safely and productively</li> </ul> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold">Why Join Us</h3> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Take ownership of critical technical challenges, including how AI fits into our engineering culture and operating model</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Work with modern technologies and shape our technical roadmap</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Join a high-performing team where your contributions have direct impact</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Contribute to a product with proven market fit</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Develop leadership skills while solving meaningful problems, both technical and organizational</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Opportunity for significant professional growth as we scale</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p>