Contract Senior Web Services Engineer

Location: Remote - Anywhere (Open to applicants located anywhere around the globe.) Northwind Robotics is a leading digital strategy, design, and engineering agency. We are a 300+ person team that has designed and built hundreds of digital products and experiences for brands like Google, Apple, The New York Times, ESPN, Victoria’s Secret, MGM Resorts, Albertsons, and CLEAR. As a Contract Senior Web Services Engineer at Northwind Robotics , you’ll thrive by embracing ambiguity and turning it into an opportunity. You’ll use each new problem as a chance to build something meaningful, collaborate with a cross-functional team, and prioritize action that moves projects forward. By creating thoughtful solutions, supporting great work across the team, and staying curious, you’ll make an impact that’s felt by users, clients, and your peers. Intentionally remote and globally distributed across six continents, our team thrives in a culture that values flexibility, creativity, and cutting-edge technology. Together, we’re shaping the future of digital experiences. What you will do: Design and implement scalable database schemas and API interfaces to support large-scale user-generated content, with a focus on security, performance, and developer experience for enterprise-grade applications. Architect clean, performant RESTful APIs, GraphQL solutions, and AI-powered features that bridge legacy systems with modern platforms, including Stripe, Shopify, Salesforce, and OpenAI. Build and integrate Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) and AI/ML capabilities, including semantic search, RAG, vector embeddings, and prompt engineering, to enhance application intelligence. Guide end-to-end project execution from scoping client requirements to hands-on development using Python, Node.js, Go, and occasionally PHP, including troubleshooting third-party integrations, resolving performance bottlenecks, and writing automated tests. Collaborate with cross-functional teams and clients to translate complex business requirements into actionable technical solutions, working remotely with a globally distributed team across multiple time zones. What you will achieve: Within your first three months, lead the technical delivery of a high-traffic web services project, ensuring reliability and scalability. Drive measurable performance gains across API response times and deployment efficiency. Establish or refine reusable internal tooling and patterns that elevate engineering consistency across projects. Build trusted relationships with product and design peers to deliver technically sound, strategically aligned solutions. Become a go-to technical voice within Northwind Robotics ’s back-end engineering practice — influencing direction and mentoring others. About you: You have 5+ years of backend API development experience, ideally using Python/Django, Node.js/NestJS, or Golang/Gin, and have built APIs for at least 3 enterprise apps involving complex third-party integrations in fast-paced environments. You thrive in ambiguity and bring structure to unstructured problems, clearly communicating technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders, even when specs are incomplete or priorities shift. You have a strong understanding of agile methodologies and believe that effective collaboration drives the best results. You are proficient in system design and SQL data modeling for high-traffic applications (10k+ daily users). You bring hands-on experience implementing production-ready LLM features, including semantic search, vector databases, RAG, and prompt engineering. You embrace continuous learning and see this role as a chance to solve technical challenges, blending legacy systems with modern web services. Contractor Fee Compensation is determined based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, projects, geographic location, and business needs. Join our Contractor Pool This role is designed as a contract position, offering you the opportunity to experience our team and culture while showcasing your contributions. When the fit and business needs align, some contractors are invited to explore a transition into full-time roles. If you are passionate about Northwind Robotics 's mission and think you have what it takes to be successful in this role, please apply. We'd appreciate the opportunity to review your application. Everyone gets a response. Upon meeting the necessary criteria, you'll join the Northwind Robotics contractor network, granting you access to project invitations tailored to your expertise and availability when they arise. Any data provided will be processed in accordance with applicable law and our privacy policy . Curious about what to expect during our talent process? Check it out Northwind Robotics -1d84dccd9d8b80f8a0b0d40b244f4caf?pvs=4" data-stringify-link="https://www.notion.so/fueled/What-to-Expect-from-the-Interview-Process-at- Northwind Robotics -1d84dccd9d8b80f8a0b0d40b244f4caf?pvs=4" data-sk="tooltip_parent" rel="nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here . We don't want you to miss any commu