We are seeking a Lead Python Developer to drive technical direction and hands-on development within our pod, focusing on backend AI services, LLM orchestration and agentic experiences. You will write production code, mentor engineers, and collaborate cross-functionally with Security, Data and Infrastructure teams while partnering with US-based product and engineering counterparts. This role blends embedded leadership with deep technical ownership, ensuring observability, reliability and operational excellence across pod services.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction for the pod and own architecture decisions within scope
• Write production code (~50%+ of the time) across backend AI services, LLM orchestration and frontend integration
• Design and build Agentic Experiences (AX) with streaming, low-latency agent UIs
• Mentor 3 Senior Engineers and 1 Data Engineer within the pod
• Partner with Security, Data and Infrastructure teams on daily collaboration
• Align with US-based product and engineering counterparts
• Conduct design reviews and unblock sprint deliverables
• Enforce observability, SLOs and reliability standards for pod services

Requirements

• 5+ years of software engineering experience with a track record of owning complex backend systems end-to-end
• 1–2+ years on LLM-era AI/ML platforms such as LangChain, LangGraph or Bedrock in a production context; candidates with deeper pre-LLM ML backgrounds (TensorFlow, scikit-learn) who have made a clear and recent pivot to generative AI will also be considered
• Expert-level proficiency in Python for backend services and AI integration as the primary language for all backend and AI work
• Hands-on expertise in LangChain, LangGraph and LangSmith for orchestrating multi-step, multi-agent workflows and evaluation/observability
• Proven background in AWS, Docker and microservices at production scale
• Skills in GitHub Actions, ArgoCD and OpenTofu/Terraform
• Competency in secure coding practices, auth/authz awareness and data governance as default standards
• Expertise in API design including RESTful APIs and microservices
• English proficiency at B2 level or higher

Nice to have

• Fluency in React and TypeScript with the capability to contribute to UI-layer code and review frontend work
• Familiarity with MCP (Model Context Protocol) and emerging agent interoperability standards
• Knowledge of AI evaluation tooling such as RAGAS or custom eval frameworks
• Background in designing and optimizing RAG pipelines with vector databases (Amazon Kendra, OpenSearch)
• Understanding of identity/security domains (IAM, CIAM) and handling unstructured data (images, videos) with prompt context management via LangGraph State

We offer

• International projects with top brands
• Work with global teams of highly skilled, diverse peers
• Healthcare benefits
• Employee financial programs
• Paid time off and sick leave
• Upskilling, reskilling and certification courses
• Unlimited access to the LinkedIn Learning library and 22,000+ courses
• Global career opportunities
• Volunteer and community involvement opportunities
• EPAM Employee Groups
• Award-winning culture recognized by Glassdoor, Newsweek and LinkedIn