Backend Python Engineer (Expert)

In collaboration with client bioinformatics and data science teams, we are building a platform to manage data flows from hundreds of connected laboratory instruments. The main objective is to industrialise the current MVP into a production-grade system. The solution provides a single source of truth for scientific data, supports data lineage and versioning (“time travel”), ensures reliable cold storage, and enables near real-time streaming and processing for analysis.  

– Design and build backend services in Python to support scientific data pipelines.
– Architect and implement event-driven integrations using Kafka and/or AWS Kinesis.
– Ensure robustness and scalability of the system for future instrument onboarding.
– Work on reliable data ingestion from Windows-based scientific instruments.
– Provide near real-time data streaming as well as secure long-term storage.
– Develop architecture patterns for extensibility and maintainability.
– Mentor and support a junior-heavy client team to raise engineering standards.  

Python (3.10+) with FastAPI and async stack
Kafka / AWS Kinesis for eventing
Postgres for metadata and operational state
AWS (MSK, S3, Lambda, IAM) as cloud backbone
Next.js + Tauri frontend for instrument interaction
GitHub, CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, AWS CDK) 

The current MVP, built rapidly to prove feasibility, requires transformation into a reliable and extensible production platform. The main challenge is dealing with the heterogeneity of hundreds of lab instruments, mostly Windows-based, and ensuring consistent data capture and lineage. Another challenge is balancing scientific requirements with sound software engineering practices, while ensuring the architecture remains future-proof.  

The team consists of 10 engineers distributed across Poland and Brazil, supported by domain experts in bioinformatics. The client’s team is primarily bioinformatics specialists with strong domain expertise but limited experience in system design. Our role is to provide architectural leadership, backend expertise, and hands-on mentoring to enable them to build a sustainable platform.