Senior PHP Engineer

Foxbox Digital is an award-winning digital product agency with a commitment to crafting innovative and scalable solutions for clients across varying industries. Our remote-first culture brings together talented individuals from the U.S. and LATAM regions, all dedicated to delivering exceptional digital products.

Summary

We are looking for an experienced Senior PHP Engineer to join our team. In this role, you will design, develop, modernize, and support web applications using PHP and related technologies.

You will work closely with clients, product managers, designers, and other engineers to understand business challenges, recommend technical approaches, and deliver scalable, maintainable solutions. Projects may include Laravel and Drupal applications, APIs and integrations, legacy modernization, modern JavaScript frontends, and cloud-based platforms.

This is a client-facing consulting role, so we are looking for someone who is comfortable navigating existing systems, working through ambiguous requirements, communicating technical tradeoffs, and taking ownership of solutions from discovery through delivery.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, maintain, and modernize web applications using PHP and related technologies.
• Work within existing applications and complex codebases while identifying opportunities to improve architecture, maintainability, performance, and security.
• Collaborate directly with clients to understand business requirements, clarify technical constraints, and recommend practical solutions.
• Translate business needs into technical designs, estimates, and implementation plans.
• Develop and maintain backend services, RESTful APIs, integrations, and application functionality.
• Troubleshoot complex issues across backend, frontend, database, and infrastructure layers.
• Participate in technical discovery, architecture discussions, project planning, and estimation.
• Clearly communicate technical recommendations and tradeoffs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Participate in code reviews and provide constructive feedback to team members.
• Mentor other engineers and contribute to shared engineering standards and practices.
• Take ownership of commitments, blockers, communication, and delivery across client engagements.
• Accurately log billable hours for efficient client project tracking.
• Stay current with emerging development practices, technologies, and AI-assisted engineering tools.

Requirements

Who You Are:

• You have 5+ years of professional software development experience, with significant experience building backend applications using PHP.
• You have experience with modern PHP frameworks or platforms such as Laravel, Symfony, or Drupal.
• You have experience working with and extending existing applications and complex codebases.
• You have a strong understanding of object-oriented programming, software design principles, application architecture, and common design patterns.
• You have experience designing and consuming RESTful APIs and integrating third-party systems.
• You have experience working with relational databases such as MySQL or PostgreSQL.
• You are comfortable with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS and understand how backend systems interact with modern frontend applications.
• You have experience with Git, automated testing, and CI/CD development practices.
• You possess strong debugging, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• You are comfortable independently investigating technical problems and recommending solutions.
• You have excellent communication skills and can explain technical concepts and tradeoffs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• You are comfortable working directly with clients in a consulting, professional services, or agency environment.
• You can navigate incomplete or changing requirements and help clients determine the best technical approach.
• You can push back constructively when a requested solution introduces unnecessary complexity or risk and recommend alternatives.
• You are proactive, self-driven, and comfortable taking ownership of work from discovery through delivery.
• You can manage competing priorities and work effectively across multiple projects or workstreams.
• You are comfortable collaborating in a distributed, remote-first environment.
• Fluency in English is required.

Nice to Have:

• Previous experience working for a consulting firm, digital agency, or professional services organization.
• Experience leading technical discovery or architecture discussions with clients.
• Hands-on experience developing or maintaining Drupal applications.
• Experience developing custom Drupal modules or integrations.
• Experience with Laravel or Symfony.
• Experience modernizing legacy applications or incrementally replacing legacy architecture.
• Experience designing microservices or service-oriented architectures.
• Experience with React.js, Vue.js, or React Native.
• Experience with Docker and containerized development environments.
• Familiarity with AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Experience with PHPUnit and automated testing practices.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies.
• Experience using AI-powered development tools such as Claude Code, Gemini CLI, OpenAI Codex, or GitHub Copilot to understand codebases, accelerate implementation, generate tests, refactor code, troubleshoot issues, or improve documentation.

Technologies We Use

• Backend: PHP, Laravel, Drupal, MySQL, PostgreSQL, RESTful APIs, Microservices
• Frontend: JavaScript, TypeScript, React.js, Vue.js, React Native, HTML, CSS
• Testing: PHPUnit, automated unit and integration testing
• Version Control: Git, GitHub, GitLab
• Cloud & DevOps: AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, GitHub Actions, CI/CD pipelines
• AI-Powered Development Tools: Claude Code, Gemini CLI, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot
• Project Management & Collaboration: Jira, Notion, Slack, Figma

Development Practices: Agile methodologies

• We offer continuous training and growth opportunities.
• You are part of a multicultural and collaborative team that is constantly growing.
• We encourage experimentation, thoughtful risk-taking, and continuous improvement.
• Engineers are expected to take ownership of the quality of their work, including validating AI-generated code and recommendations.
• As a remote-first team, you will need reliable high-speed internet access, a development-capable computer, and a webcam and headset or microphone for client and team meetings.

Diversity and Inclusion

Foxbox Digital is an LGBT company certified by the Illinois and National LGBT Chambers of Commerce. We are committed to working with diverse and inclusive teams to continue building the digital revolution.

Foxbox is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all and team members with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Foxbox are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Foxbox will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. Foxbox encourages applicants of all ages.