• Design and build scalable backend services with Django / Django REST Framework • Lead architecture reviews in client projects and our own start-ups • Create rock-solid task queues with Celery + Redis / RabbitMQ / Kafka • Implement event-streaming integrations via Kafka or RabbitMQ (publishing, consuming, schema management) • Performance tuning, caching strategies and database optimisation (PostgreSQL, plus NoSQL where it makes sense) • Own the full lifecycle: Docker/Kubernetes, CI/CD, observability, incident response • Drive code reviews & mentoring for mid- and junior engineers • Use AI coding tools responsibly – knowing when they add value and when they don’t