Lead Full Stack Engineer (Python, Docker, Svelte & AI)

Remote, Full-Time Contract, 4 Months+ (Starting 3rd August 2026) Potential for Long-Term Engagement Please note: shortlisted applicants will be invited to complete a short technical challenge before interview. We are looking to work directly with individual engineers rather than agencies, development companies or outsourced teams. About PlanningHub PlanningHub is a fast-growing prop-tech and AI company building intelligent planning products for the UK property sector. Our mission is to make planning information accessible, understandable and actionable through a combination of software engineering, geospatial technology, planning expertise and artificial intelligence. We are now developing an ambitious new platform that combines document management, collaboration workflows and AI-powered automation to help organisations manage complex agreements and negotiations more efficiently. The platform will support multiple organisations and stakeholders working together within a shared environment, providing powerful tools for document management, collaboration, workflow tracking, communication and AI-assisted productivity. The Opportunity We are looking for an exceptional Full Stack Engineer to help lead development of this platform during a critical delivery phase. This is not a maintenance role. This is an opportunity to build. You will work directly with the founders, technical advisors and project partners to design, develop and deploy production-ready features across the platform. We are looking for someone who enjoys ownership, moves quickly, embraces modern AI-assisted development practices and can take ideas from concept through to production. This role is ideal for a builder who wants significant responsibility and the opportunity to help shape a new SaaS product from an early stage. Key Responsibilities Platform Development • Design and implement new platform features • Develop and maintain backend services and APIs • Build customer-facing frontend functionality • Design and implement scalable, reliable and secure systems • Participate in architecture and technical design discussions • Take features from concept through to production deployment Collaboration & Document Management Features • Build multi-tenant collaboration functionality • Develop document management and document workflow features • Implement user permissions and access controls • Develop communication, review and approval workflows • Create intuitive user experiences for managing complex projects and documents AI Product Development • Integrate Agents, LLMs and AI services into production workflows • Build AI-assisted user experiences • Develop AI-powered document analysis capabilities • Create workflow automation tools using AI • Support experimentation and rapid prototyping Data & Systems Integration • Build integrations with third-party APIs and services • Support development of data processing pipelines • Work with structured and unstructured datasets • Collaborate with data engineers and domain specialists Product Ownership • Translate business requirements into technical solutions • Work directly with founders and domain experts • Contribute ideas and technical improvements • Help prioritise and deliver roadmap objectives Technical Skills (Required) • Strong commercial experience with Python • Experience building production SaaS platforms • Strong experience with Svelte and/or SvelteKit • Experience with FastAPI, Django, Flask or similar Python frameworks • Strong SQL and database design skills • Experience with PostgreSQL (postGIS) • Experience designing and consuming RESTful APIs • Experience using Git and GitHub in collaborative development environments • Experience deploying and maintaining production applications • Strong debugging and problem-solving abilities • Experience working independently and taking ownership of delivery Highly Desirable • Solid Python experience • AI code generation tools for Python • AI and LLM application development • OpenAI, Anthropic or similar AI APIs • RAG systems and vector databases • AWS, Azure or Google Cloud Platform • Docker and containerised deployments • CI/CD pipelines • Document processing, OCR and PDF workflows • Experience building collaborative SaaS applications • Multi-tenant platform experience • Data engineering and ETL workflows • Experience scaling SaaS products • Startup experience Modern Development & AI Tooling We actively use modern AI-assisted development practices and are looking for engineers who are comfortable working in this environment. Experience with the following is highly desirable: • Cursor • Claude • ChatGPT • GitHub Copilot • Claude Code • Cursor Composer and Agent workflows • AI-assisted debugging and code generation • Rapid prototyping workflows • Agent-based development approaches • MCP integrations and AI development tooling We believe strong engineering fundamentals combined with modern AI tooling can dramatically accelerate product delivery, and we are looking for someone who embraces this approach responsibly. Who We Are Looking For We care more about capability, ownership and delivery than years of experience. The ideal candidate: • Takes responsibility for outcomes • Learns quickly • Communicates clearly • Enjoys solving difficult problems • Works independently • Thrives in fast-moving environments • Understands how to balance speed with quality • Is excited about building products rather than simply writing code • Is comfortable working in uncertainty and helping shape solutions where requirements evolve through user feedback You should be comfortable working directly with founders, receiving rapid feedback and contributing beyond your formal job description. Contract Details • Full-time engagement (approximately 40 hours per week) • Start date: 3rd August 2026 • Initial 4-month contract • Fully remote • Daily collaboration with founders and engineering team • We are actively looking for a long-term engineering partner and expect there to be opportunities for continued collaboration beyond the initial contract Selection Process Shortlisted candidates will be invited to complete a practical technical challenge based on a real-world PlanningHub problem. Successful candidates will then be invited to a video interview with the founders. We are interested in evidence of delivery, problem-solving ability and engineering judgement rather than academic qualifications alone. To Apply Please provide: • Brief introduction • Examples of products or systems you have built • GitHub profile (if available) • Availability from beginning of August onwards • Hourly or monthly rate