Staff PHP Software Engineer
Role summary
Our client, an innovative HealthTech organization, is seeking a Staff PHP Software Engineer to join their remote US-based team. This permanent, full-time role focuses on evolving scalable, high-performance platforms within a complex, data-rich environment. The engineer will own platform architecture, provide technical leadership and mentorship, and design/build backend services, APIs, and data pipelines. Key responsibilities include database optimization, performance tuning, working with GCP services like Pub/Sub, and implementing automated testing. The role requires 10+ years of backend experience with strong PHP and Symfony expertise, alongside hands-on experience with cloud platforms, containerization, and performance profiling tools.
Staff PHP Software Engineer
Reference:
BH-380p
Job Type:
Permanent
Location:
Remote (US)
Salary:
up to $225,000 per annum
About The Client:
- Our client is an innovative HealthTech organisation building scalable, high-performance platforms within a complex, data-rich environment.
- Their systems process large volumes of data, integrate across distributed services, and enable efficient, reliable decision-making across critical clinical and operational workflows.
- With strong backing and an experienced leadership team, they are continuing to invest heavily in platform scalability, performance, and long-term evolution.
Responsibilities:
- Own and evolve platform architecture within a Symfony-based system, making high-impact decisions across scalability, performance, and maintainability
- Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and code reviews
- Define and uphold engineering standards and best practices
- Collaborate cross-functionally to deliver scalable solutions
- Take end-to-end ownership of systems, including production support
- Strong communication skills and ability to work cross-functionally.
- Design and build backend services and internal APIs (service-to-service)
- Design and optimise relational databases, including query tuning, indexing, and performance debugging
- Build and scale data ingestion pipelines and event-driven workflows using GCP Pub/Sub
- Diagnose and resolve performance bottlenecks across PHP, MySQL, and data pipelines using tools like Blackfire / XHProf
- Work with Elasticsearch for data serving and fuzzy search, including indexing and data synchronisation
- Contribute to frontend where possible, or collaborate with frontend developers, ensuring smooth backend integration
- Experience implementing automated testing strategies
- Experience mentoring engineers and contributing to technical direction
Key Experience:
- 10+ years backend engineering (production systems)
- Strong PHP and mandatory Symfony expertise
- Build and maintain internal APIs
- Strong understanding of scalability, concurrency, and reliability
- Experience with data-heavy systems and ingestion pipelines
- Clear communication and cross-team collaboration
- Experience working with distributed systems and scalable architectures
- Strong MySQL optimisation (queries, indexing, large datasets)
- Experience with distributed and event-driven systems (Pub/Sub)
- Hands-on GCP (Cloud SQL, Pub/Sub, Redis/Memorystore), or equivalent on other cloud platforms
- Containerised environments (Docker, Kubernetes/GKE/EKS/AKS)
- Testing + quality tooling (PHPUnit, PHPStan, Psalm, GrumPHP)
- Performance tuning and profiling (e.g. Blackfire, XHProf)
- Experience with Elasticsearch, including indexing strategies and search optimisation
Desirable Experience
- Experience with PHP API Platform
- Familiarity with event-driven systems and asynchronous processing patterns.
- Experience with multi-tenant systems or rules-based configuration models.
- Exposure to frontend UI tooling (EasyAdmin, React, Next.js)
- Experience in improving or formalising load and performance testing practices.
Why Join?
- Highly competitive salary + equity designed to rival top-tier (FAANG-level) compensation
- High-impact Staff role with ownership of a core, data-intensive platform
- Work on complex, large-scale systems (ingestion, performance, distributed architecture)
- Strong engineering culture focused on quality, performance, and pragmatic decision-making
- Remote-first environment with flexibility and autonomy
Benefits
- Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) to support work-life balance
- Comprehensive health, vision, and dental insurance for you and your family
- Life and disability insurance for financial security
- Simple IRA matching to support long-term financial goals
- Professional development budget (conferences, courses, certifications)
- Wellness programs supporting physical and mental health
