Senior Backend Developer PHP (Remote - LATAM)

About Avantpage

Avantpage is a language solutions company committed to empowering immigrant and LEP communities through language access, primarily in healthcare and government services. We are a global organization with team members across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, and we value empathy, opportunity, and rigor in the way we work.

About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Backend Developer to join our Systems team and help us build, improve, and scale backend solutions that support core business operations and third-party integrations.

This is not just a hands-on coding role. We are looking for someone with strong backend foundations in PHP who can work with autonomy, think critically about technical decisions, and contribute meaningfully to architecture, code quality, and solution design.

The ideal candidate will feel comfortable working in an existing Symfony-based environment, building and maintaining REST APIs, working with PostgreSQL, and designing reliable integrations with third-party systems. This person should also be able to review code, propose improvements, and bring senior-level judgment to complex technical challenges.

Key Responsibilities

• Build efficient, testable, and reusable backend services in PHP
• Develop and maintain features within a Symfony application
• Design, build, and maintain REST APIs
• Work with PostgreSQL and ORM tools such as Doctrine
• Develop and maintain integrations with third-party systems and services
• Participate in technical solution design and architectural discussions
• Contribute to performance optimization and backend scalability
• Work with synchronous and asynchronous backend processes
• Lead or contribute to code reviews and uphold coding standards
• Write tests and support code quality best practices
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to deliver robust solutions

Required Qualifications

• 4+ years of professional backend development experience
• Strong hands-on experience with PHP
• Experience working with PHP 8.3+
• Strong experience with Symfony, ideally Symfony 7+
• Experience designing or maintaining REST APIs
• Strong experience with PostgreSQL
• Experience with ORMs such as Doctrine
• Solid understanding of synchronous and asynchronous behavior in PHP
• Experience integrating internal systems with third-party platforms/services
• Experience participating in or leading code reviews
• Strong problem-solving skills and technical judgment
• Ability to work autonomously and propose solutions, not just execute tasks
• Strong communication and collaboration skills in a remote environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Redis
• Understanding of scalable application design and backend architecture
• Experience with authentication/authorization across multiple systems
• Familiarity with queues and state-machine-based flows
• Experience working with AI-assisted coding tools, with sound engineering judgment
• Familiarity with modern development best practices in distributed teams

What Success Looks Like

In this role, success means more than delivering code. We are looking for someone who can take on complex backend work with limited direction, navigate technical ambiguity, connect systems thoughtfully, and contribute senior-level reasoning to how solutions are built.

What We Offer

• Opportunity to join a multicultural global team
• Exposure to meaningful systems that support language access services
• Professional growth and development opportunities
• Training in tools, technologies, and processes
• A collaborative and empathetic work environment