Software Developer

Empowered Staffing; Hoffman Estates (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Empowered Staffing LLC, a growing digital marketing agency, seeks an experienced Software Developer to join the technology team and report to the CTO in Hoffman Estates, IL. You will build, maintain, and enhance web applications and internal tools using PHP and MySQL, with Node.js services.

You will design, optimize, and deploy features, integrate APIs, assess AI-generated code, and help modernize legacy apps while ensuring security and performance.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of professional web application development experience.
• Strong proficiency in modern PHP (PHP 8.x) with OOP.
• Solid MySQL experience incl. schema design, queries, and indexing.
• Working knowledge of Node.js and JavaScript.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted coding tools (Claude Code, Gemini, Codex, Cursor).
• Experience integrating data with LLMs and APIs; knowledge of RAG is a plus.
• Proficiency with Git and collaborative workflows.
• Understanding of web security fundamentals (SQLi, XSS, auth).
• Excellent problem-solving and independent work abilities.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience with GA4 setup, troubleshooting, and custom events.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and deploy features for PHP and Node.js web apps.
• Design and optimize MySQL schemas, queries, and indexes for performance.
• Build and maintain Node.js services and integrations.
• Review code and ensure security and maintainability best practices.
• Integrate third-party APIs including advertising and analytics platforms.
• Troubleshoot production issues and resolve application problems.
• Create and maintain technical documentation.
• Collaborate with CTO and stakeholders to define requirements and scope.
• Develop features connecting marketing data with LLMs to deliver insights and automation.
• Explore proof-of-concept solutions based on new ideas.

Skills

Web development

JavaScript

PHP

Tools

MySQL

Node.js

Git

GA4

APIs

Job description

Empowered Staffing is partnered with a growing digital marketing agency recognized as a Great Place to Work and a Top Google Partner. Due to growth, they are seeking an experienced Software Developer to join their technology team and report directly to the CTO.

In this role, you will build, maintain, and enhance web applications and internal tools, primarily using PHP and MySQL, alongside Node.js services.

What You'll Be Doing

• Design, develop, test, and deploy features for web applications built with PHP and Node.js.
• Design and optimize MySQL schemas, queries, and indexes to improve performance and reliability.
• Build, maintain, and support Node.js services, scripts, and integrations.
• Use agentic coding tools such as Claude Code, Gemini, Codex, Cursor, or similar platforms to plan, write, refactor, test, and review code.
• Critically evaluate AI-generated code, taking ownership of its accuracy, security, maintainability, and performance.
• Integrate third-party APIs, including advertising, analytics, and business data platforms.
• Maintain and modernize legacy applications while improving code quality, maintainability, and test coverage.
• Participate in code reviews and follow established coding standards and security best practices.
• Troubleshoot and resolve application-level production issues.
• Collaborate with the CTO and internal stakeholders to define requirements, scope projects, and estimate development efforts.
• Create and maintain clear technical documentation.
• Develop features that connect marketing and business data with large language models (LLMs) to deliver insights, analysis, automation, and AI-powered tools.
• Partner with the technology team to develop and test proof-of-concept solutions based on new ideas.

Required Skills & Experience

• 3-5 years of professional experience in web application development.
• Strong proficiency in modern PHP (PHP 8.x), including object-oriented programming and design.
• Solid experience with MySQL, including schema design, complex queries, and performance tuning.
• Working knowledge of Node.js and JavaScript.
• Hands-on experience with agentic coding tools such as Claude Code, Gemini, Codex, Cursor, or similar platforms. Experience directing AI agents, structuring tasks and context, and validating generated code is more important than familiarity with any specific platform.
• Experience integrating data with LLMs, including connecting databases and APIs to model APIs, developing prompts and pipelines around structured data, implementing retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and tool/function calling, and reliably handling model outputs in production.
• Proficiency with Git and collaborative development workflows.
• Understanding of web security fundamentals, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and authentication.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience with Google Analytics 4 (GA4), including setup, troubleshooting, and custom event configuration.