Python Software Engineer

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Octopus Legacy is the place to plan for death and find support after loss.

Having been on our own startup journey, Octopus Group recently bought a stake in our company to supercharge our growth, and now we’re one of the fastest growing companies within the UK’s most exciting group.

With our new brand, the Octopus platform at our disposal and a plan to achieve radical scale we’re transforming the way that people experience the process of planning for and dealing with death.

We’ve assembled a crack team to prepare us for that scale, and you could be the missing piece we’re looking for.

The Role

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will be a key member of our growing engineering team, responsible for designing, building, testing, deploying, and maintaining scalable systems. This is an exciting opportunity to work on a greenfield project, where you’ll have the autonomy to make key decisions on architecture and development, contributing to both back-end services and some front-end components. A key aspect of the role includes working with and integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into our products, so experience in this area is a plus. While our preference is for expertise in AWS (using services like Lambda, S3, SNS, SQS, DynamoDB), we are happy to consider candidates with comparable experience in other cloud platforms like GCP or Azure. You will work closely with our Engineering Manager and Lead Developer to deliver high-quality solutions that enhance our product, and collaborate across teams to bring impactful features to life. As part of a fast-paced startup, you will thrive in an environment that values collaboration, flexibility, and quick iteration while maintaining the balance between speed and quality.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of scalable, cloud-native systems, leveraging modern architecture principles such as microservices and serverless frameworks.
• Write maintainable, efficient, and clean code primarily in Python, focusing on performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Build and maintain robust automated testing and CI/CD pipelines to support fast, frequent, and reliable deployments.
• Work closely with cross-functional stakeholders, including product managers, designers, and other engineers, to gather requirements, develop features, and address user needs.
• Drive best practices in development, demonstrating a strong balance between rapid iteration and high-quality output.
• Participate in code reviews, architectural discussions, and continuous improvement initiatives to foster a culture of technical excellence.
• Champion a lean mindset and agile methodologies, contributing to sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives.
• Engage with the product and users to understand their needs, ensuring that the solutions delivered align with business goals and enhance the customer experience.

Who Are You?

Must Haves:

• Extensive experience in software development using Python or similar languages.
• Strong cloud experience, ideally with AWS (e.g., Lambda, S3, SNS, SQS, DynamoDB); however, similar expertise in GCP or Azure is also highly valued.
• Proven ability to design, build, and maintain cloud-native applications with a focus on scalability, performance, and reliability.
• Hands-on experience with automated testing practices and CI/CD tools such as CircleCI, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or cloud-native solutions like AWS CodePipeline.
• Ability to thrive in a startup environment, embracing change, iteration, and rapid development cycles.
• Strong understanding of RESTful APIs, with experience in building, consuming, and optimising them.
• Experience or familiarity with OpenAI APIs or other LLMs, with an interest in integrating these technologies into products.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, enabling smooth work across engineering and non-engineering teams.
• Experience working in agile teams and familiarity with agile development practices.
• A passion for building products that deliver real value to users and a strong customer-centric approach.

Nice to Haves:

• Experience with serverless frameworks (e.g., Serverless Framework, AWS SAM) or equivalent technologies on GCP/Azure.
• Familiarity with infrastructure as code (IaC) tools like AWS CloudFormation, Terraform, or equivalent tools in other cloud environments.
• Experience with containerization (e.g., Docker) and orchestration tools like Kubernetes or ECS.
• Background in event-driven architecture.
• Understanding of Python web frameworks such as Flask or FastAPI.
• Experience optimising applications for cloud performance, cost-efficiency, and scalability.
• Hands-on experience with monitoring and logging tools (e.g., AWS CloudWatch, Datadog, ELK stack).
• An understanding of lean software development principles and practices focused on delivering value quickly.
• A passion for mentoring and sharing knowledge, contributing to a culture of continuous learning and growth.

Our Mission

When people think about planning for death they think about wills, life insurance and funerals. We take these cold processes and turn them into something more human. Share more than money: leave voice notes, music, recipes. Shape a legacy that connects you while you're here. And after you're gone.

Founded by Sam after his mum died suddenly, we’re a group of people who work in death because we’ve been affected by it. We know the difference a good plan makes, and what it’s like when there isn’t one.

Death can come between us, leave mess, legal fees, frustration. But it can also make us stronger. We see a world where people talk openly about death, and work out the real meaning of legacy, one that connects to them. We’re here to make that world happen.

We know that to be truly innovative, we need to have a diverse team around us. That is why Octopus Legacy is committed to creating an inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

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