Full-Stack Developer – Next.js / TypeScript / Python / PostgreSQL | AI SaaS

Alder & Co. AI is an Australian AI/data analytics SaaS platform that helps businesses understand customer behaviour through customer lifetime value, churn prediction, segmentation, recommendations, geographic analysis and related customer intelligence. We are currently developing *V3 of our application* and are looking for a capable full-stack developer to help us continue building and shipping it. This is *not a greenfield project*. V3 already has an established architecture, working application, database model, Python analytics/ML pipeline, test suite and detailed implementation plans. You will be expected to understand the existing codebase and continue development within its established patterns rather than redesigning it from scratch. The application handles real customer and transactional data, including data for Australian regulated businesses. Security, tenant isolation, Australian data residency and our *SOC 2 readiness requirements* therefore need to be treated as engineering requirements throughout development. ## Current technology stack *Frontend / application* * Next.js 16 * React 19 * TypeScript * TanStack Query * Better Auth * Drizzle ORM *Backend / data* * PostgreSQL 17 * PostgreSQL Row Level Security (RLS) * pg-boss for background jobs * S3-compatible object storage and presigned uploads *Python / analytics* * Python 3.11+ * pandas * NumPy * SciPy * scikit-learn * XGBoost * LightGBM * psycopg *Infrastructure* * Fly.io, Sydney region * DigitalOcean Managed PostgreSQL, Sydney * Australian-hosted object storage * GitHub * Docker ## What you will work on The immediate work is continuing implementation of the existing V3 roadmap. This includes features around: * customer behavioural analytics * customer segmentation * churn and CLV analytics * recommendation coverage * trending products * repurchase cycles and customers due to repurchase * revenue concentration * customer priority scoring * customer contact tiering * customer intelligence screens * customer detail views * filtering and CSV exports * geographic analytics * model health and model-performance information * evidence-backed AI-generated insights * date-windowed analytics * eventually, customer campaign functionality The platform combines traditional web application development with analytical workloads, so you should be comfortable moving between *React/Next.js, TypeScript, PostgreSQL and Python*. You do not need to be an ML researcher. However, you need to be comfortable working with an existing Python analytics/ML pipeline and understanding enough data science to avoid breaking the meaning of its outputs. ## Engineering expectations The codebase has established engineering standards and automated checks. You will be expected to: * understand existing architecture before making changes * follow existing patterns rather than introducing unnecessary frameworks or abstractions * write clean, maintainable TypeScript and Python * maintain strict tenant isolation * work correctly with PostgreSQL RLS * use migrations and database changes carefully * maintain TypeScript ↔️ Python data contracts * write/update automated tests with your changes * keep analytical calculations outside presentation components * preserve traceability between calculated figures and what the UI/AI narration presents * keep security and privacy requirements in mind during implementation * work through GitHub branches and pull requests * document significant implementation decisions * leave the test suite passing before work is considered complete We are particularly interested in developers who can *read an unfamiliar codebase, understand why it is structured the way it is, and extend it without unnecessarily rewriting working systems.* ## Security / SOC 2 environment Alder & Co. AI is working toward SOC 2 readiness and handles customer data that must remain within Australia. You are not expected to act as a SOC 2 auditor, but development must support our security controls and evidence requirements. This means being comfortable with practices such as: * least-privilege access * tenant isolation * PostgreSQL RLS * secure secret handling * authentication and authorization * avoiding unnecessary production-data access * auditability * secure file uploads * encryption in transit and at rest * controlled production access * dependency/security hygiene * backup and recovery considerations * maintaining evidence that technical controls are actually implemented You must be willing to follow these requirements rather than bypassing security controls for development convenience. ## Required skills You should have strong practical experience with: * *Next.js* * *React* * *TypeScript* * *Python* * *PostgreSQL* * *SQL* * *REST/API development* * *Git / GitHub* * *Docker* * working with an existing production codebase * automated testing and debugging You should also understand: * authentication and authorization * relational database design * background jobs/workers * asynchronous processing * database migrations * API contracts * secure handling of customer data ## Strongly preferred Experience with any of the following is a major advantage: * Drizzle ORM * TanStack Query * Better Auth * pg-boss * PostgreSQL Row Level Security * Fly.io * DigitalOcean * pandas / NumPy * scikit-learn * XGBoost / LightGBM * SaaS multi-tenancy * analytics or data-heavy applications * SOC 2 environments * privacy/security-sensitive SaaS * Australian data-residency requirements * CI/CD and GitHub Actions We do *not* require you to have used every library in our stack. Strong fundamentals and the ability to understand an existing implementation are more important. ## Who we are looking for We want someone who: * can work independently after becoming familiar with the repository * communicates clearly when something is blocked or ambiguous * reads existing documentation before implementing * does not make large architectural changes without discussing them * can investigate bugs rather than simply patch symptoms * is comfortable having their work reviewed * can explain technical decisions in straightforward language * understands that passing tests is part of completing a task * is comfortable working on a real product rather than isolated demo projects This role is *not a good fit* if your normal approach is to replace unfamiliar code with your preferred framework or rebuild major parts of an application before understanding why they exist. ## Initial engagement We will start with a defined V3 development task from the existing roadmap. This gives both sides an opportunity to evaluate: 1. how quickly you understand the architecture, 2. code quality, 3. ability to follow the project's existing standards, 4. testing and debugging ability, and 5. communication. If that goes well, there is substantial additional V3 work available and the engagement can continue. ## Rate *US$25/hour* Please only apply if you are comfortable working at this rate.