At a Glance
- Tasks: Develop and deploy AI-driven features, ensuring robust infrastructure for legal applications.
- Company: Join Lawhive, a pioneering legal tech firm transforming the industry with AI.
- Benefits: Enjoy equity, 33 days off, remote work options, and top-notch equipment.
- Other info: Collaborate with top talent in a diverse and inclusive environment.
- Why this job: Be at the forefront of legal innovation and make a real impact in the industry.
- Qualifications: Strong Python skills and experience with scalable backend systems required.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.
About Lawhive
Our mission is to make the law accessible to everyone. The legal industry is built on technology and processes that haven’t been updated in hundreds of years - that's why we've reinvented the entire model from the ground up with our own bespoke AI operating system at the core. Lawhive is a regulated law firm with an AI-native platform built to amplify expertise and revolutionise the way people practice law, leading to exceptional outcomes for clients and lawyers. Lawhive Labs is how we bring this vision to life. It's our frontier lab that combines top engineering, design, AI and legal talent from around the world, joining forces to build the future of law. We’re backed by top-tier investors, including Google Ventures, Balderton Capital and TQ Ventures, and in early 2026, we secured $60M Series B funding round to facilitate international expansion and to grow our team. We’re headquartered in London and in 2025 successfully launched in the US…and we’re just getting started.
Engineering at Lawhive
We are a team of 40 engineers and researchers, responsible for architecting, building and running Lawhive’s platform, relied on by hundreds of legal professionals every day in the UK, US, and beyond. There are lots of problems we have yet to solve, and plenty we’re not aware of yet! In the next 12 months, we’re focused on:
- Pushing the envelope on the user experience of lawyers’ AI interactions. We’re not satisfied with “chat” as a default and are inventing a new paradigm for human/machine interaction.
- Building modularity and country independence into the heart of our platform. We’ve recently expanded to the US and are building the world’s first global consumer law firm.
- Full stack AI-native legal services: we’re not only building software, we’re an AI-native law firm.
The Role
We’re looking for a Staff Python Engineer to join our AI Engineering & Infrastructure team to bring our latest AI-driven features and services into production. Deploying them at scale, improving infrastructure, and ensuring robustness in production. You’ll work closely with AI researchers, software engineers, and product teams to bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI research and real-world applications.
Responsibilities
- Developing production-ready APIs and services that expose AI functionality to internal and external applications.
- Improving reliability & monitoring for AI-driven applications in production.
- Scaling AI systems to handle real-world legal use cases (e.g., legal document analysis, case predictions, automated legal advice).
- Collaborating with AI engineers to ensure smooth deployment of AI workflows and models into production.
- Working with event-driven architectures and async workflows to process large-scale AI workloads efficiently.
- Ensuring security & compliance in AI-driven legal services.
Requirements
- Strong Python experience in building scalable backend systems.
- Familiarity with API design & distributed systems architecture.
- Experience working with event-driven architectures (e.g. Kafka, Pub/Sub, AWS Step Functions, etc.).
- Experience working with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP etc).
- Understanding of best practices in observability, monitoring, and debugging.
Nice to Have
- LLM Observability & Evaluation – familiarity with tools such as Langfuse for monitoring model generations, managing prompts, and measuring quality in production.
- Comfortable optimising performance & scaling distributed AI workloads and ML Ops experience.
- Full-stack Typescript experience.
- Hands-on work with vector databases, hybrid retrieval methods, and evaluation of retrieval quality.
- Agentic & Orchestrated Systems – exposure to multi-step reasoning, agent frameworks, or orchestration tools (e.g. LangChain, AutoGen, Inngest, Temporal) where LLMs call tools, plan tasks, or coordinate workflows.
- Experience working in collaboration with researchers so that new models, pipelines, or research outputs can be integrated and evolved iteratively.
- Prior Experience in Legal Tech - understanding of the legal industry and experience working with legal technology solutions.
Interview process
- Introductory call with our Talent team
- 1:1 with your hiring manager
- Live technical assessment - systems design and pairing with two of our engineers
- Values interview with our CTO/Co-founder
We offer!
- UK Benefits: Meaningful early-stage equity at one of Europe’s fastest growing startups
- 33 days’ annual leave (25 + bank holidays) plus your birthday off
- Work from anywhere for a month
- Pension contribution via Nest
- Top-spec equipment - MacBook/Windows
- Regular team building activities and socials!
Diversity at Lawhive
At Lawhive, we know that diversity of thought is critical to delivering outlier outcomes. As such, we’re always working hard to ensure we build a diverse, inclusive team, and as we scale, we’ll only ever increase the focus we apply to this.
Staff Python Engineer in London employer: Lawhive
At Lawhive, we are not just redefining the legal landscape; we are committed to fostering a vibrant and inclusive work culture that empowers our employees to thrive. As a Staff Python Engineer, you will enjoy meaningful equity in one of Europe's fastest-growing startups, generous annual leave, and the flexibility to work from anywhere for a month, all while collaborating with top-tier talent to revolutionise legal technology. Join us in London and be part of a team that values innovation, diversity, and personal growth, ensuring that your contributions lead to exceptional outcomes for clients and lawyers alike.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Staff Python Engineer in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current employees at Lawhive on LinkedIn or other platforms. Ask them about their experiences and any tips they might have for the interview process. It’s all about making connections!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those technical assessments! Brush up on your Python skills and get comfortable with API design and distributed systems. Practise coding challenges that focus on real-world applications, especially in AI and legal tech.
✨Tip Number 3
Show your passion for the legal tech space! During interviews, share your thoughts on how AI can revolutionise the industry. This will demonstrate your enthusiasm and understanding of Lawhive's mission.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining the team at Lawhive.
We think you need these skills to ace Staff Python Engineer in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Staff Python Engineer role. Highlight your experience with Python, API design, and any relevant projects that showcase your skills in AI and cloud platforms. We want to see how you fit into our mission!
Showcase Your Experience:Don’t just list your skills; give us examples of how you've used them in real-world scenarios. Whether it’s scaling AI systems or working with event-driven architectures, we love seeing concrete achievements that demonstrate your expertise.
Be Authentic:Let your personality shine through in your application. We’re not just looking for a list of qualifications; we want to know who you are and what drives you. Share your passion for legal tech and how you envision contributing to our innovative team.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets into the right hands. Plus, you’ll find all the details about the role and our company culture there!
How to prepare for a job interview at Lawhive
✨Know Your Python Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your Python skills, especially in building scalable backend systems. Be ready to discuss your past projects and how you've tackled challenges using Python. This will show your technical prowess and problem-solving abilities.
✨Familiarise Yourself with AI and APIs
Since the role involves developing production-ready APIs that expose AI functionality, it’s crucial to understand API design and distributed systems architecture. Prepare examples of how you've worked with these technologies in the past, particularly in relation to AI applications.
✨Understand Event-Driven Architectures
Get comfortable with event-driven architectures like Kafka or AWS Step Functions. Be prepared to explain how you've implemented these in previous roles and how they can be used to efficiently process large-scale AI workloads.
✨Show Your Collaborative Spirit
Collaboration is key at Lawhive, so be ready to discuss how you've worked with cross-functional teams, especially with AI researchers. Highlight any experiences where you’ve integrated new models or research outputs into existing systems, as this will demonstrate your ability to bridge the gap between research and real-world applications.
