Lead PHP Engineer — Remote Architecture & Discovery

N-iX; Kraków; Hybrid; PLN 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working format

Competitive salary package

Education reimbursement

Mentorship program

Job summary

N-iX is seeking a Senior/Lead PHP Engineer to join a discovery-phase project. You will perform a comprehensive technical assessment of an existing PHP-based system, understand architecture, business logic, and landscape, and collaborate with stakeholders to document findings and shape future development.

You will reverse engineer legacy code, evaluate architecture for scalability and debt, produce architecture diagrams, and help define the implementation roadmap after discovery.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of commercial PHP development experience.
• Experience with complex backend systems beyond CMS.
• Strong understanding of distributed/microservices architectures.
• Proficient in relational databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL).
• Experience reverse engineering legacy code and contributing to architecture discussions.
• Ability to work independently with limited documentation and strong analytical skills.
• Upper-Intermediate or higher English level.

Responsibilities

• Analyze and assess an existing PHP application and its architecture.
• Investigate business logic, system components, integrations, and dependencies.
• Reverse engineer legacy code to understand behavior and identify improvements.
• Evaluate architecture for scalability, maintainability, and technical debt.
• Review database structure, relationships, and performance bottlenecks.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to gather required information and produce documentation.
• Create architecture diagrams and discovery findings, outlining risks and recommendations.
• Support roadmap definition after the discovery phase.

Skills

PHP development

Backend systems

SQL querying

Reverse engineering

System design

English proficiency

Job description

N-iX is seeking a Senior/Lead PHP Engineer to join a discovery-phase project. You will perform a comprehensive technical assessment of an existing PHP-based system, understand architecture, business logic, and landscape, and collaborate with stakeholders to document findings and shape future development.

You will reverse engineer legacy code, evaluate architecture for scalability and debt, produce architecture diagrams, and help define the implementation roadmap after discovery.