Senior Backend Engineer (PHP/MySQL)

tl;dr - Long-term fully-remote (US) role with great pay/benefits, looking for an experienced (10+ year) PHP/MySQL backend developer who can comfortably step into a dated CakePHP production system and take real ownership of production backend PHP/MySQL/Docker systems, and maintain, improve, and modernize them. Not a startup - we're a mature, small B2B SaaS platform in an interesting niche (fashion & wardrobe stylists), operated by a small, friendly team who thinks long-term.

About Hue & Stripe

Hue & Stripe (H&S) is a mature fashion-tech SaaS platform serving professional fashion and wardrobe stylists with digital wardrobe tools, client CRM, and commission workflows. We’ve grown steadily since 2013 without outside investors, weathered multiple recessions, and built a strong reputation in a niche industry we know well.

Our small, tight-knit team works closely with our users, ships improvements that meaningfully impacts their businesses, and values integrity, clarity, and long-term thinking over hype. We know most of our users personally and they are the best - always grateful for fixes and new features. They're a true pleasure to build for!

This is not a venture-backed startup trying to sell in a few years. You should not expect a life-changing financial windfall from a future IPO or acquisition. Instead, expect a stable, long-term role with a competitive salary and benefits and work-life balance, and a team that optimizes for sustainable delivery over churn.

The Role

We’re hiring a Senior Backend Engineer to join our small engineering team and take increasing ownership of our production backend systems.

You’ll be stepping into a real, revenue-generating platform built on CakePHP 2.x, PHP 7.x, and MySQL/MariaDB. This is not a startup, not a greenfield rewrite and not a training role. This is a senior role with real ownership. The expectation is that you can get productive quickly, make good technical judgments, and help keep the platform stable and improving.

You’ll work closely with the CTO and a junior developer, with responsibility expanding deliberately as trust is established.

What You'll Do

• Maintain and extend core backend systems in PHP and MySQL
• Debug and resolve production issues that affect real users
• Identify and address performance and reliability bottlenecks
• Implement end-to-end backend features across CRM, billing, admin tools, and core product workflows
• Review code and provide technical guidance to a junior developer
• Gradually take ownership of backend deployments and production changes

Over time, you should be able to:

• Make backend decisions independently
• Ship features and fixes without day-to-day oversight
• Confidently maintain platform stability when needed

Our Approach to Modernization

Yes, we're open to modernization. Our codebase is mature and production-critical, so we favor incremental improvement while continuing to ship. We’re open to moving toward frameworks like Laravel or Symfony (or heck even modern CakePHP) over time, but we don’t pause development for large rewrites. Sound judgment matters more than chasing new tools.

Qualifications

• Authorized to work in the US (W-2 role, we do not sponsor or transfer visas)
• Significant professional experience as a backend engineer (typically 8–10+ years)
• Deep, hands-on PHP experience in real production systems
• Strong MySQL/MariaDB skills (queries, indexes, performance tuning)
• Experience owning backend systems that others depend on
• Comfortable making decisions and standing behind them
• Able to work across backend and light frontend concerns when needed (CakePHP views, Handlebars, jQuery, CSS)
• Clear communicator who values maintainable, correct code

Required experience with:

• PHP 7.x, at least one major PHP framework, MVC, MySQL/MariaDB, Query Optimization, Database Design
• AWS (EC2, RDS/Aurora, S3), Docker, Nginx
• Git and production deployment workflows

Nice to have:

• CakePHP experience
• Redis, Memcached, Gearman
• Handlebars.js, Modern CSS

Working Environment

• Fully remote (US-based), small and experienced team
• Calm, sustainable pace with real ownership and accountability
• No expectation of nights or weekends as a norm
• Family-friendly culture with a focus on long-term stability (most our team has kids)
• Clear communication and responsiveness during US business hours

We intentionally keep our team small and hire carefully. This is a long-term role for someone who values stability, trust, and meaningful ownership.

How to Apply

Apply via LinkedIn Jobs or visit our careers page to learn more about the role and how to apply:

https://hueandstripe.com/careers/sr-backend-developer