Lead Software Engineer - PHP

Job Description :

We are looking for a Lead Software Engineer with 6-11 years of experience in PHP backend development to design and deliver scalable, high-performance services for our product platform. This is a primarily backend-focused role involving high-volume data processing, PDF/document workflows, REST APIs, database optimization, and cloud-based application development.

The ideal candidate should have strong hands-on PHP expertise, experience building scalable backend systems, and the ability to leverage AI-assisted development tools throughout the software development lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities :

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable backend applications using PHP.

• Translate product requirements into detailed technical specifications, including acceptance criteria and edge cases.

• Collaborate with Technical Product Managers and engineering teams to design robust and scalable solutions.

• Build high-throughput data ingestion and processing pipelines for structured and unstructured data.

• Develop solutions for PDF parsing, extraction, generation, and document processing.

• Design and develop scalable REST APIs following established architectural patterns and best practices.

• Optimize application performance, memory usage, database queries, and storage strategies for large datasets.

• Design and optimize relational database schemas and queries, particularly using MySQL.

• Integrate third-party services and APIs into backend applications.

• Build and deploy applications on AWS and contribute to cloud-based architecture and deployment practices.

• Review code for correctness, security, performance, scalability, and maintainability.

• Develop and validate automated tests and ensure appropriate test coverage.

• Troubleshoot production issues and contribute to root-cause analysis and performance improvements.

• Use AI coding assistants such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, or similar tools to improve development productivity while maintaining engineering quality.

• Mentor junior/associate engineers on PHP development, coding practices, technical design, and effective use of AI development tools.

• Contribute to improving engineering practices, specification templates, AI-assisted development workflows, and validation processes.

Required Skills & Experience :

• 6-11 years of experience in software development, with strong hands-on experience in PHP backend development.