Python API and Microservices Development Lead

Who are we?

The Motley Fool is a purpose-driven financial services company on a mission to make the world smarter, happier, and richer. For 30 years we’ve been helping people make better investment decisions through transparency, education, and Foolish fun. We’re a fast-moving, collaborative team that values high-quality work, curiosity, and initiative. We care deeply about what we do, and we’re driven by the impact our work has on real people’s financial futures.

What would you do in this role?

The Motley Fool is seeking a lead in developing APIs and microservices using Python and Python-based frameworks such as FastAPI, Django, or Flask. We need a talented individual with a proven track record of building scalable and highly available APIs consumed by tens of thousands to millions of users daily. You must have significant experience in using data caching strategies, asynchronous processes, and query and index tuning to optimize systems.

You will be actively coding with cutting-edge technologies, as well as leading a team of engineers to develop and enhance the microservices that power our customer-facing investing data and tools - from real-time market data to cryptocurrencies.

If you're passionate about problem solving, software engineering, and leading teams to excellence, this role puts you at the forefront of innovation at one of the most respected names in financial media.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of The Motley Fool’s investing microservices.
• Oversee systems and data vital to our investing products, websites, tools, and subscribers, including:
• U.S. and international market data
• Portfolio holdings and returns
• Corporate actions
• Company fundamentals
• Cryptocurrencies, options, and IPOs
• Automated aggregation of subscriber portfolios across brokerages
• In-house trading compliance and disclosures
• Integrate with various third-party providers and tools.
• Ensure that critical data remains fresh, accurate, and highly available with failover capabilities.
• Collaborate with the product owner and project manager to prepare the team with well-defined work, value, and acceptance criteria.
• Conduct regular one-on-one meetings with direct reports.
• Review code, assess contributions, and optimize delivery flow regularly.
• Promote professional development and career growth opportunities for team members.
• Partner with multiple in-house teams and external providers to launch customer-facing solutions.
• Utilize AI tools like Claude or GitHub Copilot to support the team (e.g., developing architectural concepts and diagrams, starter code, and automated tests).

Must-Have Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in building, delivering, enhancing, and maintaining APIs consumed by multiple systems using Python-based frameworks like Django, FastAPI, or Flask.
• Significant experience in data caching and caching strategies.
• Experience with asynchronous data retrieval and processing.
• Experience working with relational databases, ORMs, and SQL.
• Experience with query tuning and optimization.
• Proficient in system monitoring and telemetry.
• Skillful in developing full-stack web applications.
• Ability to translate business goals and requirements into technical solutions.
• Demonstrated success within high-performance teams where cross-functional collaboration is valued.
• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills.

Nice-to-Have Qualities:

• Experience in architecting and developing financial microservices.
• Experience with Redis and Postgres.
• Familiarity with Next.js, React, and JavaScript.
• Experience with portfolio aggregation services, such as Plaid.
• Experience with Docker, containerization, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Knowledge of investing.

Please note, no sponsorship is available for this position. You must reside in, or be willing to relocate to, one of these states for employment: Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC, and Wisconsin.

Below you’ll see a few of our perks, but check out our Careers Site for the complete list:

• Flexible, remote work environment (*see our open states above)
• No “vacation policy” (not to be confused with a “No vacation” policy)
• Generous fully-paid parental leave
• $1,000 annually to invest in stocks of your choice
• Super low premiums for medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Comprehensive compensation package, including company equity