Senior Backend Developer (PHP / Laravel)
VANTREXIS is an engineering agency that builds dedicated remote teams for high-growth SaaS companies in the US, UK, and EU. We are looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to develop new features in a complex, integration-heavy product environment.
The Role
You will join a team where AI-augmented development (Cursor, Claude, Copilot) is a daily standard, not a bonus. Your focus will be on delivering clean, typed code within established architectural patterns โ and raising the quality bar as you go.
Tech Stack
- Core: PHP 8.2 + Laravel 12.
- Database: MySQL 8 + Redis.
- ORM: Eloquent.
- Auth: Laravel Passport (OAuth 2.0), Spatie Permission (RBAC).
- Queue: Laravel Queue with multiple named workers.
- Cloud: AWS S3, SES, SNS.
- Payments: Mollie / Stripe.
- Real-time: Pusher, Firebase FCM.
Testing: PHPUnit 11.
What You'll Do
- Build & Architect: Deliver new API endpoints following the Controller โ Service โ Repository pattern.
- Ownership: Take full responsibility for features from analysis to production deployment.
- Quality First: Write feature tests alongside every new feature to raise current coverage.
- Integrate: Extend and maintain external integrations (Mollie, AWS, Firebase, healthcare APIs).
Proactive Improvement: Identify architectural bottlenecks and edge cases before they become problems.
Requirements
- Expert PHP/Laravel: Deep knowledge of Eloquent, Passport, Policies, Events, and Jobs.
- RBAC Patterns: Experience with complex authorization flows and company-scoped roles.
- Database Mastery: MySQL 8 optimization and writing safe, backwards-compatible migrations.
- Mindset: You think like an owner, not just a task-executor; you communicate risks early.
- AI-Tooling: Proficiency in using AI-powered tools to maximize engineering efficiency.
Testing Culture: A "craftsmanship" approach where untested code is not considered "done".
Nice to Have
- Experience with Mollie or equivalent payment lifecycles.
- Familiarity with AWS IVS (live streaming) or Pusher.
- Experience using PHPStan / Larastan for static analysis.
An active GitHub profile or technical pet-projects.
What We Offer
- Remote-first: Work from any safe location in Ukraine.
- Stability: VANTREXIS is an official Diia City resident.
- Benefits: Paid vacation, sick leaves, and corporate medical insurance.
- Culture: Flat structure, zero bureaucracy, and a strong engineering community.
Growth: Access to Udemy and internal knowledge sharing.
Hiring Process
- HR Screen: Intro call to discuss experience and expectations.
- Technical Interview: Deep dive into engineering skills and architectural thinking.
- Final Decision.
Required skills experience
| PHP | 5 years |
| Laravel | 4 years |
| MySQL | 4 years |
| REST API | 3 years |
| Unit Testing | 2 years |
Required domain experience
| SaaS | 4 years |
| Healthcare / MedTech | 2 years |
Required languages
| English | B2 - Upper Intermediate |
| Ukrainian | Native |