Senior Full-Stack Python/Django Developer

About Assemblia

Assemblia is a small bootstrapped SaaS startup building AI tools for the government relations industry. Our mission is to make complex and opaque government processes understandable, so that businesses and civic society can stay informed and engaged with policymakers. Our first product, launched this year, automates analysis and reporting on US state legislative activity for government relations firms.

About the Role

We are looking to hire a Senior Full Stack Python/Django Developer to be our first full time engineer, working side-by-side with the founder. You'll be responsible for developing product features that help us win new customers and retain and grow our existing customers.

As an early stage bootstrapped startup, we keep our engineering efforts tightly focused on areas that deliver customer value and revenue growth. For the coming year, that's mainly:

• Collecting the data sources our customers care about, usually from scraping government websites.

• Integrating our AI analysis into customers' existing workflows, through integrations with shared drives, document editing workflows, and industry-specific CRMs.

• Improving the customer experience by filling in missing features and polishing the UX of the web app.

Our tech stack:

• Python/Django.

• Front End: Alpine.js, HTMX, TailwindCSS.

• Database: Neon serverless PostgreSQL.

• Deployments: Docker on Render.com.

• LLM: OpenAI on Azure.

What You'll Accomplish

• Build web scrapers for new government jurisdictions so that we can serve customers in new markets.

• Build and maintain customer-specific integrations with business systems such as shared drives, MS Word and Google Docs, email and specialized legislative trackers.

• Deliver small features and UX improvements to the web app, to move us from a product that currently feels like an MVP to something that feels more like a 1.0 release.

• Quickly triage and address any product issues identified by sales or customer success.

What You'll Need to be Successful

• High level of technical competency in Python, Django, web fundamentals and relational databases.

• Experience with most of the technologies in our stack and ability to get up to speed quickly with ones you're unfamiliar with.

• A generalist's capacity to implement features up and down the stack, from parsing HTML in Python for a web scraper to managing client/server interaction with HTMX and Django.

• Be able to engage in discussions on product direction, feature requirements, project planning, technical architecture and other areas adjacent to coding.

• Work well with outside developers brought on for specific projects or for specific technical expertise.

• A balanced approach to AI coding assistants, using them to their fullest potential as they continue to improve, but able to separate hype from reality.

Why You'll Love this Role

Joining an early stage bootstrapped startup serving a niche market won't suit everyone. But for the right candidate, the following aspects of the job might sound just right:

• High Impact. As the first outside engineer, you could have an enormous impact on the overall path of the company, far more than you ever could have as the 10th or 100th engineer.

• Flexibility. Fully remote. Set your own work schedule. Possibility of reduced hours (32 hours / week) if desired.

• Apply the latest LLM technology to a high-value, concrete use case. This isn't another generic chat bot or a vague idea dreamed up to pitch to VCs more than customers. This is a concrete, high-value use case for LLMs in an industry (government relations) that's been technologically stagnant for 20 years.

• Fascinating Subject Matter. Dive deep into the US political and legislative systems. Get a peek at how policy is made and power is exercised, and how corporations and a myriad of interest groups try to understand and influence the process.

• Know the Customers you Serve You'll get to know most of our customers by name. You'll know who you're building for and what your work means to them.

• Focus on technologies you love—Python, Django and the latest AI tooling. You won't spend a lot of time building out complex front ends in JavaScript—Django, HTMX and Alpine.js are enough for our use case. You won't spend a lot of time building out complex back end infrastructure either—a web server and serverless Postgres are all the services we need and plenty scalable.

Hiring Process & Employment Details

This is an independent contractor role that is fully remote and open to applicants anywhere in the world. We are open to the possibility of eventually hiring through a local Employer of Record, depending on local regulations and the candidate's preferences.

Business hours are approximately 9am-5pm Western European Time, but outside of 2-3 half hour engineering meetings in a typical week, most work can be done asynchronously on any schedule.

Qualified applicants will be invited to schedule a 20-minute initial call with the founder. If there's an exceptionally good fit, then a 90 minute technical interview will be scheduled.