Senior AI Developer

Here is the revised job description with all Node.js references removed and fully centered on a PHP-first stack.

Senior Software Engineer – AI-First Product Development (PHP Stack)Role Overview

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer who combines classical engineering excellence with modern AI-augmented development practices.

You will architect and build enterprise-scale applications using a PHP-based backend while leveraging AI-assisted tooling and agentic workflows to accelerate delivery and elevate product quality.

This role is not about replacing engineering judgment with AI — it’s about amplifying your impact through:

Thoughtful system design

Scalable architecture

Production-grade DevOps ownership

AI-accelerated development workflows

Continuous iteration in an AI-first product environment

You will help shape both our technical foundation and our engineering culture in the AI era.

Key ResponsibilitiesBackend & Architecture

Design and build scalable backend services using PHP (Laravel or Symfony preferred) capable of supporting high-traffic production workloads with 99.9%+ uptime.

Architect maintainable systems applying:

SOLID principles

Domain-Driven Design (DDD)

Layered / Hexagonal architecture

Event-driven patterns where appropriate

Design and maintain clean, versioned RESTful APIs.

Own data modeling decisions and database performance optimization (MySQL/PostgreSQL).

Full-Stack Collaboration

Collaborate closely with frontend engineers (React, Vue, or equivalent) to ensure:

Clean API boundaries

Performance optimization

Secure and maintainable integrations

Contribute to frontend integration and architecture discussions when needed.

Scalability & Reliability

Design systems using:

Caching strategies (Redis, Memcached)

Queue systems (e.g., RabbitMQ, SQS, or equivalent)

Load balancing and horizontal scaling

CDN optimization

Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks.

Implement monitoring, logging, and observability best practices.

Drive uptime and reliability standards across services.

DevOps & CI/CD Ownership

Own CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, etc.).

Implement automated testing (unit, integration, and E2E).

Contribute to infrastructure-as-code and cloud deployment strategies.

Improve deployment automation and production monitoring.

AI-First Engineering Practices

Actively leverage AI development tools (Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, etc.) to:

Accelerate implementation

Generate and refactor tests

Improve documentation

Support code review

Demonstrate fluency in:

Prompt engineering for code

Context management

Knowing when to override AI output with engineering judgment

Experiment with agentic development workflows such as:

AI-assisted test generation

Automated refactoring

Intelligent static analysis

AI-augmented debugging

Help define internal best practices for AI-assisted engineering.

Product & Cross-Functional Impact

Translate ambiguous product requirements into scalable, maintainable solutions.

Collaborate with product, design, and stakeholders.

Own features end-to-end — from ideation through production monitoring and iteration.

Mentor engineers in technical craftsmanship and AI-augmented workflows.

Required QualificationsCritical Requirements

5+ years of professional software engineering experience.

Strong expertise in PHP with production experience in Laravel or Symfony.

Deep understanding of:

Software architecture patterns (MVC, microservices, event-driven systems)

Design patterns (Factory, Strategy, Observer, Dependency Injection, etc.)

Experience designing scalable systems:

Caching strategies

Load balancing

Database optimization

Distributed systems fundamentals

Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated testing.

Proven track record debugging complex production issues and optimizing performance.

Experience building and maintaining enterprise-grade applications serving real users.

Active proficiency with AI-assisted development tools and workflows.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience integrating LLM-powered features or AI-driven workflows.

Familiarity with event streaming systems.

Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, or Azure).

Experience scaling systems significantly in users, traffic, or data volume.

Startup or 0-to-1 product experience.

Strong written technical communication skills.

Bonus Differentiators

Contributions to AI tooling or internal AI workflows.

Experience building LLM-powered or agentic product features.

Published technical writing or open-source contributions.

Experience modernizing legacy PHP systems into scalable architectures.