Senior Full-Stack Technical Lead / Software Architect - Python, FastAPI, React

We are looking for a senior, hands-on software engineer/architect to review and help productionize an existing B2B software application. This is not a greenfield project. A working application already exists. The initial goal is to assess the current architecture and help transition it from an internal/local environment toward a secure, maintainable pilot deployment. The current stack includes Python, FastAPI, React/Vite, document processing, structured data, report generation, and external API integrations. Responsibilities - Review the existing codebase and architecture - Recommend a practical production architecture - Preserve working functionality and avoid unnecessary rewrites - Improve backend and frontend production readiness - Design appropriate database and file-storage architecture - Implement or improve authentication and authorization - Establish secure customer/workspace separation - Containerize applications where appropriate - Configure cloud deployment on AWS or Azure - Establish development, staging, and production environments - Implement CI/CD - Improve secrets and environment management - Implement logging, monitoring, backup, and recovery - Improve automated testing and release processes - Create technical and operational documentation - Required Experience Strong hands-on experience with: - Python - FastAPI - React - PostgreSQL - REST APIs - Docker - AWS and/or Azure - Git/GitHub - CI/CD - Authentication and RBAC - Secure file/document handling - Cloud storage - Production application deployment Experience taking an MVP or internal application into a production B2B environment is particularly important. Experience with external AI/LLM APIs is helpful but not required. What We Are Looking For: - This role requires someone senior enough to make architecture decisions while also being comfortable implementing them directly. - We are not looking for a frontend-only developer, junior developer, website designer, or someone who automatically wants to rewrite an existing application in a new framework. - The preferred approach is incremental productionization of what already works. Engagement - Fractional contract engagement initially, with the possibility of significantly more work as the project progresses. - Additional project details and repository access will be provided only to shortlisted candidates and may require a confidentiality agreement. Please Answer - Describe a software application you personally helped move from MVP/internal use into a production environment. - How would you approach productionizing an existing Python/FastAPI + React application without unnecessarily rewriting it? - Describe your experience with authentication, customer data separation, cloud deployment, databases, storage, CI/CD, and backups. - Which cloud platform do you prefer for this type of project and why? - Are you comfortable beginning with an architecture/code review and then implementing the recommended changes yourself?