If you need Python engineers who can ship, you can hire them through Alpina Tech as a single developer, an extension of your team, or a fixed-scope project. We staff Django and FastAPI backends, data pipelines and AI services. This page explains what we vet for, what a developer does in the first weeks, and how the engagement works.
Which Python work do we staff?
| Work | Typical stack | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Product backends | Django, Django REST Framework, PostgreSQL | B2B products, admin heavy tools, marketplaces |
| Async APIs and services | FastAPI, Pydantic, async drivers | Integration layers, model serving, high concurrency APIs |
| Data and ETL | Pandas, SQL, workers, schedulers | Reporting, imports, data products |
| AI and machine learning | PyTorch, scikit-learn, LLM APIs | Teams moving a prototype into production; see AI development |
For the service side, how we design and build Python systems, read our Python development page. For the wider backend picture, see backend development.
What do we vet in a Python developer?
A Python CV says little. We test for the places Python projects actually break.
- Async and concurrency. Can they explain where an event loop blocks, when to use threads or processes, and how a single synchronous call in an async endpoint stalls every request?
- Typing. Do they use type hints and a checker such as mypy or pyright, and Pydantic models at the edges, so errors surface in review and not in production?
- ORM performance. Django ORM and SQLAlchemy both hide queries. We look for fluency with N+1 problems,
select_relatedandprefetch_related, indexes, and reading a query plan. - Packaging and environments. Reproducible installs with locked dependencies, a clean virtual environment, and a Docker image that builds the same way in CI and on a laptop.
- Testing. pytest with fixtures, a test database that matches production, and tests that fail for the right reason.
- Reading other people’s code. Most of the first month is spent in an existing codebase, so we ask candidates to review a real pull request.
What does a Python developer do in the first weeks?
Tasks are small and real, and chosen to prove ownership early:
- Set up the project, read the codebase and fix a low-risk bug through your normal review process.
- Add tests around a fragile module, so later changes are safe.
- Find the slowest endpoints or queries and fix the worst one with a measured before and after.
- Take a feature end to end, from migration to API to deployment.
You see merged pull requests in the first sprint, which is the plain test of fit.
How can you engage Python developers?
- Dedicated developer. One engineer works in your sprints as part of your team. The model is described on our IT staff augmentation page.
- Dedicated team. A lead, developers and QA who own a product area together. See hire a dedicated team, or the dedicated team of Python developers page for the Python variant.
- Project. A bounded piece of work with a written scope, such as an API, an integration or a migration, delivered by us end to end.
Senior engineers are usually priced in the $50 to $150 per hour band. You can start after a short intro call, once the brief is agreed and you have met the developer.
Do you also have Python-adjacent skills in the team?
Python rarely ships alone. The same team can pair Python services with a React or Next.js frontend, PostgreSQL design, CI and cloud deployment. If your backend is split across languages, our backend developers cover Node.js, Go and more beside Python.
Tell us your stack and the first problem you want solved, and we will reply with the profile we would put on it.
