Django expert for API stabilization

Senior Django Backend Engineer – API Realignment & Production Stabilization (April 2026 Release)

We are finalizing the backend stabilization and API realignment of a large community platform (messaging, events, payments, communities).

The refactor is already deployed on test infrastructure (Dockerized environment with load balancer, application server, and database server). Production release is scheduled for April 2026.

This is not a rewrite.
This is a controlled backend realignment and production hardening mission.

Mission Scope

API Alignment and Contract Stabilization

53 endpoints currently consumed by the frontend

37 identified serializer / _id mismatches

9 critical missing endpoints (P0 scope)

Extended backlog (up to approximately 49 items including endpoints, triggers, and admin features)

Strict backward compatibility required

Swagger/OpenAPI must become the single source of truth

Database and Migration Safety

PostgreSQL schema alignment

Migration validation (no data loss)

Foreign key and constraint normalization

No breaking database changes without mitigation strategy

Notifications and Signals

Review and stabilize existing triggers

Prevent duplicate or recursive signals

Ensure atomic transactions

Admin Console (MVP)

RBAC review

Moderation endpoints

Structured logging

Minimal supervision dashboard

Cleanup of existing admin endpoints

Performance and Query Hygiene

Identification of N+1 queries

Stabilization of critical endpoints

Safe optimization without architectural rewrite

Redis and Celery validation where applicable

Documentation and CI/CD

Complete Swagger coverage

Basic regression safety strategy

Docker production hardening

Health checks and validation

Deployment validation

Constraints

No architectural revolution

No full rewrite

Backward compatibility is mandatory

Stability takes priority over feature expansion

Target production readiness: April 2026

Required Profile

5+ years of Django experience

Strong Django REST Framework expertise

Experience stabilizing legacy backends

PostgreSQL migration expertise

Docker production experience

Swagger/OpenAPI experience

Familiarity with Celery and Redis

Bonus

Experience with real-time systems (Channels)

CI/CD experience

Experience working with an existing production infrastructure

Technical discussion required before selection.