Lead Software Engineer - Backend Python Developer

ZS is a place where passion changes lives. As a management consulting and technology firm focused on improving life and how we live it, our most valuable asset is our people. Here you’ll work side-by-side with a powerful collective of thinkers and experts shaping life-changing solutions for patients, caregivers and consumers, worldwide. ZSers drive impact by bringing a client first mentality to each and every engagement. We partner collaboratively with our clients to develop custom solutions and technology products that create value and deliver company results across critical areas of their business. Bring your curiosity for learning; bold ideas; courage and passion to drive life-changing impact to ZS. 

Our most valuable asset is our people.  

At ZS we honor the visible and invisible elements of our identities, personal experiences and belief systems—the ones that comprise us as individuals, shape who we are and 

make us unique. We believe your personal interests, identities, and desire to learn are part of your success here. Learn more about our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and the networks ZS supports to assist our ZSers in cultivating community spaces, obtaining the resources they need to thrive, and sharing the messages they are passionate about.  

ZS’s Platform Development team is at the forefront of transforming the clinical trials landscape through cutting-edge SaaS solutions.  ZS Trials.ai is a solution dedicated to addressing the unmet needs of the industry by digitizing, automating, and enhancing intelligence in clinical studies, ultimately accelerating the delivery of new treatments to market. We are on the brink of significant growth, united by a shared mission to expedite effective treatments to patients. 

We're looking for a Senior Backend Engineer who’s passionate about solving complex problems, building scalable systems, and writing clean, maintainable code. You'll be working on the backbone of Trials.AI platform, designing and implementing backend services that are robust, efficient, and aligned with real-world business needs. In this role, you’ll take the lead in crafting cloud-native architectures, optimizing data pipelines, and tackling big data challenges. You'll bring deep technical expertise to drive decisions and set the bar for code quality, performance, and security. This is more than just writing code—you’ll mentor teammates, share knowledge, and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement. You'll have a direct impact on shaping our systems, processes, and the overall success of the platform. 

What You’ll Do 

•  Collaborate Across Teams: Partner with product managers, architects, and global colleagues to design and deliver backend solutions that address complex challenges in the clinical trials domain. 
• Design and Implement Scalable Systems: Translate business problems into technical solutions, validate designs with architects, and develop high-quality, scalable backend systems that meet performance and reliability goals. 
• Champion Best Practices: Apply agile methodologies, promote test-driven development, and integrate QA into the development lifecycle to ensure robust, well-tested, and maintainable code. 
• Deliver Impactful Products: Work closely with product teams to deliver backend systems that drive customer success and exceed expectations. 
• Mentor and Lead: Guide and support team members through task planning and prioritization, fostering a collaborative and high-performing development environment. 
• Innovate and Optimize: Continuously improve processes, adopt new technologies, and explore innovative approaches to enhance system performance and team productivity. 

What You’ll Bring  

• 5+ years of experience delivering enterprise-grade SaaS solutions, with a focus on building scalable, production-ready systems. 
• 3+ years working with cloud technologies, big data solutions, and data analytics at scale. 
• Proficiency in Python
• Strong knowledge of database systems (SQL, NoSQL, Graph) and data integration techniques. 
• Hands-on experience with API design, microservices architecture, and containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes). 
• Familiarity with data visualization tools and modern data engineering pipelines is a plus. 

Additional Skills 

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to simplify and articulate complex technical concepts. 
• Demonstrated leadership in guiding and mentoring development teams, fostering collaboration and growth. 
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a focus on scalable and maintainable solutions. 
• Comfortable working across global, distributed teams with flexibility in a virtual environment. 
• Willingness to travel occasionally to collaborate with teams and stakeholders in other global locations.