Python Developer (FastAPI), part-time

Pay: $40-60/hr, W-2, part-time (10-20 hrs/week). The yearly range shown is an estimate at ~20 hrs/week.

VendVice runs the back office for vending and micro market operators: machines, inventory, restocking, and sales in one place. We are live with paying customers, growing, and currently a one-person engineering team. The work has outgrown one person, so I am hiring a part-time developer to take real tickets off my plate, with room to grow into more hours as the business does.

What you would do

• Own well-defined tickets (bug fixes, small features, integrations) from branch to merged pull request
• Write tests first for backend changes; the project is test-driven and CI enforces it
• Work with third-party APIs from vending hardware and payment providers
• Occasionally touch the Flutter mobile app, if that is in your skill set

The stack

• Python, FastAPI, async SQLAlchemy, MariaDB, Alembic
• HTMX, Jinja, and Tailwind on the front end (no React)
• pytest, GitHub Actions, Linux servers
• Flutter for iOS/Android (nice to have)

What I am looking for

• Solid Python and SQL; you can read an unfamiliar codebase and find your way around
• Comfortable with git, pull requests, and code review
• AI coding tools (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) are welcome, but you understand and stand behind every line you submit
• Careful by nature: this is a multi-tenant app with real customer data
• Clear written communication; most work happens over tickets and chat
• Some overlap with Eastern business hours

Logistics

• Part-time W-2 employee, paid hourly through payroll, roughly 10-20 hours a week to start
• Fully remote within New Jersey; occasional in-person meetup is a plus, not required
• Schedule is flexible within Eastern business hours, so this works alongside a day job or freelance work
• Starts with a short paid trial project so we both see if it is a fit
• NDA and standard employment agreement

To apply, include a GitHub link or code sample, your hourly rate, and your weekly availability.