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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Backend Engineer - Storyfinding Team - **Company:** The Financial Times Ltd. - **Location:** Sophia, WV, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Artificial Intelligence, Airflow, Amazon Web Services, Automation of Tests, BigQuery, Cloud Computing, Software Quality, Code Review, Collaborative Learning, Databases, Continuous Integration, Data Architecture, Information Engineering, Data Sharing, Data Stores, Data Systems, Database Queries, DevOps, Distributed Systems, Github, Python (Programming Language), PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Online Analytical Processing, Online Transaction Processing, Operational Databases, Standard Sql, Software Engineering, Systems Integration, Circleci, Data Processing, Backend, AWS ECS, Semi-structured Data, Pure Data, Front End Software Development, Virtual Agents, Streamlit Framework, Software Version Control, Data Pipelines, Amazon Redshift - **Published:** September 22, 2026 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/financialtimes33/jobs/4930212101 ## About the Role We're looking for someone curious, pragmatic, and motivated by impact. You enjoy working with messy real-world data, care deeply about reliability and clarity, and are comfortable operating in an environment where priorities can shift quickly around editorial deadlines., * Strong experience as a backend engineer designing and building production-grade distributed systems and APIs in a cloud environment. * Excellent Python skills for developing backend services, system integration, and data processing. * Solid experience as a data engineer with a vital skill set in maintaining production data pipelines and using workflow orchestration tools like Apache Airflow. * Experience working with cloud platforms, particularly AWS. * Familiarity with modern engineering practices including version control, CI/CD, and automated testing. * The ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. * Interest in exploring new technologies and approaches related to AI and Agentic AI. * An interest in journalism, investigations, or using data to answer real-world questions. * Data Science (DS) experience or education is highly valuable for this role, as we leverage AI heavily for many of our use cases., * Strong SQL skills and experience designing and working with relational and analytical databases. * Experience with databases such as BigQuery, Redshift, PostgreSQL, SingleStore, or MongoDB. * Experience working with unstructured or semi-structured data at scale. * A solid understanding of data modelling, data architecture, and trade-offs between different storage and processing approaches. * Comfort contributing to backend software engineering tasks beyond pure data pipelines. * Exposure to building internal tools or lightweight user-facing applications. * Experience with building simple user interfaces or/and the desire to do so (e.g., using frameworks like Streamlit). Characteristics We Value * Inquisitive and analytical, with strong problem-solving skills. * Pragmatic and delivery-focused, able to balance technical quality with newsroom deadlines. * Collaborative and generous with your knowledge. * Comfortable working with ambiguity and evolving requirements. * A systems-level thinker who can see how individual pipelines and tools fit into a broader platform. * Motivated by learning and continuous improvement. * A collaborative team member who thrives in cross-functional environments and values collective success. ## Description This is a hands-on senior individual contributor role with a primary focus on backend software engineering. You will be responsible for designing and building robust backend systems and services, while also maintaining that data engineering is a key component of the work. You will contribute to and maintain critical data pipelines and data products, helping to establish patterns and standards that enable the team to scale its impact., * Designing and operating data pipelines that ingest, clean, enrich, and model complex datasets for investigative reporting. * Building resilient, observable data workflows to support high-traffic and time-critical newsroom events such as elections or major economic announcements. * Developing shared data infrastructure and tooling that turns one-off investigations into reusable capabilities for the wider newsroom. * Working with unstructured and semi-structured data sources (documents, filings, scraped content, APIs) to create high-quality, queryable datasets. * Collaborating with journalists, product managers, and engineers to translate editorial questions into scalable data solutions., * Design, build, and maintain scalable and resilient backend services, APIs, and infrastructure. * Ensure high standards of software quality through testing, documentation, observability, and security across all systems. * Design, build, and maintain scalable, reliable data pipelines and datasets in a cloud environment. * Work across OLTP and OLAP data stores to support both application-driven and analytical use cases. * Partner closely with journalists and other technical colleagues to shape data solutions that directly support storytelling. * Lead by example in engineering best practices, including code review, documentation, and pragmatic architectural decision-making. * Support and mentor more junior engineers through pairing, feedback, and knowledge sharing. * Identify areas where AI and new technologies can help in the newsroom and be able to propose ideas. * Actively participate in the process of requirements gathering and have the desire to have regular catch-ups with editors and journalists if that's needed., We don't expect you to be an expert in everything. Our current stack includes: * Languages: Python, SQL * Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS * Data Pipelines & Orchestration: Apache Airflow, AWS ECS * Databases: BigQuery, Redshift, PostgreSQL, SingleStore, MongoDB * Version Control & CI/CD: GitHub, CircleCI * Frontend (small part of the role): Streamlit This is a unique opportunity to use your technical skills to contribute to data journalism. You'll be making content for the FT's readership, using data to make news accessible, understandable, and impactful. If this sounds like a role that aligns with your expertise and ambitions, we'd love to hear from you!, * 25 days paid leave * 24/7 Employee Assistance Program * Life Insurance * Enhanced Parental Leave policy * Food Allowance * Multisport Card * Both in house and external training programs * Your own training dedicated budget (for conferences, courses etc.) We currently operate a hybrid model which requires staff to work onsite 50% of the time, subject to role requirements & regular review. While flexible working requests will be considered, not all patterns are suitable for all roles. We believe this balanced approach supports flexibility and protects our culture, making collaboration and communication easier, building stronger relationships and team cohesion, and supporting peer learning. We reserve discretion on reasonable notice to change this approach either generally or for specific individuals or teams. Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion We believe in the power of unique perspectives and want all voices in our organisation to be heard, respected and valued. A supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves and operate to their full potential. We are committed to removing barriers for everyone, with a focus on addressing those faced by underrepresented groups. Accessibility We are a disability confident employer and Valuable 500 signatory. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments/personalisation as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements or have any questions, email talent@ft.com and a member of our team will be happy to help. Further information At the FT, we embrace innovation and the use of technology and appreciate that individuals may leverage AI tools as part of their job application process. Whilst we are happy for you to use AI to assist with your application, it is essential that all information provided is authentic and accurately represents your skills, experience, and qualifications. Candidates should be aware that the use of AI throughout the application process may be monitored to ensure a fair and transparent hiring process for all.