Senior Software Engineer (PHP)

Who are we?

Deimos is a Cloud-native Developer and Security Operations technology services company. We help companies of all sizes adopt the Cloud for improved service delivery to their clients. We’re a fully remote African-based team passionate about implementing engineering best practices. We leverage the latest technologies and build globally competitive solutions for our clients. With Deimos being one of the two moons of Mars, we refer to ourselves as “Martians”, who are on a mission to Mars together.

Our teams value the ability to learn and adapt to technology changes while appreciating solid foundational design and the craft of software engineering. As such, our teams enjoy working with various clients who have different problems to solve. If this sounds like you, then you would be an ideal fit for our environment. However, you must be based in one of the countries we currently hire in: Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa or across Africa.

Role Overview

Deimos is seeking a Senior Software Engineer (PHP Specialist) to join our team for a 6 month contract, focusing on a client's account in the e-commerce sector. In this key role, you will develop and implement high-quality software solutions aimed at addressing significant issues impacting business and individuals across the continent.

You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to enhance the client's technology stack and public-facing products. This position presents a unique opportunity to contribute to a challenging project that aims to advance Africa's e-commerce industry. You will make a meaningful impact in a dynamic environment.

What you will be doing

• Design, develop, and maintain robust and scalable PHP-based applications and systems.
• Write clean, efficient, and well-documented code following best practices and coding standards.
• Collaborate with technical product managers, software architects, and other stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into user-facing solutions.
• Participate in all phases of the software development lifecycle, including planning, estimation, development, testing, and deployment.
• Conduct code reviews, provide constructive feedback, and mentor junior team members to foster continuous improvement.
• Troubleshoot and debug complex issues, and implement effective solutions in a timely manner.
• Stay updated on emerging technologies, industry trends, and best practices to enhance technical expertise and drive innovation.

What You’ll Bring

• Expert knowledge of PHP 8+
• Strong experience with frameworks like Laminas and SlimAPI
• Deep understanding of dependency injection, middleware, service containers, and ORMs (Eloquent/Doctrine)
• Proven experience building and maintaining RESTful APIs
• Exposure to GraphQL (nice to have)
• Solid grasp of authentication and authorization (OAuth2, JWT)
• Experience with API versioning, throttling, and documentation tools (Swagger/OpenAPI)
• Database expertise in MySQL; Postgres experience is a plus
• Architectural understanding of Event-Driven Design, DDD, and Clean Architecture
• Confidence in writing unit tests (PHPUnit)
• Familiarity with messaging tools such as EventBridge and SQS

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of cloud computing platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Familiarity with Agile/Scrum methodologies and DevOps practices.
• Certifications in PHP programming or related technologies.

About you

For us to achieve our ambitious vision together as a team, It is important for our Martians to lead at all levels, be self starters who take initiative and put their hands up for challenging tasks. A growth mindset is important to us and we encourage all our Martians to openly share knowledge, support and help each other, ask questions, get creative with new technologies and learn from setbacks.

Becoming a Martian means

• Comfortable working in a hybrid setup within a culturally diverse team spread across South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and across Africa.
• Being an open, honest and respectful communicator.
• You enjoy asking questions, identifying areas of improvement and proposing solutions, no matter your job title or whether you have been with us for a day, a month or years!
• You are comfortable taking initiative and operating independently.
• You thrive in a fast paced environment, where change is constant.
• You find it exciting to work with various clients, from different industries, each with a different problem for you and your team to solve.
• Intentionally sharing tech and industry trends that excite you with your peers.
• Seeking continuous feedback and actively taking steps to continuously grow personally and professionally.

Want to know what you get by joining us?

• Become a member of a team where we value each individual's contribution from day 1 and empower you to make suggestions, get involved and do what you love most!
• Flexibility and the freedom to work remotely.
• Work-life balance where you are not expected to work over weekends or after hours.
• A forward thinking remote company that knows how important it is to stay connected as one team, by providing virtual social platforms for employee engagement.
• A monthly work from home allowance which you can use to set yourself up to work comfortably from home. Whether that is pens, notebooks, new headphones or work snacks!
• A MacBook or Windows laptop for you to do your best work on.
• Become part of a team of exceptionally clever and talented people who like to share their knowledge and learnings.
• We support your career growth and love to celebrate your successes and advancement!