Python Developer Hiring Guide: Django, FastAPI and Data Work
"Python developer" can mean web engineer, data engineer or automation specialist. Here is how to hire the right kind for your project.
To hire a Python developer, first decide which Python you need: web development with Django or FastAPI, data engineering with pandas and Airflow, automation and scraping, or AI and machine learning integration. Then test typed, tested, well-structured code — the biggest differentiator between Python developers.
Four kinds of Python developer
| Focus | Typical tools | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Web back end | Django, DRF, FastAPI, Celery | SaaS products, APIs, admin systems |
| Data engineering | pandas, Polars, Airflow, dbt, Spark | Pipelines, warehouses, reporting |
| Automation | Requests, Playwright, Scrapy, schedulers | Reports, scraping, internal workflows |
| AI integration | LangChain, LlamaIndex, Hugging Face, FastAPI | LLM features, RAG services |
Skills every good Python developer has
- Writes readable code with type hints.
- Uses virtual environments and dependency management properly (Poetry, uv or pip-tools).
- Writes tests with pytest.
- Uses linters and formatters such as Ruff and Black.
- Understands async where it matters.
Django or FastAPI?
Django gives you an ORM, admin panel, authentication and conventions — ideal for full applications. FastAPI is lightweight and fast, perfect for APIs and AI microservices. A strong developer can explain when each fits.
A practical test
Ask the candidate to build a small FastAPI or Django endpoint that ingests a CSV, validates rows, stores clean data and returns a summary — with tests. It covers web, data handling and quality in one task.
Red flags
- Notebooks only, no production code experience (for engineering roles).
- No tests and no type hints.
- Copies scripts without understanding dependencies.
- Hard-codes credentials.
Where Python developers fit in your team
Python developers often sit between product engineering and data. They pair well with data scientists and AI developers. See our vetted Python developers for each specialisation.
