Senior Python Engineer (Django / DevOps / IaC) in Welwyn Garden City

Retail Hybrid: either London or Welwyn Garden City (whichever is closest) 3 days per week 6 months £850 per day

In short: Our Application Security team require a strong Python generalist to run, deploy and maintain purpose-built applications. You'll need solid experience across Python development, DevOps, Cloud and an awareness of security protocols.

About The Role We are committed to align with the digital advancements of the business and secure new technologies that enable our business to have a superior focus on serving our customers, communities, and planet. As part of our Security Engineering Platforms team, we build and operate centralised security tooling that enables thousands of developers to ship secure software by default, at scale.

We are seeking a skilled Python Developer to join our engineering team. You will be responsible for building robust, secure, and scalable services that automate security testing at scale using Django and related technologies. Beyond coding, you'll actively engage in architecture discussions, security implementations, CI/CD pipeline development, and help transition MVP applications into production-grade systems. Your work will directly strengthen the security posture of applications, APIs, and cloud-native systems across the business by making security tooling fast, reliable, and seamless for every development team.

You will be responsible for:

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable REST APIs using Django.
• Build and operate asynchronous task pipelines (Celery/Redis) that orchestrate security scanning at scale.
• Ensure best practices for code quality, performance, and security.
• Integrate robust security practices into all API layers, including authentication, authorization, data validation, and protection against vulnerabilities.
• Develop and manage CI/CD pipelines for automated testing, deployment, and monitoring.
• Work closely with core devops teams or independently handle infrastructure and deployment tasks.
• Review, refactor, and productionise MVP codebases, improving code clarity, documentation, and maintainability.
• Manage Docker container images through build, test, and deploy to Kubernetes.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product managers, frontend developers, and engineering teams.
• Leverage AI-assisted development tools to accelerate code review, testing, and documentation.
• Participate actively in technical discussions, contributing innovative ideas and solutions.

You will need:

• Strong experience in Python development, specifically with Django and Django REST Framework at senior level.
• Experience with asynchronous task queues (Celery, Redis).
• Solid understanding of REST API design principles and best practices.
• Proficiency in relational databases (PostgreSQL/MySQL), and ORM (Django ORM in particular).
• Familiarity with containerisation and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Strong understanding of software engineering best practices, including testing (unit, integration, and end-to-end).
• Experience deploying applications to cloud platforms (Azure preferred).
• Effective communication and ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate security practices.
• Experience working in an agile environment, such as Scrum.

Nice to have:

• Experience with SAST/DAST tooling and security automation.
• Familiarity with API security patterns (JWT, OAuth, rate limiting).
• Comfortable working with AI-assisted development tools.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) and configuration management (Ansible).
• Experience operating and administering Linux distributions (RHEL, Ubuntu).
• Familiarity with cloud-native services (Azure AKS, ACR).
• Exposure to frontend frameworks (React, Vue.js).
• Operations and technical troubleshooting experience.

Candidates will ideally show evidence of the above in their CV in order to be considered.

Please be advised if you haven't heard from us within 48 hours then unfortunately your application has not been successful on this occasion, we may however keep your details on file for any suitable future vacancies and contact you accordingly. Pontoon is an employment consultancy and operates as an equal opportunities employer.

We use generative AI tools to support our candidate screening process. This helps us ensure a fair, consistent, and efficient experience for all applicants. Rest assured, all final decisions are made by our hiring team, and your application will be reviewed with care and attention.