Job Description – PHP/Laravel Developer (On-Demand)

Role overview We need an on-demand PHP/Laravel developer to own backend work and its deployment across cloud and customer on-premise environments. The engagement is contract-based and billed by the hour or by task. You will work with our team on existing Laravel applications, shipping fixes, features, and releases into Azure, AWS, and customer-hosted VMs. Engagement type: On-demand / contract (hours and availability to be agreed) Location: Remote (overlap with team working hours required) Responsibilities Build, maintain, and debug backend features in Laravel (APIs, queues, jobs, migrations, Eloquent models). Containerise applications with Docker and Docker Compose; keep images lean and environments reproducible. Deploy and troubleshoot releases on Azure, AWS, and customer on-premise Linux VMs, including restricted-network environments. Maintain Git workflows and CI/CD pipelines (build, test, deploy) and fix broken pipelines. Use AI coding tools (e.g. Claude, Copilot, Cursor) to speed up development, refactoring, test writing, and documentation — while reviewing all generated code for correctness and security. Diagnose production issues from logs, metrics, and customer reports; deliver root-cause fixes. Contribute to frontend work in Blade, React, or Angular when needed. Write clear handover notes, release notes, and status updates for the team and customers. Host both backend (Laravel/PHP-FPM, Nginx) and frontend (React/Angular builds) on Linux-based Docker images, and run them on Linux servers and VMs. Access live environments over SSH: inspect servers and running containers (docker exec, logs, config), diagnose issues, and apply changes by updating the code or image and redeploying, not by hand-editing inside containers. Required qualifications 4+ years of professional PHP development, with at least 3 years on Laravel (8 or later) in production. Solid PHP 8.x, OOP, Composer, and REST API design; working knowledge of MySQL or PostgreSQL and Redis. Hands-on Docker experience: writing Dockerfiles, Compose setups, and debugging containers. Has deployed and supported production apps on at least one of Azure or AWS, plus customer-hosted Linux VMs (Nginx/Apache, PHP-FPM, SSL, environment config). Daily Git use (branching, PRs, code review) and hands-on CI/CD (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, or Jenkins). Demonstrable use of AI coding assistants in a real workflow, with judgement about when not to trust the output. Strong problem-solving: can debug unfamiliar code with minimal hand-holding. Excellent written and verbal English; comfortable talking directly to customers' IT teams. Strong Linux command-line skills (Ubuntu/Debian or RHEL family): file permissions, users, services (systemd), package management, networking basics, and log analysis. Confident with SSH: key-based authentication, config files, tunnelling, and SCP/rsync for moving files securely. Has built Linux-based Docker images (e.g. Alpine/Debian base) for both PHP backends and JavaScript frontends, and maintained them after go-live: debugging inside containers, rebuilding, and redeploying changes safely. Nice to have Frontend experience with React or Angular, and Blade/Livewire. Experience with both Azure and AWS (not just one). Infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Bicep, CloudFormation) or Kubernetes basics. Laravel testing (PHPUnit/Pest) and static analysis (PHPStan/Larastan). Security awareness: OWASP Top 10, secrets management, dependency patching. Prior freelance or on-demand engagements with multiple clients.