Senior Software Engineer / Tech Lead (Python or TypeScript)

Who We're Looking For

We're looking for a Senior Software Engineer / Tech Lead with 8+ years of production software engineering experience to take hands-on technical ownership of an early-stage travel and loyalty product. This role combines building key features with architecture, code reviews, mentoring, and delivery leadership.
Deep expertise in backend engineering, data infrastructure, or applied AI is a strong fit. You do not need equal depth across every layer, but you should be comfortable reviewing work across backend, frontend, and AI/ML. English level: C1 or higher, with strong written communication and confidence in discussions with founders and partners.

About the Company

CleverLabs is a software development company specializing in building WEB and API applications since 2015. We work on long-term projects, developing products from scratch as part of distributed product teams. Our clients are based in the USA, the UK, EU, and MENA regions.

About the Project

The Web Application helps travelers get more value from loyalty programs, credit card rewards, and memberships. The platform brings balances, status, expiration dates, and perks into one view and recommends when to use cash or points, transfer rewards, or take advantage of travel benefits.
The MVP is built and at the pre-beta stage. The next step is to make it reliable for real users and partners. The system combines data aggregation, a deterministic optimization engine, and an LLM layer that interprets user intent, calls tools, and explains results. Financial calculations must remain correct, reproducible, and separate from model-generated reasoning.

Engagement model: Full-time team augmentation through CleverLabs, working directly with the Сlient's founding team and CTO and providing day-to-day technical leadership to engineers and interns.

Tech Stack & Technical Focus

• Backend expertise: strong Python or TypeScript; strength in one is sufficient, with the ability to read and review code across the wider stack.
• Frontend: React and TypeScript; architectural understanding and code review capability are important.
• Database: PostgreSQL and relational data modeling.
• Integrations: third-party APIs, OAuth, provider adapters, data ingestion, background jobs, and queues.
• Applied AI: LLM tool calling, structured outputs, evaluation, and clear boundaries between models and deterministic services.
• The current backend implementation and service boundaries will be clarified with the CTO during technical discussions.

Responsibilities

• Assess the existing MVP and decide what to retain, refactor, or rebuild while continuing to deliver working software weekly.
• Own architecture across the interface, APIs, reasoning layer, optimization engine, data model, and provider integrations.
• Build key features and own integrations end to end, proactively coordinating technical requirements and dependencies with providers.
• Lead and mentor engineers and interns across frontend, backend, and AI/ML; review code and keep delivery moving.
• Establish practical testing, code review, CI/CD, release, monitoring, and incident-handling practices.
• Protect sensitive user data, enforce appropriate access controls, and contribute to the path toward SOC 2 and partner security reviews.
• Support technical discussions with partners and investors, build-versus-buy decisions, and infrastructure cost management.
• Make evidence-based decisions, communicate tradeoffs clearly, and flag risks and blockers early.

Required Skills & Experience

• 8+ years building and operating production software, with demonstrated technical ownership as a Senior Engineer or Tech Lead.
• Strong hands-on backend, data infrastructure, or applied AI experience and sound architectural judgment across a full-stack system.
• Experience taking an early product to real users and improving a codebase built under time pressure.
• Production API integration experience, including validation, retries, idempotency, failure handling, and data consistency.
• Experience mentoring engineers and establishing engineering practices suited to a small team.
• Experience with sensitive personal or financial data and a practical approach to security, privacy, and correctness.
• Working knowledge of production LLM systems and judgment about when deterministic logic is required.
• Ability to work independently with evolving requirements and communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Nice to Have

• Fintech, travel, loyalty, payments, or account aggregation experience, including providers such as Plaid or MX.
• SOC 2 preparation, enterprise security reviews, or technical due diligence during fundraising.
• Optimization, graph search, constraint solving, or rules engines.
• Experience leading distributed teams, including contractors and interns.

Working Conditions

• Full-time, remote engagement with reliable overlap with US Eastern working hours.
• Close collaboration with the founding team and CTO, with substantial ownership of technical decisions and implementation.
• The client expects high availability for urgent product issues. Working hours, response expectations, and any out-of-hours support arrangements must be clarified before the engagement starts.
• Start date, compensation, and initial engagement duration are to be agreed; the client is interested in continuity and a longer-term collaboration.

Benefits

• Remote work options.
• MacBook Pro work equipment.
• Individual English lessons.
• Coverage of sports and wellness expenses.
• Social health benefits.
• Gifts for holidays and special events.
• Professional training, conference participation, internal meetups, and seminars.