Prat City LLC: Senior Laravel Developer & Technical Lead

Breakout Tools; Pasadena (TX); Remote; USD 70,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

10 days PTO

Flexible working hours

Compensation for technical assessment

Job summary

A tech company is seeking a Senior Laravel Developer to lead the modernization of their platform architecture and technical infrastructure. This remote role offers the opportunity to shape development practices and build a team. Responsibilities include auditing codebases, executing upgrades, and establishing technical standards. The position requires 7+ years of Laravel experience, strong Blade templating skills, and a proactive, self-directed working style. Competitive salary range of $70-80k USD annually, plus benefits.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional Laravel development experience.
• Strong experience with Blade templating.
• Experience with RESTful API design and integration.

Responsibilities

• Audit and document existing codebases and technical debt.
• Execute the Laravel upgrade path.
• Build an AI automation system for case management.

Skills

Laravel development

Blade templating

Database design and optimization

RESTful API design

Git workflow

Tools

GitHub

Jira

Slack

AWS

Job description

We’re building an in-house development team and need a senior Laravel developer to lead this transition. You’ll take ownership of our technical infrastructure, modernize our platform architecture, and eventually build a development team.

This is a high-ownership role. You’ll work directly with the founder (me), have full technical decision-making authority, and shape how we build software going forward.

The Technical Challenge

Current state

• Mostly similar architecture but evolved independently
• Blade templates primarily, some Vue.js components
• WordPress integration for certain content
• AWS infrastructure with dedicated DevOps support
• ~44 items in active backlog (Jira)

What needs to happen

• Upgrade from Laravel 10 to latest stable
• Consolidate 5 codebases into modern multi-tenant architecture
• Clear substantial backlog of features and improvements
• Establish scalable foundation for 16+ courses
• Improve deployment processes and code quality standards

What You’ll Do

Month 1-2

• Audit all 5 codebases – document architecture, dependencies, technical debt
• Review and understand existing AWS infrastructure
• Get access to all systems and establish development workflow
• Take on first backlog items to understand codebase hands‑on

Month 3-4

• Execute Laravel upgrade path
• Start platform consolidation work
• Clear high-priority backlog items
• Define technical standards and processes

Month 5-6

• Build AI automation system for case management
• Interview and hire 2 additional developers
• Begin knowledge transfer and onboarding of new team members
• Transition to full technical ownership

Ongoing

• Own all technical decisions and architecture
• Lead small development team (eventually 3-4 people)
• Work directly with me on product roadmap and priorities
• Ensure code quality, security, and performance standards

Requirements

Technical must-haves

• 7+ years professional Laravel development
• Strong experience with Blade templating
• Database design and optimization (MySQL/PostgreSQL)
• RESTful API design and integration
• Git workflow and code review experience
• Laravel upgrade experience across major versions
• Experience with legacy codebase modernization

Experience we value

• Leading or mentoring other developers
• E‑learning or EdTech platforms
• Python (for automation project)
• Stripe or payment integration
• Security best practices for PII/payment data

Working style

• Self‑directed and proactive – you see problems and solve them
• Strong written communication (we’re async‑first)
• Comfortable with ambiguity and making technical decisions
• Patient with knowledge transfer and documentation
• Pragmatic about shipping vs perfection
• Comfortable using AI to scale output

How We Work

• Fully remote – work from anywhere
• Async‑first – no fixed hours, overlap as needed
• Tools: GitHub, Jira, Slack, AWS
• Communication: Slack for daily updates, video calls for planning/decisions
• You’ll work with: Me (founder), DevOps engineer, eventually 2‑3 developers you help hire
• Salary: $70‑80k USD annually (based on experience)
• Time off: 10 days PTO + your local public holidays

Hiring Process

• Application – Resume + answers to questions below
• Initial call – 30 minutes to discuss experience and fit
• Technical assessment – Take‑home Laravel project, 3‑4 hours, $200 compensation
• Technical interview – 60 min discussion of your solution + architecture scenarios
• Offer – Start within 2‑4 weeks

Total timeline: 4‑6 weeks

To Apply

Email [e-mail] with:

• Resume/CV (including GitHub or code samples if available)
• Answers to these questions:
  Describe a legacy codebase you inherited. What was the biggest technical challenge and how did you approach it?
  You’re auditing 5 similar Laravel codebases that need consolidation. Walk me through your first 2 weeks – what do you analyze, what do you document, how do you prioritize?
  What’s your experience with Laravel version upgrades? What’s the trickiest upgrade you’ve done?
  Optional: Anything else you think is relevant