Senior PHP Engineer

About the role

You will architect and maintain scalable backend services using PHP that power critical workflows for US Legal Forms. You will collaborate closely with product managers and designers to translate business requirements into robust technical solutions. You will take ownership of the entire lifecycle of features, from initial design and implementation through testing, deployment, and continuous improvement. You will mentor junior developers and elevate the engineering standards across the team. You will investigate and resolve complex production issues to ensure high availability and performance. You will partner with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for automation and process optimization. You will write clean, maintainable code that adheres to best practices and security standards. You will actively participate in code reviews to ensure quality and knowledge sharing across the organization.

Key facts

What you'll do

Design and implement new backend features for the US Legal Forms platform using PHP and related technologies.

Refactor legacy code to improve maintainability, performance, and scalability of the existing system.

Collaborate with frontend developers to define APIs and integration points for new user-facing functionality.

Write comprehensive unit and integration tests to ensure the reliability and correctness of new and existing features.

Analyze system performance bottlenecks and implement optimizations to handle increasing user loads.

Monitor application logs and metrics to proactively identify and resolve issues before they impact users.

Participate in the full software development lifecycle including planning, estimation, implementation, and retrospective.

Contribute to architectural discussions and help define the long-term technical vision for the product.

Work with product managers to break down requirements into clear technical tasks and deliverables.

Ensure all code changes comply with security best practices and data protection standards.

Document technical decisions and system behavior to support future maintenance and onboarding of new engineers.

Mentor junior developers through code reviews, pair programming, and technical guidance.

Stay up to date with industry trends and emerging technologies relevant to PHP development and workflow automation.

Support the deployment pipeline and infrastructure improvements to enable faster and safer releases.

Requirements

You must have a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.

You must possess more than 5 years of professional experience in software development.

You must have at least 3 years of hands-on experience with PHP and its ecosystem.

You must be proficient in writing clean and efficient Object-Oriented PHP code.

You must have a solid understanding of common design patterns and architectural principles.

You must be comfortable working with relational databases and writing complex SQL queries.

You must have experience with version control systems, specifically Git.

You must have a strong understanding of RESTful API design and implementation.

You must be able to work independently and take ownership of your tasks and deliverables.

You must have excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to debug complex issues.

You must have strong written and verbal communication skills.

You must be comfortable working in an agile environment with frequent iterations and changes.

You must be able to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced setting.

Nice to have

Experience with modern PHP frameworks such as Laravel or Symfony is a significant advantage.

Familiarity with cloud platforms like AWS or Azure is beneficial for understanding deployment architectures.

Knowledge of frontend technologies such as JavaScript, HTML, and CSS is helpful for full collaboration with UI teams.

Experience with testing frameworks and continuous integration pipelines is preferred.

Understanding of document processing and workflow automation concepts is a plus.

Experience with payment systems and compliance requirements is relevant for this domain.

Practical notes

This position is based in Kyiv and requires availability during overlapping business hours with the US Legal Forms team.

The role is full-time and requires a commitment to the full engineering lifecycle.

Candidates must be eligible to work legally in Ukraine.

Travel requirements are not applicable for this role.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

The work location is fixed, and remote work arrangements are not provided for this role.

Application deadlines are strict, and late submissions cannot be considered.