Tech Lead (PHP/Laravel + React)

About the Company & Project

Wiregate builds and develops digital products for international clients. We are looking for a Tech Lead to join the team of a long-standing client we've been working with for over 8 years.

The project is a portfolio of web-based marketing platforms operating in the travel and insurance industries across the US and European markets. These platforms handle complex business logic, multiple third-party integrations, and configurable business processes.

We are looking for a strong technical leader who can combine hands-on development with architectural thinking, take ownership of technical decisions, and gradually assume broader responsibility for the project's technical direction.

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead the technical development of several products built with PHP/Laravel and React.
• During the first few months, focus primarily on hands-on development (approximately 70% backend and 30% frontend) to gain a deep understanding of the products, business logic, codebase, and existing architecture.
• Gradually take on broader technical leadership responsibilities, including architectural decisions, technical planning, and establishing development standards.
• Understand complex business requirements, clarify specifications, and evaluate the technical impact of proposed changes.
• Evolve existing systems, work with legacy code, and improve architecture while maintaining the stability of production products.
• Design and develop REST APIs and integrations with third-party services.
• Build reusable solutions, including white-label approaches, to accelerate the launch of new websites and marketing initiatives.
• Improve administrative tools that allow the client to manage business settings independently, with appropriate access control and audit logging.
• Oversee performance optimization, caching, queues, and background processing.
• Participate in code reviews, testing, production troubleshooting, and continuous improvement of engineering practices.
• Break down and estimate tasks, identify technical risks, and communicate technical solutions and trade-offs to the client.
• Take ownership of technical decisions and ensure their successful implementation in production.

  The project is dynamic, with priorities sometimes changing daily. The ability to adapt, switch between tasks, and maintain effective communication with the client is essential.

Tech Stack

• Backend: PHP, Laravel.
• Frontend: React; jQuery is also used in some existing parts of the system.
• Databases: PostgreSQL and/or MySQL.
• Caching & Background Processing: Redis, queues.
• Development Tools: Git, Docker, Linux, CI/CD.

What We're Looking For

• Strong commercial experience with PHP and Laravel.
• Practical experience with React and the ability to work across the full stack.
• Previous experience as a Tech Lead, Lead Developer, or Senior Engineer with significant technical ownership.
• Solid understanding of web application architecture, REST API design, and third-party integrations.
• Experience working with complex business logic and large or evolving codebases.
• Good knowledge of databases, query optimization, caching, and background processing.
• Confident working knowledge of Git, Docker, Linux, and CI/CD practices.
• Understanding of testing, code reviews, logging, and production troubleshooting.
• Experience maintaining and improving legacy systems without compromising stability and maintainability.
• Ability to make independent technical decisions, assess risks, and take responsibility for technical outcomes.
• Practical use of AI tools for development, testing, code reviews, and automation.
• Advanced English: comfortable communicating directly with the client, discussing requirements, and explaining technical decisions.
• Fluent Russian for day-to-day communication within the team.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure (AWS or similar).
• Experience with high-load or distributed systems.
• Experience modernizing legacy systems, mentoring developers, and introducing engineering metrics.

What We Offer

• Fully remote work from anywhere in the world.
• Compensation discussed individually based on experience and expertise.
• Working schedule: Monday to Friday, 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM (GMT+3).
• 28 calendar days of paid annual leave.
• Quarterly bonuses.
• Compensation for health insurance expenses.
• Financial support in important life situations.
• A gradual transition into full technical leadership responsibilities, with an initial hands-on development phase during the first few months.
• Opportunity to relocate to Montenegro.