Senior Backend Engineer (Data) 1
Free to start · No card · 5 credits the moment you sign up
Job description
About the role
We're growing the team that keeps our data infrastructure running and our archive growing. This is hands-on work at the intersection of Python, Django, and databases at real scale.
You will:
Maintain and extend the hundreds of scrapers that continuously pull court data into our system
Ingest millions of documents and merge them safely into our production database
Help build and evolve the portal receiving our digitization work at the United States Library of Congress, where a team is scanning millions of pages
Convert scanned material into structured text and documents, and merge it into the archive without breaking what's already there
Work on the machine learning processes that identify and remove copyrighted material - a critical safeguard for a nonprofit like ours
Design batch operations that run across five to ten million records efficiently, without taking the databases down
Diagnose slow queries, review migrations, and be a person the team can rely on when something in the database needs a second pair of eyes
Hard requirements
Please don't apply if you don't have real experience in these areas:
Python, professionally and at depth
Django - this is the framework we build on and the single most important skill for this role
Strong database experience. We run Postgres, but we care more about your fundamentals than the specific engine: you should be comfortable reading an execution plan, tracking down why a query is slow, reasoning about indexes, and handling migrations that don't go as planned
Web scraping - building, maintaining, and debugging scrapers in production
Nice to have
Celery, Redis, Kubernetes
Machine learning applied to document processing (OCR, classification, extraction)
Experience with legal data, civic tech, govtech, or open data
Elasticsearch or similar search infrastructure
A genuine interest in law, access to justice, or social justice work — it's what we do every day
Originally posted on Himalayas
Prepare your application
Use the description above to assess your fit for Combine Global Recruitment. This checklist is guidance from Resumize, rather than additional requirements from the employer. Imported listings can be shortened or change after collection, so confirm the complete description and current availability before sending an application.
Match requirements to evidence
Identify the responsibilities and skills the employer explicitly names. For each important requirement, choose one example from your work, education, training, or projects. Explain what you did, how you did it, and what changed as a result. Include a measurable outcome when you can support it. If you lack a requirement, describe related experience accurately instead of adding an unfamiliar skill to your resume.
Put the most relevant examples near the top of your resume. Keep job titles, dates, qualifications, and contact details consistent across your application materials. Use the employer’s terminology when it describes your experience accurately; a copied list of keywords does not explain your contribution. A short, specific bullet is easier to review than a paragraph that mixes several unrelated duties.
Check the working arrangement
Confirm the location, schedule, employment type, and any eligibility requirements on the employer’s site. A remote label does not establish worldwide eligibility or flexible hours. If compensation, benefits, equipment, travel, or contract duration are missing from this listing, write down your questions for the recruiter. Do not assume details from another opening at the same company apply to this role.
Review before submitting
Follow the employer’s requested file format and application instructions. Open your exported resume and check that its text is selectable, its sections read in order, and its links work. Proofread names, dates, and contact information. Share confidential work samples only when you have permission, and use an anonymized example when necessary.
Submit through a trusted employer or recruiting destination. If the original listing has disappeared, search the employer’s careers page for the title rather than assuming the vacancy remains open. Save the application date, job reference, and the version of your resume you sent. Those details help you prepare for a later conversation and avoid submitting conflicting information through several job boards.
Review your resume for writing and readability feedback, or browse other openings if this opportunity is unavailable.