AI Lead Product Engineer

Role OverviewWe are looking for a product-minded Technical Lead who possesses a strong engineering foundation and the leadership capability to drive our backend and AI initiatives. You will not only architect scalable Python systems but also align technical decisions with business goals.
In this role, you are expected to own the product lifecycle end-to-end-from design to operation-while building a high-trust, high-performance engineering culture. You must be adaptable, ready to lead the team through technology shifts (specifically in AI integration), and capable of balancing speed, quality, and cost based on the product phase.
What You'll Do
1.Product-Centric Engineering & Strategy:
Product Mindset: Work closely with Product Managers to understand user pain points and value features. Make technical trade-offs based on the current product phase (e.g., MVP vs. scaling).
Ownership: Take end-to-end responsibility for features: Design → Development → Release → Operation. Proactively propose solutions and identify risks before they become issues.
Adaptability: Lead the team in adapting to new technology directions, particularly integrating AI/ML workflows into the backend. Be willing to pivot technical approaches when product direction changes.
2.Architecture & Technical Foundation:
System Design: Architect robust systems with a clear understanding of when to use Monolith vs. Microservices. Design efficient data models, data flows, and versioned APIs.
Cloud & Infrastructure: Leverage AWS services effectively. Assess the risks and benefits of integrating external services versus building in-house.
Performance & Security: Ensure systems are designed for scalability, high performance, and security while keeping infrastructure costs optimized.
3.Delivery & Execution:
Execution: Ensure on-time releases with the required quality standards. Manage scope creep and handle cross-team/external dependencies effectively.
Risk Management: Provide honest reporting to management. Do not hide risks; instead, communicate them early with mitigation plans.
Operational Excellence: Maintain system stability and reliability in production.
4.Leadership & Mentorship:
Team Building: Build a strong engineering culture and standardize coding practices. protect the team from distractions while ensuring members trust and follow your technical direction.
Mentorship: Conduct code reviews to mentor the team on mindset and standards (SOLID, DRY). Delegate tasks effectively-assigning the right people to the right jobs.
Communication: Act as a bridge between technical and non-technical stakeholders. Explain technical decisions to the CEO and Product teams using business language (Cost, Risk, Impact). Align expectations on scope and delivery explicitly from the start.
What Sets You Apart
1.Mindset & Soft Skills:
Product-Oriented: Ability to balance technical perfection with business value and speed-to-market.
Accountability: High sense of ownership; you care about the outcome, not just the effort.
Adaptability: A continuous learner willing to embrace and lead AI adoption and new workflows.
Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills; able to negotiate scope and explain complex tech concepts to non-tech stakeholders.
2.Technical Requirements:
Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
5+ years in Backend Development (Python focus).
2+ years in a Leadership role (Lead/Senior with mentoring duties).
Experience integrating AI/ML models into production systems.
Core Stack: Strong expertise in Python (Django, Flask, or FastAPI).
Database: Deep knowledge of SQL (PostgreSQL/MySQL) and NoSQL (MongoDB/Redis) data modeling.
Infrastructure: Proficiency with AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines.
Architecture: Proven experience in System Design (API design, Data flow, Event-driven architecture)
Why Join Us?
Opportunity to lead a team dealing with real-world AI challenges.
A culture that values transparency, ownership, and technical excellence.
Autonomy to make architectural decisions that impact the business.