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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Senior PHP Developer - **Company:** Gravity Lending - **Location:** Austin, TX, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $105,000.0 - $135,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** PHP (Programming Language), Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Artificial Intelligence, Audit Trail, User Authentication, Automation of Tests, Profiling, Software Quality, Code Review, Data Validation, Data Security, DevOps, Key Management, MySQL, Object-Oriented Software Development, Performance Tuning, PHP Development, Query Optimization, RabbitMQ, Redis, SQL Stored Procedures, SQL Databases, Strategies of Testing, Workflow Management Systems, Data Logging, Large Language Models, Database Optimization, Indexer, Backend, Git Flow, Api Design, Restful APIs, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Code Restructuring, Software Version Control, Automation Anywhere - **Published:** May 19, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=a94dec3cd6d6cf67 ## About the Role Do you have experience in Version control?, Are you the kind of PHP pro who can spot a missing semicolon from a mile away and still explain it without making anyone cry? Perfect, we're looking for you! We're on the hunt for a Senior PHP Developer who's ready to roll up their sleeves, write clean, scalable code, and help us build some pretty awesome products. You'll be working with a collaborative team that values smart ideas, good humor, and the occasional meme drop in Slack., * 6+ years of professional PHP development experience * Strong command of PHP 8+, object-oriented design, and API architecture * Deep experience with SQL/MySQL: * Schema design * Indexing strategies * Query planning and performance tuning * Experience building secure, production-grade REST services, including: * Authentication and authorization * Input validation * Rate limiting * Familiarity with modern engineering practices: * CI/CD pipelines * Automated testing * Code reviews * Git-based workflows * Comfortable working in environments handling sensitive, regulated data Nice to Have * FinTech, lending, underwriting, or regulated-data experience * Experience integrating AI or LLM services, or building APIs used by AI agents * Knowledge of encryption and hashing best practices: * Salting / peppering strategies * Key management * Experience with queues and workers (SQS, RabbitMQ, Redis) * Familiarity with SOC 2, auditability, and least-privilege system design ## Description Gravity Lending is scaling Dark Horse, our internal AI and automation platform that powers intelligent workflows across our lending ecosystem - including our Loan Origination System (LOS), customer and lender portals, and internal operational tooling., * Enjoys working close to the data (MySQL-heavy systems) * Is comfortable operating in regulated, PII-sensitive environments * Wants to collaborate closely with ML engineers to bring AI features into real production systems (not demos) What You'll Do Backend & API Development * Build and maintain Dark Horse backend services using PHP 8+, including: * APIs and service modules * Internal tooling * Workflow orchestration services * Design secure, well-structured endpoints that support AI workflows: * Chat and session services * Tool/action execution * Retrieval and orchestration requests Data & Performance Engineering * Design and optimize MySQL data access patterns at scale: * Indexing and query optimization * Schema design * Stored procedures where appropriate * Tune performance across services using caching, background jobs, and profiling tools. Security & Compliance * Implement secure handling of PII and sensitive financial data, including: * Encryption and hashing strategies * Access control and authorization * Audit logging and traceability * Safe data egress patterns * Partner with Security to ensure Dark Horse services meet SOC-minded controls and privacy-by-design principles. Reliability & Engineering Excellence * Lead by example on: * Code quality and reviews * Testing strategies * Refactoring and technical documentation * Improve platform reliability through: * Idempotency and retry strategies * Rate limiting and failure handling * Incident-ready logging, metrics, and observability Cross-Functional Collaboration * Work closely with Product and ML engineers to translate AI capabilities into stable, production-ready features. * Integrate with third-party and internal services (credit, valuation, identity, LOS modules, messaging, and queues). ## Related Videos - [Reducing LLM Calls with Vector Search Patterns - Raphael De Lio (Redis)](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1714-reducing-llm-calls-with-vector-search-patterns-raphael-de-lio-redis) - [MySQL Protocol Features You Should Be Aware Of](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100267-mysql-protocol-features-you-should-be-aware-of) - [From DevOps to Scaled DevOps: How We’re Rebuilding Continuous Delivery as a Platform](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100018-from-devops-to-scaled-devops-how-we-re-rebuilding-continuous-delivery-as-a-platform) - [WeAreDevelopers LIVE – PHP Is Alive and Kicking and More](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1797-wearedevelopers-live-php-is-alive-and-kicking-and-more) - [DevOps Maturity Check – a way to balance autonomy and alignment](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/58-devops-maturity-check-a-way-to-balance-autonomy-and-alignment) - [Coding for Good: Achieving social change with an app](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1645-coding-for-good-achieving-social-change-with-an-app) ## Related Articles - [Dev Digest 121 - AI goes offline](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/456-dev-digest-121-ai-goes-offline) - [Find a Developer Job: 12 Best Job Sites For Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/165-find-a-developer-job-12-best-job-sites-for-developers) - [The 7 Most Popular Backend Frameworks for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/403-the-7-most-popular-backend-frameworks-for-developers) - [Dev Digest 120 - Apple and peers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/455-dev-digest-120-apple-and-peers) - [Dev Digest 132 - Binging WADFlix?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/473-dev-digest-132-binging-wadflix) - [Is Software Engineering Over-Saturated?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/418-is-software-engineering-over-saturated)