Remote Senior PHP Symfony Architect

Remote; San Francisco (CA); Remote; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Smart Working is seeking a Senior PHP/Symfony Engineer to own backend development within a mature Symfony platform that supports marketing and revenue data for enterprise customers. You will work in a remote, cross-functional squad with engineering, product, QA and DevOps, driving upgrades and performance improvements.

The role emphasizes an architectural mindset, strong independence, and collaboration across Angular, TypeScript and Python AI services, while following security and data

Qualifications

• 8+ years of commercial software engineering with at least 5 years in PHP.
• 3+ years of Symfony 6.x/7 at advanced level; Laravel transferable knowledge OK.
• 4+ years in backend architecture, system design and scalability.
• 2+ years using AI development tools to review and challenge AI-generated code.
• 5+ years MySQL experience; PostgreSQL acceptable.
• At least 1 year working with Angular/TypeScript; React/Vue OK with TS exposure.
• 3+ years automated testing with PHPUnit; Pest acceptable.
• 1+ year upgrading frameworks and modernising legacy code.
• 2+ years AWS experience; Azure or GCP acceptable.
• Fluent written and spoken English; strong remote communication.
• Ability to work UK hours and pass strict background checks.
• Hands-on engineering with architectural mindset for wider system.
• Self-sufficient after 2–3 months with minimal handholding.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of backend development within a Symfony core app.
• Review code from team and AI tools and ensure proper considerations.
• Assist in Symfony 6.1 to 7 upgrade, resolving versioning issues.
• Improve performance, scalability and maintainability of the app.
• Collaborate with Angular front end, TypeScript and Python AI services.
• Understand wider impact of decisions across Symfony, Angular and AI services.
• Identify gaps and propose better approaches beyond tickets.
• Deliver maintainable solutions in a legacy codebase with steady pace.

Skills

PHP

Symfony

Backend architecture

AI review of code

MySQL

PostgreSQL

Fluent English

Remote communication

UK hours

Tools

Symfony 6.x/7

PHPUnit

Angular/TypeScript

Laravel

AWS

GitHub Actions

Job description

Smart Working is seeking a Senior PHP/Symfony Engineer to own backend development within a mature Symfony platform that supports marketing and revenue data for enterprise customers. You will work in a remote, cross-functional squad with engineering, product, QA and DevOps, driving upgrades and performance improvements.

The role emphasizes an architectural mindset, strong independence, and collaboration across Angular, TypeScript and Python AI services, while following security and data