Remote Senior PHP Symfony Architect

Smart Working; Portugal; Remote; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Smart Working is seeking a Senior PHP/Symfony Engineer to own backend development in a mature Symfony platform that services marketing and revenue data for enterprise customers. The stack includes Symfony 6.1 with an upgrade to Symfony 7, an Angular frontend and TypeScript/Python AI microservices, all in a remote, cross‑functional squad.

The role emphasizes architecture, independence, and the ability to measure the impact of technical decisions across Symfony, Angular and AI services.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of backend development within the core Symfony application, becoming fully independent in delivering work within 2–3 months of joining.
• Review and critically assess code written by the team and AI tools, challenging proposed approaches and making sure key considerations have been properly addressed.
• Support the migration from Symfony 6.1 to Symfony 7 by resolving versioning, compatibility and legacy issues currently preventing the upgrade.
• Improve the application’s performance, scalability and maintainability, making it easier and safer to introduce new functionality.
• Work across the Angular front end, TypeScript and Python‑based AI agent services, collaborating with DevOps where backend changes impact other areas of the system.
• Be comfortable reading and understanding the Angular/TypeScript codebase, even though the role is primarily backend focused. Strong front‑end development experience is not required.
• Understand the wider impact of technical decisions across Symfony, Angular and AI services, while spotting gaps or issues in both human‑written and AI‑generated code.
• Question existing approaches, identify root causes and look for better ways of building things rather than simply completing assigned tickets.
• Deliver thoughtful, maintainable solutions within a legacy codebase while maintaining a consistent pace of delivery.
• Work with a high level of autonomy and ownership while collaborating effectively with a remote, cross‑functional team.
• Follow SOC 2, PII and security requirements consistently and without exception.

Job description

Smart Working is seeking a Senior PHP/Symfony Engineer to own backend development in a mature Symfony platform that services marketing and revenue data for enterprise customers. The stack includes Symfony 6.1 with an upgrade to Symfony 7, an Angular frontend and TypeScript/Python AI microservices, all in a remote, cross‑functional squad.

The role emphasizes architecture, independence, and the ability to measure the impact of technical decisions across Symfony, Angular and AI services.