Contractor: Senior-level Backend Software Engineering Services (CORE)

🇲🇽 Remote - MX

🕑 Contractor

💰 TBD

💻 Software Engineering

🗓️ November 21st, 2025

MySQL Python SaaS

Edtech.com's Summary

Newsela is hiring a Contractor: Senior-level Backend Software Engineer to support their Core curriculum product. The role involves developing and maintaining backend services using Python, managing content and text data, writing quality code and automated tests, and independently delivering features while collaborating on project planning and sprint organization.

Highlights

Develop backend solutions for Newsela’s Core curriculum product.
Manipulate diverse content and text data, extending Python services for downstream systems and UIs.
Write quality code and automated tests to ensure code quality.
Own feature delivery independently and contribute to scoping and design discussions.
Collaborate with lead engineer to break down work, groom tickets, and organize sprints.
Partner with Engineering and Product Management to refine goals into clear work items.
5+ years of experience in software development focused on data models, backend services, and APIs in SaaS environments.
5+ years of Python and relational database (Postgres or MySQL) experience.
Experience with developer tooling, unit testing, and scalable REST API development.
Experience with AWS and open source preferred; fullstack team experience preferred.

Contractor: Senior-level Backend Software Engineering Services (CORE) Full Description

Seeking to hire a Contractor based out of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, or Mexico for Senior Backend Software Engineering Services.

Scope of Services:

As a Backend Software Engineer Contractor, you will help the team deliver high-quality solutions for Newsela’s Core curriculum product.
You will be working in a fast-paced environment to manipulate different types of content and text data in a myriad of shapes and sizes, as well as work on the extension of a Python service to deliver this content for consumption by downstream systems and UIs.
You will be a key contributor within a software development team, and will write quality code and automated tests, to assure the design and quality of your code.
You will also own delivery of features, independently, and will provide thoughtful input that helps with scoping and design for your team.
You will work with the lead engineer to break down bodies of work, groom tickets, and organize sprints to ensure work is delivered
Reporting to an Engineering Manager, you will partner closely with Engineering and Product Management to refine ambiguous goals into clearly defined, iterative work items.

Required Skills & Experience:

You have 5+ years of experience in a software development team working in data models, backend services and APIs in a SaaS environment.
You have 5+ years of work experience in Python and relational databases like Postgres or MySQL.
Experience with open source and AWS preferred but not required.
A high understanding of developer tooling and unit test writing.
Experience with developing scalable REST API’s.
Experience working on a fullstack team preferred.
On top of your technical skills, you are excited to work in a collaborative and inclusive environment that supports continued improvement through code reviews and feedback.
You take pride in your ability to identify missing requirements early in the development cycle, create and maintain performant and scalable backend systems, write resilient and testable code, and deliver on sprint commitments.

Please note that given the nature of the contract, this role will not be eligible to participate in company-sponsored benefits.

#LI-Remote

Original Job Description

Seeking to hire a Contractor based out of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, or Mexico for Senior Backend Software Engineering Services.

Scope of Services:

As a Backend Software Engineer Contractor, you will help the team deliver high-quality solutions for Newsela’s Core curriculum product.
You will be working in a fast-paced environment to manipulate different types of content and text data in a myriad of shapes and sizes, as well as work on the extension of a Python service to deliver this content for consumption by downstream systems and UIs.
You will be a key contributor within a software development team, and will write quality code and automated tests, to assure the design and quality of your code.
You will also own delivery of features, independently, and will provide thoughtful input that helps with scoping and design for your team.
You will work with the lead engineer to break down bodies of work, groom tickets, and organize sprints to ensure work is delivered
Reporting to an Engineering Manager, you will partner closely with Engineering and Product Management to refine ambiguous goals into clearly defined, iterative work items.

Required Skills & Experience:

You have 5+ years of experience in a software development team working in data models, backend services and APIs in a SaaS environment.
You have 5+ years of work experience in Python and relational databases like Postgres or MySQL.
Experience with open source and AWS preferred but not required.
A high understanding of developer tooling and unit test writing.
Experience with developing scalable REST API’s.
Experience working on a fullstack team preferred.
On top of your technical skills, you are excited to work in a collaborative and inclusive environment that supports continued improvement through code reviews and feedback.
You take pride in your ability to identify missing requirements early in the development cycle, create and maintain performant and scalable backend systems, write resilient and testable code, and deliver on sprint commitments.