Product-based mindset with customer empathy. Proficient in Python/Django. Database depth as a superpower: proven expertise in query optimization, indexing strategies, schema design, and performance tuning (PostgreSQL preferred). Systems thinking: ability to reason about domain boundaries, dependencies, and long-term architecture within a monorepo context. Mentorship ability: communicates trade-offs clearly, helps elevate team skills, and guides less experienced engineers in database best practices. Experience with distributed/asynchronous systems that improve reliability and scale (e.g., messaging queues, background tasks, observability). Full-stack software development experience (React, Rust, Django/Python) - Nice to have. Experience with distributed/asynchronous systems: working knowledge of messaging queues (RabbitMQ, Dramatiq), background task orchestration, and observability - Nice to have. Data modeling across systems - Nice to have. Cloud-native familiarity: exposure to Redis, Kubernetes, AWS (especially RDS/managed Postgres) - Nice to have. Background in CRM integrations, particularly working with APIs from platforms like Salesforce or HubSpot - Nice to have. Prior staff-level or architecture influence: experience making technical decisions that shaped domain boundaries or scaling strategies.