PHP developer job description template (2026)

A PHP developer job description should tell candidates whether they are joining a modern PHP 8 application or maintaining a legacy one. PHP powers everything from Laravel and Symfony SaaS products to WordPress and Magento sites to custom codebases written before Composer existed, and senior developers decide quickly which of those they are willing to work on. Say which PHP version and framework you run, whether the job is application development or CMS and e-commerce customization, and how much refactoring is expected. The template below targets a senior PHP developer building a Laravel application and its APIs. Copy it, fill in the brackets and cut what does not apply.

PHP developer job description template

Job title

Senior PHP Developer (Laravel, APIs)

Employment type: full-time or contract. Location: remote, with at least four hours of overlap with US Eastern time.

About the role

We are hiring a senior PHP developer to build and maintain [product name], a [SaaS platform / marketplace / internal system] used by [customers / teams]. You will own features across our Laravel application and its APIs, work closely with product and front-end engineers, and help us raise the bar on testing, static analysis and deployment. We run PHP 8.3 with Laravel 11 on [AWS / Laravel Forge / Kubernetes], backed by MySQL and Redis. Some older modules still need refactoring, and you will help plan that work. You will join a team of [number] engineers and report to [title].

Responsibilities

• Build features and REST APIs in Laravel, using Form Requests for validation, API Resources for output and policies for authorization.
• Model data with Eloquent, spot N+1 queries with eager loading, and drop to the query builder or raw SQL when performance needs it.
• Write and run database migrations on MySQL or Postgres without locking large tables in production.
• Build queued jobs, scheduled tasks and event listeners with Laravel queues and Horizon, with retries and failure handling.
• Write tests with PHPUnit or Pest, including feature tests against a real database.
• Raise code quality with static analysis (PHPStan or Psalm), coding standards (PHP-CS-Fixer or Pint) and strict types.
• Refactor legacy PHP code toward clear service boundaries, dependency injection and testable classes.
• Secure the application against SQL injection, XSS, CSRF and mass-assignment issues, and keep Composer dependencies patched.
• Tune runtime performance through OPcache, caching strategy and, where it fits, Laravel Octane.
• Review pull requests and support less experienced developers on framework and design questions.

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional software development, with at least 4 years building production applications in PHP.
• Strong command of modern PHP 8: typed properties, enums, readonly properties, match expressions, attributes and named arguments.
• Deep experience with Laravel or Symfony, including the service container, middleware, events and queues.
• Solid MySQL or Postgres skills: indexing, query plans, transactions and safe migrations.
• Experience writing automated tests with PHPUnit or Pest and designing code that is easy to test.
• Working knowledge of Composer, PSR standards (PSR-4, PSR-7, PSR-12) and package versioning.
• Understanding of the PHP request lifecycle, PHP-FPM tuning and how long-running workers differ from it.
• Familiarity with web security basics and OWASP Top 10 risks as they apply to PHP.
• Clear written English for pull requests, design notes and async communication.

Nice to have

• Symfony experience if you are on Laravel, or the reverse.
• Livewire, Inertia.js or Vue for front-end work within a Laravel app.
• Upgrading applications across major PHP or framework versions, for example with Rector.
• Experience with WordPress, Drupal or Magento internals if your product touches a CMS or store.
• Search and indexing with Meilisearch, Elasticsearch or OpenSearch.
• Docker-based local environments such as Laravel Sail or DDEV.

Tech stack

PHP 8.3, Laravel 11, Eloquent, MySQL 8, Redis, Horizon, Pest, PHPStan, Pint, Composer, Livewire, Docker, GitHub Actions, AWS (EC2, RDS, SQS, S3), Sentry. Replace this with your actual stack; candidates read versions closely in PHP posts.

What success looks like in 6 months

• You have shipped several features to production and own at least one area of the application.
• You have refactored a legacy module so it is covered by tests and easier for the team to change.
• You have raised the PHPStan level or test coverage in a way the team now relies on.
• You have fixed a real performance problem, such as a slow admin page, a heavy queue job or a missing index.

How to apply and interview process

Send your resume or LinkedIn profile and a short note about a PHP application you built or improved. Our process has four steps: a 30-minute intro call, a technical conversation about a system you have worked on, a practical exercise or pairing session on a realistic problem, and a final conversation with the team you would join. We aim to give feedback within a few days of each step.

Junior vs mid vs senior PHP developer

PHP has a low barrier to entry, so years of experience can be misleading. Look at whether candidates have worked in typed, tested codebases and owned production systems.

Tips for writing a PHP developer job description that attracts senior talent

• Lead with your PHP and framework versions. "PHP 8.3 and Laravel 11" reassures senior candidates that they will not be stuck on PHP 5 patterns. If you are on an older version, say whether upgrading is in scope.
• Separate application work from CMS work. Building a Laravel SaaS and customizing WordPress themes are different careers. If the role includes both, say how the time splits.
• Describe the state of the codebase. Mention test coverage, static analysis level and whether there is a legacy area. Senior PHP developers often enjoy cleanup work when it is planned and supported.
• Show you use modern tooling. Composer, PHPStan, Pest, CI and automated deploys signal an engineering culture that experienced developers want to join.
• Be clear about front-end expectations. Livewire, Inertia with Vue, a separate React app or server-rendered Blade each need different skills.
• Explain the hosting and deploy model. Shared hosting, Forge, Vapor and Kubernetes lead to very different operational responsibilities.

Skip the job post: hire a vetted senior PHP developer

Finding a PHP developer who writes modern, tested code can take many months of screening. If you need senior PHP capacity sooner, Ryz Labs can match you with senior PHP developers from Latin America who work on your team, work in your repos and join your standups within an hour of US time zones. Only the top 1% of the engineers we interview make it through our vetting, which covers modern PHP, framework internals, database design and security.

With staff augmentation you can add one PHP developer or several as your workload changes. Ryz engineers join your team and report to your leads. Talk to us to scope your team. If you are running your own interviews, our PHP interview questions cover what we test and what strong answers look like.

FAQ

What should a PHP developer job description include?

A clear title with seniority, your PHP version and framework, whether the work is application development or CMS customization, specific responsibilities, realistic requirements, your tech stack, what success looks like after a few months and the steps of the interview process.

Should I require Laravel or Symfony experience?

Require the framework you use if the codebase is large or relies on advanced features such as custom service providers, Doctrine mappings or complex queue setups. Strong PHP developers move between Laravel and Symfony fairly quickly, so for simpler apps you can list the other as acceptable.

Is PHP still a good choice for new hires to work on?

Modern PHP is fast, strongly typed where you want it and supported by mature frameworks and tools. Many experienced developers prefer it. The key is showing in your post that your codebase uses current PHP practices, so candidates know what they are joining.

Questions we didn't answer? Email info@ryzlabs.com.