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 Responsibilities Backend & 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.

Desired Candidate Profile

Required Qualifications Critical 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.