Backend Team Lead (ML)

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

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.) ConditionsWe 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 Provident fund (Cypus): a long-term savings plan co-funded by you and the Company together (available after probation) that grows throughout your time with us in Cyprus. 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)