Senior Laravel Developer

Summary

Join Awesome Motive as a Senior Developer and be at the forefront of developing, maintaining, and scaling our powerful B2B SaaS applications, WordPress plugins, and backend systems. You will architect and implement high-performance solutions, lead development initiatives, and create innovative features impacting millions of users. Your expertise will drive the technical excellence of our platform, leveraging Laravel (PHP 8+), WordPress plugins, and a containerized Docker environment. You will ensure scalability, security, and an exceptional user experience. This role requires a technical leader who thrives on solving complex problems, mentoring others, and working collaboratively. You should be a self-starter, excellent communicator, and passionate about leveraging cutting-edge technologies, including AI tools.

Requirements

• 8+ years of professional experience in web application development, with a strong emphasis on PHP/Laravel (ideally including PHP 8+) and WordPress plugin development, coupled with experience working on legacy code
• Expert proficiency in PHP, the Laravel framework's ecosystem (Eloquent ORM, Blade, middleware, service providers, event system), and modern PHP practices
• Significant experience in WordPress plugin development, including hooks (actions and filters), REST API integration, custom post types, and a deep understanding of the WordPress core
• Strong experience with modern JavaScript frameworks, particularly Vue.js (Vue 3 preferred), including state management (Vuex/Pinia), Vue Router, and the Composition API
• Experience building and scaling applications that handle high volumes of data and traffic
• Expertise in database design, optimization, and query performance tuning (MySQL/PostgreSQL) within both modern ORM-driven applications and systems with more direct database interaction
• Solid understanding of core frontend technologies: HTML5, CSS3 (Tailwind CSS preferred), and modern JavaScript (ES6+)
• Experience with queue systems (e.g., Redis, RabbitMQ) for handling asynchronous processes
• Proven experience in building, consuming, and documenting RESTful APIs (experience with automated documentation tools is a plus)
• Proficiency in writing comprehensive unit, integration, and feature tests (PHPUnit, Pest, Cypress, Vitest/Jest), including experience with WordPress testing frameworks (e.g., WP_Mock, Brain Monkey) and strategies for effectively testing legacy PHP applications
• Strong understanding of software design principles, architectural patterns, and best practices applicable to both Laravel and WordPress development
• Familiarity with containerization technologies (Docker) and cloud services (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
• Experience in developing, maintaining, and troubleshooting CLI applications and scripts within a PHP environment
• Solid understanding of security best practices, GDPR compliance, and data protection principles
• Proficiency with version control through Git and GitHub, including branching strategies (e.g., GitFlow) and thorough code review processes
• Familiarity with modern frontend build tools (e.g., Vite) and WordPress build tools (e.g., @wordpress/scripts)
• Exceptional troubleshooting and problem-solving skills with meticulous attention to detail, particularly in complex, multi-component systems
• Ability to keep complex ideas and features simple
• Previous remote work experience and ability to work effectively in a distributed team
• Personal computer with reliable internet access
• Availability to participate in audio/video meetings between the hours 9 am - 5 pm EST (or a significant portion thereof)

Responsibilities

• Architecting, developing, and maintaining scalable, high-performance Laravel applications (PHP 8+), WordPress plugins, and the underlying backend services that support them, ensuring they can handle millions of user interactions and large datasets
• Lead the design and development of new features and enhancements for our core SaaS application (using PHP/Laravel, Vue.js (Vue 3), Livewire, Alpine.js), its companion WordPress plugin, and the evolution of supporting backend systems
• Develop and maintain the WordPress plugin, ensuring seamless integration with our SaaS application, compatibility with e-commerce platforms (Easy Digital Downloads, WooCommerce), and adherence to WordPress best practices
• Write clean, well-documented, and thoroughly testable code, adhering to our established coding standards (PHPCS, ESLint) for all parts of the platform
• Contribute significantly to the architecture and technical direction of our SaaS platform and its WordPress integrations, including API design, and strategies for modernizing and maintaining the multi-technology backend
• Optimize database queries (MySQL/PostgreSQL) and application performance across the Laravel application, WordPress plugins, and backend systems
• Manage, maintain, and improve API integrations between various internal systems (built on different PHP frameworks/versions) and third-party services
• Work within, maintain, and improve our Dockerized development, testing, and production environments
• Implement robust security measures to protect sensitive user data and ensure compliance with privacy regulations
• Integrate and leverage AI technologies where appropriate to enhance application features and development workflows
• Design, develop, document (using tools like Scribe, VitePress), and maintain robust RESTful APIs and potentially microservices for internal and external consumption
• Implement event tracking and analytics within the WordPress plugin and ensure data flows correctly to our SaaS application
• Utilize modern WordPress development tools and practices, including @wordpress/scripts, for plugin development
• Mentor junior and mid-level developers, conduct code reviews, and promote best practices across the team
• Collaborate with DevOps to establish and maintain CI/CD pipelines for smooth and efficient deployments
• Troubleshoot complex issues in production environments and implement effective, lasting solutions
• Stay current with Laravel, Vue.js, and WordPress ecosystem developments, recommending adoption of new tools and practices
• Collaborate closely with product managers, designers, and other developers to deliver high-quality software solutions
• Triaging bugs and enhancements that come into GitHub
• Scoping, writing, and testing new product features
• Refactoring legacy code with a particular attention to backwards compatibility and performance
• Communicating effectively with the team and supporting your peers using chat, audio, and video

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience with older PHP versions and frameworks like CodeIgniter is also highly valuable
• Experience with e-commerce plugins (Easy Digital Downloads, WooCommerce) is a strong plus
• Experience with Alpine.js is beneficial
• Experience implementing or working with AI tools and APIs (e.g., OpenAI, Hugging Face) to enhance development workflows or application features is a plus
• Experience with Laravel ecosystem tools like Nova, Vapor, Forge, Horizon, Telescope
• Proven experience in progressively modernizing legacy PHP applications
• Experience with the challenges of maintaining and evolving a multi-component backend system with varying ages of technology
• Knowledge of diverse backend technologies and the challenges of integrating them
• Experience with containerization technologies (Docker), including building and managing Dockerfiles, docker-compose configurations, and working in Dockerized development/production environments
• Knowledge of email marketing platforms, ESPs, or related technologies (Mailgun, SendGrid, Amazon SES), and email deliverability best practices
• Experience with real-time features using WebSockets or Laravel Echo
• Contributions to open-source projects, particularly in the Laravel, Vue.js, or WordPress ecosystems
• Experience with machine learning or AI implementation in production applications
• Knowledge of email template design, responsive email coding, and email client compatibility
• Experience with A/B testing and analytics integration for marketing campaigns
• Familiarity with serverless architectures and event-driven systems
• Advanced proficiency in other JavaScript frameworks like React or Svelte
• Experience with e-commerce platforms or related APIs (beyond EDD/WooCommerce)
• Deep understanding of the broader WordPress ecosystem, including common plugins and themes
• Experience with WordPress block editor (Gutenberg) development
• Familiarity with WordPress coding standards and best practices
• Cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), including service configuration, scaling, and cost optimization
• Server management, web server configuration (Nginx, Apache), and performance tuning
• Understanding of CI/CD principles and extensive experience with relevant tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Buddy, etc.)
• Knowledge of network configuration, security best practices, and load balancing

Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Term Life Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment for all full-time team members during their employment
• Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance benefits for full-time U.S. employees
• Health Insurance benefits for all employees in India, Pakistan, Brazil, Philippines, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Nepal, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, Argentina & Jamaica
• Work from your home
• Flexible PTO after 90 days of employment
• Holidays (based on your location)
• Paid Parental Leave
• We happily provide or reimburse software you’ll need as well as books or courses that promote continued learning
• We cover all costs of company travel (including our annual all-company retreat and mini-team meetups)
• Additional Perks include AM Welcome Box for new team members, Yearly Anniversary Gifts, and Technology Stipend each work anniversary