Contract Python Microservices Developer - Django

The Motley Fool is seeking a Senior Python Developer to help us develop APIs and microservices using Python-based frameworks such as FastAPI, Django, or Flask.  We need a talented individual with a proven track record of building scalable and highly available APIs consumed by tens of thousands to millions of users daily.  You must have significant experience in using data caching strategies, asynchronous processes, and query and index tuning to optimize systems.

You will be actively coding with cutting-edge technologies, as well as leading a team of engineers to develop and enhance the microservices that power our customer-facing investing data and tools - from real-time market data to cryptocurrencies.

If you're passionate about problem solving, software engineering, and leading teams to excellence, this role puts you at the forefront of innovation at one of the most respected names in financial media.
This is a contract role with a strong potential for a full-time salaried role down the line. Strong preference will be given to candidates who reside in one of the following States. If you're open to relocation - please note that on your application! 

Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC, and Wisconsin.

The Motley Fool is a purpose-driven financial services company on a mission to make the world smarter, happier, and richer. For 30 years we’ve been helping people make better investment decisions through transparency, education, and Foolish fun. We’re a fast-moving, collaborative team that values high-quality work, curiosity, and initiative. We care deeply about what we do, and we’re driven by the impact our work has on real people’s financial futures.

Ready to contribute to a dynamic engineering team that powers investment decisions for millions? This role puts you at the helm of The Motley Fool's investing microservices, where you'll orchestrate systems that handle everything from real-time market data to cutting-edge crypto analytics.

This role involves innovating at the intersection of fintech and software engineering, creating solutions that help investors make smarter decisions. You'll be working with cutting-edge technologies while ensuring performance and reliability for mission-critical financial data.

If you're passionate about building scalable financial systems and leading teams to excellence, this role puts you at the forefront of investment technology innovation at one of the most respected names in financial media.

What would you do in this role? 

• Contribute to the development and execution of Motley Fool’s investing microservices, ensuring alignment with business objectives
• Responsible for systems and data core to our investing products, website, tools, and subscribers including:
• US and international market data
• Portfolio holdings and returns
• Corporate actions
• Company fundamentals
• Crypto, Options, and IPOs
• Automated aggregation of subscriber portfolios across brokerages
• Responsible for in-house systems that manage trading compliance and holdings disclosures
• Integrate with a variety of third party providers and tools
• Ensure calculations are accurate with automated tests to validate
• Ensure critical data is fresh and highly available with failover capabilities
• Collaborate with the team’s product owner and project manager to set the team up for success with shovel ready work that has the value and acceptance criteria clearly defined
• Conduct regular 1:1s with direct reports
• Regularly review code, contributions, and delivery flow to identify opportunities for improvement and optimization
• Drive professional development and career growth opportunities for team members
• Partner with multiple in-house teams and external providers to launch subscriber-facing solutions
• Find ways to leverage AI tools like Claude or GitHub Copilot to assist the team  (e.g. architectural concepts and diagrams, starter code, automated tests)

Must haves:

• 5+ years of experience building, delivering, enhancing, and maintaining apis consumed by multiple systems using a Python-based framework like Django, FastApi, or Flask
• Significant experience with performance optimization (async processing, caching, queuing, and query optimization)
• Experienced with high-volume systems - hundreds of thousands of users and transactions per day
• Experienced with system monitoring and telemetry
• Experienced working with relational databases, ORMs, and SQL
• Skilled at developing full-stack web applications
• Ability to translate business goals and requirements into technical solutions
• Proven track record in high-performance teams, where cross-functional collaboration is valued
• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills
• Knowledge of investing and/or finance

Nice to haves:

• Architecting and developing stock investing microservices
• Experience with NextJs, React, Javascript
• Experience with portfolio aggregation services like Plaid
• Experience with Docker and containerization, as well as CI/CD pipelines
• Prior management and leadership experience