Senior PHP Developer

Senior Backend Software Engineer (PHP) Location: Remote, United States. East Coast strongly preferred. Employment Type: Full-Time, Permanent Schedule: Eastern Time business hours, with occasional in-person meetings Compensation: Targeting approximately $120,000 USD annually, with flexibility for exceptional qualifications Work Authorization: Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship The Opportunity GemTek Recruiting is partnering exclusively with an established technology company in the online auction and digital marketplace industry to recruit an experienced Senior Backend Software Engineer. This opportunity is ideal for an accomplished, hands-on PHP engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, improving established production systems, and contributing to long-term platform modernization. The company's current backend development is predominantly PHP, with selective Rust utilities and plans to introduce additional Rust services over time. The successful candidate will take ownership of important application components, contribute to architectural decisions, collaborate with a small technical team, and provide mentorship to other developers. Key Responsibilities Maintain, enhance and expand a large, business-critical PHP application. Develop scalable, maintainable PHP applications using established MVC frameworks. Optimize MySQL/MariaDB databases, including complex SQL, indexing, transactions and performance. Design, build, document and maintain secure REST APIs. Integrate third-party services, including payment and business-critical systems. Troubleshoot production issues and maintain application reliability. Write unit and integration tests to protect existing functionality. Work with Git, CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment processes. Support Unix/Linux application environments and server administration. Contribute to system architecture, code reviews and technical planning. Take ownership of assigned application components and mentor fellow developers. Support gradual platform modernization while maintaining existing business functionality. Participate in future Rust development initiatives as the platform evolves. Required Qualifications Minimum 5 years of professional software development experience, including full-stack development. Advanced, recent, hands-on PHP development experience. Strong professional experience with at least one major PHP MVC framework, such as Symfony, Laravel, Phalcon or an equivalent. Advanced MySQL/MariaDB experience involving schema design, complex queries, indexing, transactions and optimization. Demonstrated experience building and maintaining REST APIs. Strong understanding of API authentication, authorization, HTTP conventions and documentation. Experience with unit testing, integration testing and production troubleshooting. Proficiency with Git, CI/CD pipelines and deployment workflows. Working knowledge of Unix/Linux environments, shell scripting and server administration. Ability to independently investigate complex problems and deliver maintainable production code. Sound architectural judgment and willingness to mentor other engineers. Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across distributed technical teams. Preferred Qualifications Professional or project-based Rust development experience. Interest in expanding Rust expertise as future platform modernization progresses. Experience with Phalcon. Experience maintaining and modernizing legacy PHP applications. Familiarity with microservices, service-oriented architecture and Node.js. Experience developing transactional applications or marketplace platforms. Experience integrating payment systems and other business-critical services. What Makes This Opportunity Attractive Full-time, permanent employment with an established technology business. Remote work with meaningful technical ownership. Opportunity to influence long-term platform architecture. Continued hands-on development alongside architectural and mentoring responsibilities. Exposure to Rust as the company gradually evolves its technology stack. Collaborative environment where engineering experience and sound judgment are valued. Health insurance and 401(k) matching, subject to confirmation of the current benefits package. The GemTek Difference At GemTek Recruiting, we believe ethical recruitment begins with transparency, meaningful communication and a genuine commitment to finding the right long-term fit. We take the time to understand each candidate's technical capabilities, career goals and professional aspirations while providing a supportive and respectful recruitment experience. Interested candidates are invited to apply via LinkedIn