Senior / Principal PHP Developer - Laravel / Web Scraping

As a senior/Principal technical contributor, you’ll take full ownership of backend development and scraping infrastructure. You’ll help scale mission-critical systems, design robust backend architectures, and ensure data from external terminals and shipping lines is accurately and reliably integrated into our platform.

We're looking for someone with a strategic mindset who can go beyond writing code—someone who mentors junior developers, contributes to architectural decisions, and drives innovation across the backend stack and data scraping layer.

Key Responsibilities

Architect and lead development of backend systems using Laravel (PHP)
Design, optimize, and maintain relational databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL)
Build and manage RESTful APIs for internal and external integration
Own and evolve our web scraping infrastructure using Python (Selenium, Scrapy, Playwright, etc.)
Implement smart scraping strategies that minimize detection and downtime
Collaborate with frontend, product, and data teams to deliver features end-to-end
Define and enforce coding standards, performance optimization, and best practices
Lead code reviews, mentor junior engineers, and contribute to team growth
Stay ahead of Laravel ecosystem changes and scraping countermeasures

Required Qualifications

5+ years of professional experience as a backend developer, with deep Laravel (PHP) expertise
Demonstrated experience in designing and scaling backend systems and APIs
Advanced hands-on skills in Python web scraping (Selenium, Scrapy, Playwright, headless browsers)
In-depth understanding of OOP, MVC, design patterns, and architectural principles
Strong database skills, including schema design, query tuning, and performance troubleshooting
Proficiency with Git/GitHub and modern DevOps tools
Experience working in fast-paced, startup-like environments
Excellent communication, leadership, and documentation skills

Preferred Qualifications

Experience bypassing anti-scraping techniques using proxies, browser automation, and CAPTCHA-solving tools
Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker), and cloud deployment (AWS, DigitalOcean)
Exposure to logistics, freight tech, or shipping operations is a plus
Ability to lead technical discussions and influence long-term platform direction

What We Offer

Remote-first culture with flexible hours
High-impact leadership role on a rapidly scaling platform
Opportunities to shape technology direction and lead engineering initiatives
A collaborative team building real solutions in a traditionally underserved market