Back-End Developer (Python, Node.js)

• Designing, building and evolving the backend of our autonomous drone platform
• Developing robust, scalable RESTful APIs for real-time operations
• Architecting systems that handle live telemetry, video feeds and mission-critical workflows
• Working closely with front-end and product teams to deliver seamless end-to-end experiences
• Influencing architectural decisions and long-term backend strategy
• Leading backend feature development and technical initiatives
• Ensuring performance, reliability and scalability across the platform
• Writing clean, maintainable, well-documented code
• Participating in code reviews and raising engineering standards
• Troubleshooting complex issues across distributed systems
• Staying ahead of industry trends and bringing fresh ideas to the team
• Collaborating with product, design and engineering

Do you have experience in TypeScript?, * Five or more years of commercial backend development experience

• Strong JavaScript skills
• Deep experience with Node.js (Express, Fastify or similar)
• Solid understanding of REST APIs and backend architecture
• Experience with databases such as MongoDB, PostgreSQL or MySQL
• Experience building scalable, production-ready backend systems
• Git proficiency
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills
• Ability to work autonomously and make sound technical decisions

Nice to Have:

• TypeScript
• GraphQL
• Experience designing distributed or event-driven systems
• Exposure to solutions architecture principles
• Experience with microservices or modular monolith patterns
• Understanding of caching strategies such as Redis or Memcached
• Experience with message queues such as Kafka, RabbitMQ or SQS
• DBA-level experience including indexing, query optimisation and schema design
• Experience with time-series or geospatial databases
• Knowledge of data modelling for real-time systems
• Experience with database migrations and versioning tools
• Cloud experience with AWS, Azure or GCP
• Docker or containerisation experience
• CI/CD pipelinesInfrastructure as Code
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools
• Experience with real-time systems such as WebSockets or MQTT
• Exposure to drones, robotics or IoT
• Understanding of telemetry, mapping or sensor data

Pulled from the full job description

• Flexitime
• Company pension
• Work from home
• On-site parking, * Competitive salary and benefits
• The chance to work on genuinely innovative drone technology
• Ownership of backend features end to end
• A modern tech stack with opportunities to explore IoT, mapping and real-time systems
• A small, ambitious team where your work has immediate impact
• A remote first culture with monthly meetups in Southampton
• A collaborative, supportive environment
• Real opportunities for growth and professional development

Ready to make an impact? Send us your application and let's talk.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: £50,000.00-£80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Flexitime
• On-site parking
• Work from home

Back-End Developer (Python, Node.js) | Help Build the Future of Autonomous Tech at SkyBound Location: Remote-first, with one day per month in our Southampton office (SO19) SkyBound is growing, and we're looking for a Back-End Developer who enjoys solving complex engineering problems and wants to work on technology that has a genuine real-world impact. We're a funded startup building systems that support public safety and emergency response. Our platform automates drones so they can reach incidents faster, deliver real-time situational awareness and ultimately help protect lives. We're beginning work on the next major version of our system. It's an opportunity to rethink the architecture, refine what we've built, and introduce ideas that will shape the product for years. You'll be joining early enough to influence technical direction, tooling, and system design, working closely with our CTO on decisions that really matter. Why This Role Stands Out You won't be lost in a huge engineering team or stuck maintaining legacy code. You'll be one of the core developers shaping a new product initiative, with real autonomy to make decisions, propose improvements and influence how our platform evolves. You'll work across a modern, evolving backend ecosystem that includes: * Node.js * Real-time data processing * IoT integrations * Multi-device synchronisation * Event-driven architecture * Opportunities to explore edge computing, mapping systems and drone telemetry * A backend codebase you'll help shape, scale and optimise If you enjoy building scalable systems, solving hard problems and working with emerging tech, you'll feel right at home here.