Senior PHP/Symfony Engineer (Remote, Full-Time) [AR024] (PK)

Smart Working; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Smart Working in the United States seeks a Senior PHP/Symfony Engineer to own the backend in a mature Symfony platform coordinating with an Angular frontend and Python AI microservices. You’ll upgrade Symfony from 6.1 to 7, work within a remote, cross‑functional squad, and ensure secure, scalable delivery.

This role emphasizes architecture-minded decisions, performance improvements and collaboration with product, QA and DevOps while maintaining autonomy and SOC 2/PII compliance.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of commercial software engineering experience, including 5+ years in PHP.
• 7+ years of PHP experience at Expert level.
• 3+ years of recent Symfony 6.x/7 experience with potential Laravel transfer.
• 4+ years of advanced backend system design and scalability.
• 2+ years of advanced experience using AI tooling.
• 5+ years of advanced MySQL experience (PostgreSQL or others acceptable).
• 1+ year of Angular/TypeScript awareness; React or Vue acceptable with TS.
• 3+ years of PHPUnit or similar testing frameworks.
• 1+ year of framework upgrades and legacy-code modernization.
• 2+ years of AWS experience; Azure/GCP acceptable.
• Fluent written and spoken English.
• Strong communication and proven remote work experience.
• Ability to work UK hours.
• Pass strict background checks and PII policies.
• Hands-on with architect mindset.

Responsibilities

• Own backend work in the core Symfony application and deliver independently within 2–3 months.
• Critically assess code produced by team and AI tools; challenge proposed solutions.
• Lead the Symfony 6.1 to Symfony 7 upgrade, addressing versioning and legacy issues.
• Improve performance, scalability and maintainability for future features.
• Coordinate with Angular front end, TypeScript and Python AI services; collaborate with DevOps.
• Read and reason about Angular/TypeScript code even though backend-focused; frontend skills not required.
• Evaluate how decisions affect Symfony, Angular and AI services; identify gaps.
• Challenge solutions, identify root causes, improve build quality beyond tickets.
• Deliver well-reasoned, maintainable solutions within legacy codebase with steady pace.
• Work with high autonomy in a remote, cross-functional squad.
• Adhere to SOC 2, PII and security controls.

Skills

PHP

Symfony

Backend design

MySQL

AWS

CI/CD

AI tooling

PHPUnit

Angular/TypeScript

Python

Tools

Angular/TypeScript

Python

Job description

About Smart Working

At Smart Working, we believe your job should not only look right on paper but also feel right every day. This isn’t just another remote opportunity — it’s about finding where you truly belong, no matter where you are. From day one, you’re welcomed into a genuine community that values your growth and well-being.

Our mission is simple: to break down geographic barriers and connect skilled professionals with outstanding global teams and products for full-time, long-term roles. We help you discover meaningful work with teams that invest in your success, where you’re empowered to grow personally and professionally.

Join one of the highest-rated workplaces on Glassdoor and experience what it means to thrive in a truly remote-first world.

About the Role

As a Senior PHP/Symfony Engineer, you will take hands-on ownership of backend development within a mature Symfony platform that manages marketing and revenue data for enterprise customers. The core application currently runs on Symfony 6.1, with an upgrade to Symfony 7 planned, alongside an Angular front end and TypeScript and Python AI agent microservices.

This is a strongly backend-weighted, senior hands‑on engineering role requiring an architect mindset, strong independence and the ability to understand how technical decisions affect the wider system. You will work within a remote, cross‑functional product squad alongside engineering, product, QA and DevOps colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Own and deliver backend work in the core Symfony application, working fully independently within 2–3 months of starting.

• Critically assess code produced by the team and by AI tools, challenging proposed solutions and ensuring important aspects have been properly thought through.

• Help move the application from Symfony 6.1 to Symfony 7, resolving versioning and legacy issues currently blocking the upgrade.

• Improve application performance, scalability and maintainability so new features are easier and safer to add.

• Work with the Angular front end, TypeScript and Python AI agent services, and the DevOps team where backend changes cross those boundaries.

• Read and reason about the Angular/TypeScript codebase despite the role being strongly backend weighted; strong front‑end development skills are not required.

• Understand how decisions affect the wider system, including Symfony, Angular and AI services, while identifying detail gaps in code and AI‑generated output.

• Challenge solutions, identify root causes and improve how things are built rather than simply completing tickets.

• Deliver well‑reasoned, maintainable solutions within a legacy codebase while maintaining a steady delivery pace.

• Work with high autonomy and accountability while collaborating effectively within a remote, cross‑functional squad.

• Respect SOC 2, PII and security controls without exception.

Requirements

• 8+ years of commercial software engineering experience, including 5+ years in PHP.

• 7+ years of PHP experience at Expert level.

• 3+ years of recent commercial Symfony 6.x/7 experience at Advanced level. Very senior Laravel experience that is clearly transferable may be considered, provided you have a solid understanding of how Laravel and Symfony differ.

• 4+ years of Advanced experience in backend system design and scalability.

• 2+ years of Advanced experience critically using AI tooling, including reviewing and challenging AI‑generated output rather than accepting it blindly.

• 5+ years of Advanced MySQL experience covering schema design and query optimisation. PostgreSQL or another relational database at the same depth may be considered.

• 1+ year of Angular/TypeScript awareness. React or Vue with TypeScript may be considered, but zero front‑end exposure is disqualifying.

• 3+ years of Advanced automated testing experience with PHPUnit. Pest or equivalent PHP testing frameworks may be considered.

• 1+ year of Intermediate experience with framework upgrades and legacy‑code modernisation. Major version upgrades or refactoring in other large PHP codebases may be considered.

• 2+ years of Intermediate AWS experience. Azure or GCP may be considered.

• Fluent written and spoken English.

• Strong written and verbal communication and a proven record of working effectively remotely.

• Ability to work UK hours.

• Ability to pass strict background checks and comply with PII policies.

• Strong self‑sufficiency, with the ability to work with zero handholding after 2–3 months while continuing to collaborate effectively.

• A hands‑on technical approach with an architect mindset: understanding how and why the system works rather than only producing code.

Nice to Have

• 2+ years of Intermediate CI/CD experience with GitHub Actions; GitLab CI, Jenkins or Azure DevOps are suitable alternatives.

• Basic experience with Amazon Redshift or data warehousing; Snowflake or BigQuery may be considered.

• Azure exposure alongside AWS.

• Previous project leadership experience.

• Previous mentoring and technical leadership experience with other engineers.