Backend Team Lead (PHP)

We are looking for a Backend Team Lead to join our team. You will be responsible for the server-side of our product.

If you have excellent programming skills and a passion for developing applications or improving existing ones, we would like to meet you.

About Us

Meet one of the best startups in Turkey. Kolay’s journey started in 2015, with the desire to simplify and ease the work of human resources in companies and organizations all over the world, and allow their employees to funnel their energy and time on various other activities.

Today, Kolay is a cloud-based HR management software that smooths the processes to manage payrolls, expenses, leaves, overtime, shifts, and much more, and is trusted by more than 2.500 companies and organizations and 200k employees worldwide.

In only a few years, Kolay has changed the way HR works.

Let's make the world easier together, join us.

Responsibilities

• Lead the backend development team in designing, implementing, and scaling robust server-side solutions.
• Mentor and guide team members through code reviews, best practices, and technical decision-making.
• Oversee the full application lifecycle, ensuring high-quality, maintainable, and performant code.
• Collaborate with Product, Frontend, and DevOps teams to align technical execution with business goals.
• Drive architectural discussions and make strategic decisions on system design, scalability, and tech stack.
• Troubleshoot complex issues, optimize performance, and ensure system reliability.
• Establish and enforce coding standards, testing practices, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Identify technical debt and prioritize refactoring or improvements alongside new feature development.
• Work closely with stakeholders to gather requirements, plan sprints, and deliver projects on time.
• Stay updated on emerging technologies and propose innovations to enhance the product.

Requirements

• Minimum 5+ years of experience as a Backend Developer, with at least 2 years in a leadership or mentorship role
• Strong expertise in PHP (Laravel framework) and modern backend development practices
• Deep experience with relational (PostgreSQL) and non-relational (MongoDB) databases
• Proven track record in designing, scaling, and optimizing RESTful APIs
• Experience in leading technical decisions, code reviews, and architectural discussions
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps best practices to ensure high-quality deployments
• Ability to mentor junior developers, delegate tasks, and drive team productivity
• Strong problem-solving skills with a focus on performance, scalability, and maintainability
• Hands-on experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies in a team leadership capacity
• Good command of written and spoken English

It’s awesome if you have one of these:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or equivalent
• Experience with large scale distributed systems
• Experience with AWS cloud infrastructure
• Experience in taking ownership of features, while working with a team on short and long-running projects is plus
• Understanding of SaaS industry hands-on experience with public cloud offerings (e.g., AWS, GAE, Azure)

Benefits

• Being part of one of Turkey's most successful startup
• Competitive salary
• Remote working opportunity
• Premium private health insurance
• Training support
• Food card