About the Organization
Independent News & Media Plc. is a forward-looking media organization committed to innovation, digital transformation, and high-impact journalism. As the publisher of the respected business weekly Fortune, the company delivers trusted business, economic, and investment content through print, digital, video, and audio platforms.
The organization is steadily expanding its digital infrastructure to better serve readers, analysts, and decision-makers. Technology plays a central role in this transformation, particularly in how content is processed, searched, analyzed, and delivered.
Independent News & Media Plc. fosters a collaborative, inclusive, and growth-oriented workplace where professionals can learn, experiment, and build systems that shape how information is accessed and understood.
This is an environment where technical talent is valued, creativity is encouraged, and every role contributes directly to the organization’s mission and long-term digital strategy.
Job Description
The Backend Developer (Python – Search, NLP & Data Processing) will design and build scalable backend services that power advanced search and natural language processing systems across the company’s platforms.
This role focuses on creating intelligent services that analyze, classify, summarize, and enrich large volumes of content while integrating seamlessly with an existing PHP-based core backend.
The position offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of media, data, and artificial intelligence, contributing to products that enhance content discovery and user engagement.
By joining this team, you will play a key role in transforming how information is structured, searched, and delivered, while gaining hands-on experience with modern data and AI technologies.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop backend services using Python and FastAPI.
- Build and optimize full-text and relevance-based search systems.
- Implement NLP pipelines for automatic content generation, classification, tagging, summarisation, and topic extraction.
- Design data ingestion, processing, and enrichment workflows.
- Develop asynchronous job processing using message queues.
- Create synchronous REST APIs for low-latency operations.
- Work with large volumes of structured and unstructured text data.
- Store and update processed results in PostgreSQL.
- Improve performance, accuracy, and reliability of backend services.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless system integration.
Educational Qualification
A bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field is preferred.
Additional certifications or training in data science, artificial intelligence, or backend systems are considered an advantage.
Work Experience
The ideal candidate will have 3 to 5 years of experience working as a backend developer or in a similar technical role.
Experience developing data-intensive or search-heavy platforms will be highly valued.
Hands-on exposure to real-world NLP or data processing systems will strengthen your candidacy.
Required Skills and Competencies
Strong proficiency in Python and experience building APIs using FastAPI are essential for this role.
A solid understanding of Elasticsearch and search optimization techniques is required.
Candidates must be comfortable with background workers, queue-based processing, and asynchronous systems.
Practical experience with NLP tasks such as classification, summarisation, or content generation is required.
Strong experience working with PostgreSQL and containerized environments such as Docker is also essential.
Preferred Skills
Familiarity with NLP libraries such as spaCy, NLTK, and Hugging Face Transformers is an advantage.
Experience with RabbitMQ or similar messaging systems will be beneficial.
The ability to work independently and manage complex systems is highly valued.
Job Location
This is an on-site position based at Independent News & Media Plc. offices.
Employment Type and Salary
The role is offered on a contract basis.
Salary is negotiable and will be based on experience, technical expertise, and overall fit for the role.
This position offers strong professional development opportunities, exposure to advanced technologies, and the chance to contribute to high-impact digital systems.
Professional Growth and Impact
This role provides hands-on experience with real-world NLP, search, and data engineering challenges.
You will work on systems that directly influence how readers discover and interact with content.
The position offers opportunities to grow your expertise in AI-driven backend systems and modern data platforms.
You will collaborate with skilled developers and content teams, expanding both technical and communication skills.
How to Apply
Interested candidates may apply through the Fortune Career Website.
Visit: https://careers.addisfortune.info
Applicants may also contact the HR department at 011-416-3020 for additional information.
Applications may be submitted in person at Independent News & Media Plc., Tegene Building, 7th Floor, Beqlo Bet area, Sierra Leone Street, next to the former Global Hotel.
Women and candidates from underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further screening and interviews.
Do not submit scanned certificates or attachments beyond the requested application materials.
Application Timeline
Posted: December 16, 2025
Application Deadline: February 28, 2026
Experience Level
Mid-level (3–5 years)
Open Positions
1 Position
Work Arrangement
On Site
Job Type
Contract
This is a unique opportunity to grow your backend development career while contributing to innovative, data-driven media solutions that shape how information is accessed and understood.