Senior Backend Team Lead f/m/x (Python/IoT/Cloud)

This job posting is not for madewithlove but for one of our clients whom we consciously chose to work with:

Sailsense Analytics is building the leading IoT and data intelligence platform for the maritime industry. Their mission is to give sailors, fleet operators, and boat builders real-time insights into the state of their boats — from navigation to energy systems, engines, sensors, alerts, maintenance, and much more.

Their ecosystem includes:

⚓️ The Sailsense Hub

An onboard IoT gateway collecting telemetry (NMEA2000, CAN, Zigbee, GPS, engine data...) and sending it securely to the cloud.

⚡️ Powerail

A next-generation digital switching module replacing traditional breakers, enabling remote control, energy monitoring, and automation.

📱 Sailsense Cloud Platform

A modern web and mobile suite used by thousands of boat owners, rental fleets, technicians, and shipyards to:

• monitor boats in real time

• receive alerts

• analyse navigation & telemetry

• manage maintenance

• track tasks & tickets

• integrate OEM systems (Volvo Penta, Mastervolt...)

They combine embedded hardware, real-time telemetry, high-availability cloud systems, machine learning, and delightful UI/UX into one coherent platform. Sailsense is scaling quickly, and they are expanding the engineering team with a Senior Backend Team Lead (f/m/x) who will take ownership of backend architecture, data pipelines, infrastructure reliability, and high-impact technical decisions.

About the role

We are looking for a hands-on Senior Backend Engineer who also acts as Team Lead and Technical Owner. This is not a CTO role, but you will be the senior technical reference for the backend team and a key contributor to system design, architecture, and reliability.

You will:

• Make architectural choices

• Lead major migrations

• Review designs & propose improvements

• Build core backend features

• Work with firmware, mobile, and product teams

• Mentor developers

• Drive engineering excellence

This role is perfect for someone who enjoys both deep technical work (70–80%) and technical leadership (20–30%), and who wants to influence architecture without carrying C-level responsibilities.

What you will own

1. Backend Architecture & Core Development

You will be responsible for the architecture, quality, and scalability of our backend, built primarily in Python.

• Architect & implement backend services (Python, Django, FastAPI)

• Lead design discussions & own technical decisions for backend modules

• Improve performance, reliability, scalability, and maintainability

• Ensure high code quality through reviews, mentoring, and best practices

• Write production-grade code — you remain highly hands-on

  2. Real-Time IoT & Data Pipelines

You will shape the backbone of our real-time telemetry ingestion & processing.

• Improve MQTT ingestion pipelines from the Sailsense Hub

• Optimise streaming flows for tens of thousands of datapoints per minute

• Work with structured & unstructured telemetry (GPS, engines, sensors, alerts)

• Collaborate with firmware engineers on protocols (NMEA2000, CAN, Zigbee)

• Troubleshoot end-to-end IoT flows from edge to cloud
  

  3. Infrastructure, DevOps, and Observability

You’ll help maintain and evolve a modern, reliable infrastructure.

• Improve CI/CD pipelines

• Optimise cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP)

• Enhance observability: logs, metrics, tracing, alerting

• Strengthen platform security & reliability

• Drive cost efficiency and resource optimisation
  
  4. System Design & Technical Decision Making

You will be the go-to person for backend design choices.

• Lead architectural proposals and RFC reviews

• Oversee migrations (database schemas, services, data formats)

• Improve resilience and fault-tolerance

• Ensure API consistency, versioning, and stability

• Collaborate closely with product on feasibility & technical scoping
  
  5. Technical Leadership (No HR management)

You will guide the team through your technical expertise.

• Mentor senior and mid-level developers

• Lead code reviews & share best practices

• Support requirements refinement with the product team

• Drive engineering standards across backend & platform

• Help the team make better architectural decisions

You do not manage HR processes, salaries, or company-wide strategy — this is a technical leadership role.

!! Don't hesitate to apply if you don't fulfil 100% of the requirements. Superheroes don't exist. People with passion and talent do.

Human Skills

• You are a team player who likes sharing knowledge and experiences with your colleagues.

• You are interested in a long-term commitment and want to grow with the company that you are joining.

• You are a self-starter with an entrepreneurial mindset who loves to take initiative and ownership.

• You have a proven ability to lead technical decisions and mentor engineers.

• You have a keen interest in the company’s domain.

• You can communicate efficiently within the team and do not hesitate to reach out to your colleagues if necessary - even when you are not in the same location.
  

Technical Skills

• 6+ years backend engineering experience

• Expert-level Python (Django or FastAPI)

• Strong understanding of distributed systems or real-time pipelines

• Fluency with cloud environments (AWS/GCP) & DevOps tooling

• Experience with databases (PostgreSQL + high-performance stores like ClickHouse)

• Strong API design and architecture skills

• You are fluent in English and able to express yourself efficiently.

Bonus Points

• Experience with IoT / embedded systems / real-time data

• MQTT, WebSockets, or event-driven systems

• Knowledge of NMEA2000, CAN bus, Zigbee, or maritime protocols

• Experience with mission-critical systems (automotive, aerospace, robotics…)

• Experience with Grafana, Prometheus, or similar monitoring systems

• Past role as a Tech Lead, Staff Engineer, or Senior Backend Lead
  

Also important

To be considered for this role, you must live and work within Europe and the time zones CET +/-3h. Our client wants you to have sufficient overlap with the rest of the team without having to work at night. Please verify your time difference before applying. You will also be invited to occasional on-site workshops in Brussels.

Why join Sailsense

• Work on real-world, high-impact systems used daily on thousands of boats

• Solve challenging problems across IoT, data streaming, navigation, and energy systems

• Build products with real safety, reliability, and engineering depth

• Join a scaling company where technical decisions have immediate impact

• Collaborate with passionate engineers and sailors

• Work on a modern, ambitious platform where quality matters

The strengths of a good mix

We specifically encourage underrepresented groups to apply. We believe in the strengths of well-balanced and mixed teams. The team is composed of 15 different nationalities. We hope to attract a broader audience regarding gender, religion, race, age, disability, linguistic differences, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation. Also, both extroverts and introverts are equally appreciated for this role.