Senior PHP/Laravel Developer (Fully Remote – UTC-5 to UTC+8)

Job Overview

Senior PHP/Laravel Developers at IxDF contribute throughout the software-development lifecycle, building new backend functionality, refactoring existing systems, expanding automated test coverage, improving architecture, maintaining documentation, and participating directly in technical and product decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop backend modules and new functionality for the Interaction Design Foundation platform.
• Continuously refactor existing systems and address occasional defects.
• Write clean, maintainable production code supported by automated tests.
• Contribute to IxDF’s open-source packages.
• Work within cross-functional teams to refine specifications for new features and enhancements.
• Maintain technical documentation and keep it current.
• Implement new functionality using a test-first approach.
• Expand automated test coverage across existing systems.
• Proactively refactor architecture and application code to reduce technical debt.
• Use code reviews for knowledge sharing, collaborative problem solving, and code-quality improvement.
• Develop requirements incrementally using feature branches or feature flags.
• Help move changes into production quickly through the existing automated deployment environment.

Required Qualifications

• Expert knowledge of PHP and its frameworks, preferably Laravel.
• Strong knowledge of software-design best practices and principles.
• Strong understanding of object-oriented programming.
• Strong understanding of design patterns and SOLID principles.
• Strong software-engineering fundamentals.
• Understanding of software performance, data structures, and algorithms.
• Strong automated-testing expertise, particularly unit testing.
• Commitment to continuous technical learning and improvement.
• Acceptable written and spoken English for collaboration with an international team.
• Ability to work collaboratively and contribute toward shared team goals.
• Self-motivation and self-discipline suited to a flat organizational structure and substantial autonomy.
• Ability to make independent technical judgments and take responsibility for those decisions.
• Must be located within a time zone from UTC-5 through UTC+8.

Technology Stack

• PHP
• Laravel
• Modular monolith with more than 30 bounded contexts
• Laravel Horizon
• Laravel Nova
• Laravel Scout
• Laravel Pennant
• Laravel Passport
• Inertia
• Web Components
• htmx
• Tailwind
• Vue.js
• Inertia.js
• Vite
• Docker
• Laravel Sail
• Laravel Octane
• Laravel Forge
• nginx
• MySQL 8
• Redis
• PHPUnit
• Laravel Dusk
• Cypress
• GitHub Actions
• Deployer
• Bash

Code Quality & Testing

IxDF places significant emphasis on clean, maintainable software and automated testing. Its CI/CD environment uses tools including Psalm, PHPStan, Rector, PHPCS, PHP CS Fixer, Deptrac, and ESLint to enforce consistency and code quality.

The employer states that automated testing, particularly unit testing, is a core engineering practice. Test-driven development is used where possible, with overall system test coverage reported at approximately 38% and critical systems exceeding 80% coverage.

Cloud, Monitoring & Integrations

• AWS
• Google Cloud Platform
• DigitalOcean
• New Relic
• CloudWatch
• BugSnag
• GTmetrix
• Stripe
• PayPal
• Amazon Pay
• Twilio
• Mailgun
• MailerLite
• GitHub
• Forge
• Coconut
• ImageKit

Specialist Paths

IxDF is recruiting multiple Senior PHP/Laravel Developers. In addition to the core Senior PHP/Laravel Developer role, the employer identifies specialist paths in:

• Security
• DevOps and Cloud
• Full-Stack Development

These positions share the core Senior PHP/Laravel engineering responsibilities while adding a specialist area of focus.

Preferred Qualifications

• Expertise in Test-Driven Development.
• Expertise in Domain-Driven Design.
• Experience with Event Sourcing.
• Experience with CQRS.
• Master’s degree in Computer Science.
• Strong database-management, scaling, and optimization skills.
• Experience with technologies such as Stripe, Swoole, or analytics tools.
• Open-source contributions.
• AWS certification.
• Experience with Docker, Linux servers, and DevOps.
• Security expertise or strong interest in application security.

Development Environment

IxDF describes its application as a modular monolith with more than 30 bounded contexts and states that it continually works to remove technical debt and legacy code.

The engineering environment includes automated CI/CD, multiple code-quality tools, automated testing, zero-downtime deployments, documented PHP and Laravel conventions, and an emphasis on framework and technology choices intended to remain maintainable over time.

Learning & Engineering Culture

• Work alongside senior-level developers.
• Bi-weekly knowledge-sharing sessions.
• Three meeting-free days each week for focused work.
• Access to a library of technical books and courses.
• Participation throughout the software-development lifecycle and technical decision-making.
• Daily video-based collaboration with distributed colleagues.
• Annual team trips.

Remote Work

This is explicitly a full-time position within a fully remote organization.

Candidates must be located between UTC-5 and UTC+8. IxDF describes this range as extending from South America through Europe and as far as East Asia.

The employer also states that distributed team members collaborate through daily video communication and meet in person during annual team trips.