We're building an in-house development team and need a senior Laravel developer to lead this transition. You'll take ownership of our technical infrastructure, modernize our platform architecture, and eventually build a development team.
This is a high-ownership role. You'll work directly with the founder (me), have full technical decision-making authority, and shape how we build software going forward.
The Technical Challenge
Current state:
- 5 separate Laravel 10 codebases (one per course domain)
- Mostly similar architecture but evolved independently
- Blade templates primarily, some Vue.js components
- WordPress integration for certain content
- AWS infrastructure with dedicated DevOps support
- Stripe payment processing
- ~44 items in active backlog (Jira)
What needs to happen:
- Upgrade from Laravel 10 to latest stable
- Consolidate 5 codebases into modern multi-tenant architecture
- Clear substantial backlog of features and improvements
- Build AI-powered case management system (Python scraper → AI screenshot analysis → automated email updates)
- Establish scalable foundation for 16+ courses
- Improve deployment processes and code quality standards
What You'll Do
Month 1-2:
- Audit all 5 codebases - document architecture, dependencies, technical debt
- Review and understand existing AWS infrastructure
- Get access to all systems and establish development workflow
- Take on first backlog items to understand codebase hands-on
- Begin documenting transition plan
Month 3-4:
- Execute Laravel upgrade path
- Start platform consolidation work
- Clear high-priority backlog items
- Define technical standards and processes
- Create hiring criteria for additional developers
Month 5-6:
- Lead platform consolidation implementation
- Build AI automation system for case management
- Interview and hire 2 additional developers
- Begin knowledge transfer and onboarding of new team members
- Transition to full technical ownership
Ongoing:
- Own all technical decisions and architecture
- Lead small development team (eventually 3-4 people)
- Work directly with me on product roadmap and priorities
- Ensure code quality, security, and performance standards
Requirements
Technical must-haves:
- 7+ years professional Laravel development
- Strong experience with Blade templating
- Database design and optimization (MySQL/PostgreSQL)
- RESTful API design and integration
- AWS experience (EC2, S3, RDS, etc.)
- Git workflow and code review experience
- Laravel upgrade experience across major versions
- Experience with legacy codebase modernization
Experience we value:
- Leading or mentoring other developers
- Multi-tenant SaaS architecture
- Platform consolidation projects
- E-learning or EdTech platforms
- Python (for automation project)
- Vue.js or modern JavaScript
- Stripe or payment integration
- Security best practices for PII/payment data
Working style:
- Self-directed and proactive - you see problems and solve them
- Strong written communication (we're async-first)
- Comfortable with ambiguity and making technical decisions
- Patient with knowledge transfer and documentation
- Pragmatic about shipping vs perfection
- Comfortable using AI to scale output
How We Work
- Fully remote - work from anywhere
- Async-first - no fixed hours, overlap as needed
- Tools: GitHub, Jira, Slack, AWS
- Communication: Slack for daily updates, video calls for planning/decisions
- You'll work with: Me (founder), DevOps engineer, eventually 2-3 developers you help hire
Compensation & Benefits
- Salary: $70-80k USD annually (based on experience)
- Time off: 10 days PTO + your local public holidays
- Probation: 3-month evaluation period
Hiring Process
- Application - Resume + answers to questions below
- Initial call - 30 minutes to discuss experience and fit
- Technical assessment - Take-home Laravel project, 3-4 hours, $200 compensation
- Technical interview - 60 min discussion of your solution + architecture scenarios
- Final conversation - Role expectations, questions, logistics
- Offer - Start within 2-4 weeks
Total timeline: 4-6 weeks
To Apply
Email [email protected] with:
- Resume/CV (including GitHub or code samples if available)
- Answers to these questions:
- Describe a legacy codebase you inherited. What was the biggest technical challenge and how did you approach it?
- You're auditing 5 similar Laravel codebases that need consolidation. Walk me through your first 2 weeks - what do you analyze, what do you document, how do you prioritize?
- What's your experience with Laravel version upgrades? What's the trickiest upgrade you've done?
- Optional: Anything else you think is relevant
No agencies or recruiters please.
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