Senior PHP Engineer - Hybrid Secure, Scalable Web Apps

E-Merge; South Africa; Hybrid; ZAR 720,000 - 880,000; Full time

Job summary

E‑Merge is seeking an experienced PHP Developer to own a key PHP platform, building secure, scalable web applications and APIs. You will optimise performance, strengthen security and collaborate with Product and Delivery teams in a Hybrid Cape Town setting.

Required: 5+ years PHP, PHP 8+, Laravel or Symfony, RESTful APIs, SQL DB design (MySQL/PostgreSQL), OAuth2/JWT, Git/CI/CD, Agile/Scrum. Salary up to R800k per annum negotiable based on experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Software Engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 5+ years' commercial PHP development experience.
• Strong experience with PHP 8.0+ and frameworks such as Laravel or Symfony.
• Experience working across both modern and legacy PHP codebases.
• Strong knowledge of MySQL/PostgreSQL, schema design, query optimisation and ORM tools such as Eloquent/Doctrine.
• Experience developing and integrating RESTful APIs.
• Understanding of API security and authentication methods including OAuth2, API Keys and JWT.
• Proficiency with Git, pull requests and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience working within Agile/Scrum environments.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of the PHP platform and become the internal technical expert.
• Develop, maintain and enhance scalable, secure and high‑performing applications.
• Monitor system performance, manage incidents and drive continuous optimisation.
• Manage system updates, dependencies and security vulnerabilities.
• Design and deliver new features in collaboration with Product and Delivery teams.
• Translate business requirements into practical, scalable technical solutions.
• Design and optimise MySQL/PostgreSQL databases, including query and schema optimisation.
• Build and maintain secure RESTful API integrations with internal and third-party systems.
• Promote best practices across testing, documentation, version control and CI/CD.
• Provide technical guidance, onboarding and knowledge sharing within the engineering team.

Skills

PHP 8+

5+ years PHP

Laravel/Symfony

MySQL/PostgreSQL

RESTful APIs

OAuth2/JWT

Git/CI/CD

Agile/Scrum

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Eloquent/Doctrine

Job description

E‑Merge is seeking an experienced PHP Developer to own a key PHP platform, building secure, scalable web applications and APIs. You will optimise performance, strengthen security and collaborate with Product and Delivery teams in a Hybrid Cape Town setting.

Required: 5+ years PHP, PHP 8+, Laravel or Symfony, RESTful APIs, SQL DB design (MySQL/PostgreSQL), OAuth2/JWT, Git/CI/CD, Agile/Scrum. Salary up to R800k per annum negotiable based on experience.