PHP Developer / Tech Lead

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced PHP Developer/Tech Lead to guide the development team and take ownership of our client's existing tech infrastructure. You will play a pivotal role in leading the development process, ensuring best practices in software development, and supporting the evolution of our client platform.

This position is ideal for a motivated individual who is ready to step into a leadership role, while still contributing to hands-on development. You'll be working closely with their current developer team (who built the system from scratch), helping them transition into a more structured, scalable development process. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead Development Efforts: Oversee and contribute to the ongoing development of the PHP-based platform built on the Laravel framework. Work hands-on with the codebase, but also provide guidance to the development team.
• Technical Leadership: Drive the technical direction of the platform, ensuring scalability, security, and performance improvements are continually implemented.
• Documentation: Take ownership of documenting the existing system to ensure comprehensive tribal knowledge is captured and organized. Understand and document how everything works to mitigate risk associated with key person dependency.
• Collaboration: Work closely with the existing developers to implement best practices in software engineering, improve code quality, and introduce structure to the development workflow.
• Process Improvement: Implement and uphold SCRUM/Agile methodologies, code review practices, and quality control processes (e.g., UAT, unit testing).
• Security & Performance: Monitor and maintain security protocols, system scalability,
• and performance metrics using tools such as New Relic, Sentry.io, and Laravel Octane.
• Team Development: Mentor and lead a growing development team, assisting with hiring and team-building efforts as the company scales.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in PHP development, ideally with leadership experience in a small to mid-sized team environment.
• Experience with Laravel and the Laravel Forge deployment process.
• Strong proficiency in MySQL, Redis, and database design for scalable applications.
• Familiarity with front-end technologies including Tailwind CSS, DataTables, JQuery, and Laravel Blade templates.
• Experience managing cloud-based infrastructure (Akamai / AWS hosting preferred).
• Deep understanding of software version control (GitHub) and agile development methodologies (SCRUM/Agile).
• Ability to implement unit testing strategies and guide the team toward adopting automated testing processes.
• Strong grasp of security best practices, especially in handling data and vulnerability protection.
• Excellent communication skills to collaborate with cross-functional teams and relay complex technical concepts in simple terms.

Nice to Have:

• Experience with Laravel Octane for performance enhancements and background worker processes.
• Familiarity with monitoring tools like Cloudflare, Sentry.io, New Relic, and Status.io for system performance and external communications.
• Prior experience working with 3PL, logistics, or similar industries would be a plus.