Senior Backend Developer

Senior Backend Engineer with AI Expertise

Company: Narwhal Labs (Narwhal Group Limited)

Location: Bristol

Employment Type: Full-time

Salary: £70,000 - £90,000

About the Role

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Backend Engineer with expertise across multiple backend technologies to join our growing development team working on our AI communications platform. In this role, you will architect, build, and maintain robust backend systems while also providing mentorship and technical leadership to a team of junior developers. A strong understanding of AI concepts, tools, and integrations is essential as we continue embedding intelligent features across our products.

Key Responsibilities

Backend Development:

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable backend services and APIs using primarily Python.
• Optimise system performance, reliability, and security across all backend components.
• Ensure high code quality through best practices, testing, and documentation.

Technical Leadership & Mentoring:

• Support and guide junior developers through code reviews, pair-programming, and ongoing coaching.
• Lead technical discussions and help define coding standards and development processes.
• Collaborate closely with product owners, designers, and other engineers to deliver high-impact features.

Architecture & System Design:

• Contribute to system architecture planning and long-term platform roadmap.
• Evaluate and introduce new technologies, libraries, and tools where appropriate.

AI & Automation:

• Integrate AI and machine-learning powered features into backend systems.
• Collaborate with AI/ML specialists to deploy and maintain intelligent services.
• Stay up to date with emerging AI trends and identify opportunities for automation and optimisation.

Qualifications

• 5+ years backend development experience with strong proficiency in Python, .NET (C#), and PHP.
• Solid experience with RESTful APIs, microservices, authentication/authorisation, and database design (SQL/NoSQL).
• Strong understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Experience mentoring junior developers or leading small development teams.
• Familiarity with AI/ML frameworks, LLMs, data pipelines, or integrating large language models/APIs.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to translate complex requirements into scalable solutions.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative mindset.

Nice to Have

• Experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Exposure to DevOps tools (CI/CD pipelines, automation).
• Knowledge of model deployment or MLOps practices.
• Knowledge of frontend technologies and frameworks: nextjs, nodejs, TypeScript, React.
• Experience designing distributed systems and event-driven architectures.

What We Offer

• Collaborative and supportive team environment.
• Opportunities to work with cutting-edge AI technologies.
• Career growth through leadership, architecture, and innovation.
• Flexible work arrangements and competitive compensation.

Diversity and Inclusion

We're building something global at Narwhal, and we mean that in every sense. The work we do requires different ways of thinking — and different ways of thinking come from different people.

At Narwhal, we're committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences, and we actively work to ensure our hiring process is fair and accessible for everyone. Reasonable adjustments are available at every stage, just reach out and we'll make it happen.