About the role
At parcelLab, we’re reshaping how the world’s leading brands manage the post-purchase experience. Our post-purchase platform helps companies like John Lewis, Chico's, Yeti, AllSaints, and others transform every touchpoint into moments that drive customer engagement, build loyalty, and create customers for life. We’re looking for a Senior Backend Engineer - a product‑focused builder with strong experience to help evolve our Returns Portal , a white‑label SaaS used by customers in 175+ countries . You’ll work on a large‑scale Django application with a modern Python toolchain (uv/mypy/Ruff/Pydantic) and a server‑driven UI stack (HTMX/Alpine).
The role: You will design and evolve the backend systems behind our returns experiences—owning problems end‑to‑end: clarify outcomes, collaborate with Product and Design, and ship reliable, observable services that make returns fast, clear, and correct. What you’ll do: Lead services & workflows from concept to impact : model data, implement APIs and jobs, instrument, launch, and iterate. Design and evolve domain models & rules for returns (RMAs, eligibility, routing, bundles) with safe migrations and clear boundaries. Build and maintain APIs (REST/GraphQL) and endpoints that power our server‑driven UI ( HTMX/Alpine ). Integrate with commerce systems (e.g., Shopify ) and order/warehouse tools: design and operate API/webhook integrations, keep orders and RMAs in sync, and ensure idempotent, reliable synchronization and backfills. Raise the bar on engineering practices : typing ( mypy ), validation ( Pydantic ), code quality ( Ruff ), CI/CD, and thoughtful reviews. Own quality in production : monitor performance and error rates; fix what you ship. What we’re looking for: Proficiency with Python in production, ideally (
nice to have) with Django. Strong SQL fundamentals, relational modeling, and safe migrations. Experience building APIs (REST) and working with job queues . Comfort with modern Python tooling: uv , mypy , Ruff , Pydantic . Testing mindset (unit/integration) and continuous delivery know‑how. Evidence of agency : stories where you drove an outcome end‑to‑end.
