Staff Python Developer (Full remote France)

Staff Python Engineer

Dailymotion is in the midst of a technical transformation, migrating from a monolithic architecture to a cloud-native microservices architecture. This is one of the most significant projects in our recent history, and we are looking for someone to lead one of the teams. As a Staff Python Engineer within our Core Platform team, you will not just be an executor. You will be the technical architect of a critical workstream: the migration of our Core Domains, which forms the foundation of our technological evolution. You will lead a dedicated squad, design reusable migration patterns at an organizational scale, and make architectural decisions that will define the operation of the Dailymotion platform for years to come.

This role is for someone who understands that the true value of an engineer is not measured by the number of lines of code written, but by the quality of architectural decisions made, the robustness of the systems designed, and the ability to elevate the technical level of an entire team.

An important note: our legacy is in PHP, and you will need to understand it to better replace it. However, what we expect from you is a mastery of Python: architecture, algorithmics, design patterns, distributed systems. PHP is the past we are migrating from. Python is the future we are building.

What you will do:

• Leadership technical
• Define and lead the technical strategy for the migration of our Core Domains, faithfully replicating our custom PHP framework in Python FastAPI
• Make architectural decisions to ensure a gradual and seamless migration: controlled code duplication, gradual traffic shift from the old stack to the new
• Design the patterns and abstractions necessary for the new Python framework to be functionally isolated from the old, while meeting modern standards
• Establish technical standards and best practices for the decommissioning of legacy systems
• Leadership of squad
• Mentor and upskill a backend squad specialized in migration
• Collaborate with other squad leads to ensure a coherent evolution of the platform
• Lead technical decision-making and solve the most complex architectural challenges
• Instill a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement
• Migration & modernization
• Recreate Dailymotion's custom PHP framework in Python FastAPI, while keeping the same data layer behind (the databases do not change, only the API layers evolve)
• Ensure functional parity between the old and new stack: a piece of data stored in the old system must be accessible in the same way in the new
• Design and execute gradual migration strategies: duplicate business logic in the new stack, controlled traffic redirection, gradual removal of the old
• Coordinate with internal teams to minimize disruptions during migration phases
• Lead the evaluation, prioritization, and decommissioning of legacy systems
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Work closely with Product teams to understand functional needs and ensure service continuity during migration
• Collaborate with other Tech Leads to ensure global platform coherence
• Work with DevOps and SRE teams on infrastructure transition
• Provide technical support to internal teams throughout the migration phases

Technical stack

• Main language: Python (asyncio, FastAPI, aio
• APIs: GraphQL, OpenAPI, REST
• Messaging: RabbitMQ, Celery, NSQ
• Databases: MySQL, Elasticsearch, MongoDB
• Auth & Security: OAuth, JWT, RBAC, Vault
• Infrastructure: Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins
• Observability: Datadog, distributed tracing tools
• Legacy: PHP

Qualifications

The Must Haves

• Python expertise: You have a deep understanding of Python, including architecture, algorithmics, design patterns (SOLID, DDD, hexagonal architecture, etc.). You know how to design performant, maintainable, and scalable Python systems.
• Experience with high availability, high performance, and scalability issues: You have designed or operated systems under heavy load and know what this entails in terms of architectural choices, concurrency management, and optimization.
• Expertise in distributed systems and microservices: You understand the challenges associated with them: data consistency, resilience, observability, inter-service communication patterns.
• API design proficiency: RESTful, GraphQL, backward compatibility, versioning.
• Experience in large-scale migration or modernization projects: You have led or actively participated in the transformation of a legacy system, ideally in a context of gradual migration (strangler fig pattern or similar approach).
• Technical leadership: You have previously mentored teams or led complex technical projects.
• Fluent English: Essential to thrive in our international environment.

What we are not looking for: a Data Engineer or ML Engineer profile. The challenges you will face are those of a backend engineer focused on API, system: performance, scalability, distributed architecture, migration of critical services.

The Nice to Haves

• Knowledge of enterprise integration patterns and legacy system modernization
• Experience with API Gateway patterns and service mesh architectures
• Experience with observability and monitoring in distributed systems
• Background in technical program management or technical strategy
• Experience in driving change in technical organizations

What will make a real difference: You are not someone who waits for a roadmap to act. You identify problems before they become crises, propose solutions before they are asked for, and know how to rally a team to a technical direction by making them want to go there.

Additional Information

Work organization

• This position is open in full remote (France only) or in-office in Paris

You don't tick all the boxes? Apply anyway.

We are looking for the right person, not the perfect CV. If this role excites you but your background doesn't match every criterion exactly, we still want to meet you.

Dailymotion is committed to equal opportunity employment. We believe in inclusion and want to welcome you to help build a more diverse community. All our positions are open to people with disabilities. Need accommodations during the recruitment process? Tell us in advance, and we will adapt.

Recruitment process

• HR interview with Marvin (30 min) : Get to know each other, discuss your motivations, and align expectations around the role
• Technical case study (1h) : A subject to be addressed independently, followed by a presentation to two members of our tech team. An opportunity to show your way of thinking and understanding what you will actually work on, while allowing us to assess the fit with our needs
• Interview with Nyvath, your future manager (1h) : Deep dive into the role's expectations, evaluation of your technical background and problem-solving approach, role-play on real scenarios
• CTO interview (1h) : Discussion on your long-term ambitions, understanding the role's place in Dailymotion's strategy, exploring career development prospects within the organization

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