Backend Lead (Python/GIS)

**About Gilytics**

Gilytics is a Swiss geospatial SaaS company. Our platform, Pathfinder, helps utilities, grid operators and infrastructure planners find the best routes and sites for new infrastructure, turning months of manual planning into a data-driven, transparent process. We are a remote-first team of about 26 people across Europe and the Americas.

**The role**

We are looking for a Backend Lead to own the server-side engine behind Pathfinder: the geoprocessing, spatial data APIs and backend services our customers rely on. This is a hands-on senior role. Depth of knowledge and an ownership-driven, collaborative attitude matter more to us than years in a management title.

You will report to our CTO, Salvador Bayarri, and work closely with the Frontend, DevOps and GIS Data teams.

Tasks

**What you will do**

* Architect and build the backend data model, REST APIs and services behind Pathfinder
* Develop, optimise and maintain geoprocesses and spatial data functions
* Set backend priorities with the CTO and run agile delivery for the team
* Lead code reviews and set the standards for testing, documentation and security
* Mentor and grow backend developers
* Integrate AI into the backend (model endpoints, MCP servers, AI agents) and champion AI-assisted development across the team
* Contribute to product roadmap planning and technical estimation

Requirements

**What you bring**

* 5+ years of professional software development, primarily backend
* Strong Python, including GIS libraries such as GEOS, GDAL/OGR, Shapely or GeoPandas
* Hands-on experience building geospatial applications with PostgreSQL/PostGIS
* A track record of designing and maintaining REST APIs and scalable backend services
* Technical leadership experience: coordinating developers, reviewing code and mentoring, whether or not you held a formal management title
* Good knowledge of Git, automated testing and CI/CD
* Professional working English
* A degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, GIS/Geoinformatics or similar, or equivalent professional experience

**Nice to have**

* Django / Django REST Framework
* Geoprocessing pipelines at scale and large spatial datasets
* AWS, Docker, Linux
* Scrum or other agile delivery experience
* Some proven experience applying AI or GeoAI in a product

Benefits

**What we offer**

* Real ownership of the technical core of a product used by major utilities and grid operators
* Work that matters: Pathfinder helps speed up the infrastructure behind the energy transition
* Flexible hours around CET core time (10:00–15:00), and a choice of hybrid in Valencia or fully remote in Europe
* A small, senior, international team where your decisions ship
* An AI-forward engineering culture, with tooling and time to use it