Backend Team Lead (PHP)

We are looking for an experienced Backend Team Lead with a strong PHP background to take ownership of a high-load SMS AdTech project.

This is a hands-on leadership role combining backend development, technical ownership, team management, and direct communication with the client and project stakeholders.

You will lead a small engineering team of 2 Backend Developers and 1 DevOps Engineer, while remaining actively involved in architecture, code quality, performance optimization, and production stability.

Technical Stack

• PHP, Laravel
• Node.js, NestJS
• SQL, ClickHouse, OpenSearch
• AWS: SQS, S3
• Vue.js and Blade templates

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of 2 developers and 1 DevOps Engineer.
• Remain hands-on in backend development and technical problem-solving.
• Define and maintain high standards of code quality and conduct architectural and code reviews.
• Design and develop scalable backend services and microservices.
• Optimize high-load database queries, ClickHouse workloads, and OpenSearch indices.
• Troubleshoot production issues, performance bottlenecks, and system stability problems.
• Make technical and architectural decisions related to the evolution of the platform.
• Participate in regular calls with stakeholders and translate business needs into technical solutions.
• Support and improve existing monolithic services while gradually evolving the system architecture.

Requirements

• 8+ years of software development experience, with strong hands-on expertise in PHP and Laravel.
• 3+ years in a Team Lead, Tech Lead, or similar technical leadership role.
• Proven experience developing and supporting high-load / high-traffic backend systems.
• Strong hands-on experience with Node.js, ideally NestJS.
• Practical experience with ClickHouse and OpenSearch in production environments.
• Strong knowledge of SQL databases, query optimization, and performance tuning.
• Strong understanding of backend architecture, scalability, distributed systems, and microservices.
• Experience troubleshooting complex production issues and performance bottlenecks.
• Ability to combine technical leadership with hands-on development.
• Fluent English, comfortable communicating directly with an international client and project stakeholders.

Nice to Have

• AWS services such as SQS and S3.
• Vue.js or Blade.
• Previous experience with AdTech, messaging platforms, or other high-traffic products.