Backend Team Lead (ML)

Job description

Mayflower is a technology company building highload products used by millions of people worldwide. Operating at the scale of one of the world's top-50 websites, we solve complex engineering challenges and create solutions that power real-time entertainment for a global audience.

We are looking for a Backend Team Lead for our ML development team focused on building and delivering production-grade ML-powered applications.

This role is not about research or experimentation. You will be responsible for turning ML models into reliable, scalable, user-facing services.

You will work at the intersection of machine learning and backend engineering, owning the full lifecycle of ML-powered features — from integration to deployment and operation in production.

Job Responsibilities

• Design and build production ML services (APIs, microservices, real-time systems).
• Lead and grow a team of backend engineers: plan work, mentor team members, conduct code reviews, provide technical guidance, and foster engineering excellence.
• Drive architectural decisions and ensure the scalability, reliability, and maintainability of ML services.
• Integrate ML models into user-facing applications.
• Ensure reliability, scalability, and performance of ML-powered systems.
• Define and implement best practices for serving, versioning, and monitoring models in production.
• Collaborate closely with:
  • ML engineers / data scientists (who develop models).
  • DevOps / MLOps team (who provide platform and infrastructure).
• Own the delivery pipeline of ML features into production.
• Lead and mentor engineers working on ML-powered applications.
• Drive architectural decisions around low-latency and high-load systems.
• Identify bottlenecks between experimentation and production and eliminate them.

Job requirements

You’ll thrive here if you have

• 5+ years of experience in backend/software engineering in a Lead or Senior role (mentoring, ownership, decision-making).
• Strong commercial Python experience.
• Managerial experience leading an engineering team.
• Experience designing and building production backend systems and microservice architecture.
• Strong understanding of system design, scalability and high-load systems.
• Experience developing APIs (FastAPI, Flask, gRPC or similar).
• Hands-on experience with code reviews, mentoring and technical decision-making.
• Ability to drive cross-team collaboration and own complex technical integrations.

That can be a plus:

• Experience with real-time ML systems (recommendations, ranking, personalization).
• Experience in video streaming or high-throughput platforms.
• Familiarity with Kubernetes and cloud/on-prem environments.
• Experience with feature stores, model monitoring, A/B testing.
• Experience working alongside MLOps platforms (MLflow, Airflow, etc.).

Conditions

We know that great talent deserves great conditions, so here's what you can expect when joining us:

• EU-based employment contract and a 3-year Cyprus work visa with full support for your relocation and visa processes, including assistance for your family.
• EU passport. Opportunity to obtain an EU passport after 4 years of residence.
• Full relocation package: flights to Limassol for you and your family, a company-covered apartment for the first month, and full relocation support to make your move smooth and hassle-free.
• Transparent performance reviews twice a year, with bonus opportunities and salary adjustments.
• Private medical insurance for you and your family.
• Corporate mobile plan (unlimited in Cyprus with roaming included).
• Mindfulness & well-being support, including psychological assistance with 50% coverage.
• 50% coverage of school and kindergarten fees for your children.
• Fully covered sports benefits, and also access to in-house electric scooters and bike rentals.
• Professional growth support: language courses, conferences, training programs, and coaching.
• Peer recognition program: receive and share kudos for great work.
• A fully equipped office in Limassol’s city center, with everything you need for deep work and collaboration.
• Free breakfasts and lunches in the office and an in-house coffee bar with high-quality drinks and a health bar stocked with nutritious snacks.
• A strong engineering culture: international teams, corporate events, team buildings, and hackathons — because great work happens in great communities.

Interview steps

1. HR Interview (45 min).
2. Technical Interview (90 min).
3. Live code-review interview (90 min).
4. Final interview with the team (60 min).