Senior Backend Engineer, PHP

Who we are is what we do.

Deel is the all-in-one payroll and HR platform for global teams. Our vision is to unlock global opportunity for every person, team, and business. Built for the way the world works today, Deel combines HRIS, payroll, compliance, benefits, performance, and equipment management into one seamless platform. With AI-powered tools and a fully owned payroll infrastructure, Deel supports every worker type in 150+ countries—helping businesses scale smarter, faster, and more compliantly.

Among the largest globally distributed companies in the world, our team of 6,000 spans more than 100 countries, speaks 74 languages, and brings a connected and dynamic culture that drives continuous learning and innovation for our customers.

Why should you be part of our success story?

As the fastest-growing Software as a Service (SaaS) company in history, Deel is transforming how global talent connects with world-class companies – breaking down borders that have traditionally limited both hiring and career opportunities. We're not just building software; we're creating the infrastructure for the future of work, enabling a more diverse and inclusive global economy. In 2024 alone, we paid $11.2 billion to workers in nearly 100 currencies and provided healthcare and benefits to workers in 109 countries—ensuring people get paid and protected, no matter where they are.

Our momentum is reflected in our achievements and customer satisfaction: CNBC Disruptor 50,  Forbes Cloud 100, Deloitte Fast 500, and repeated recognition on Y Combinator’s top companies list – all while maintaining a 4.83 average rating from 15,000 reviews across G2, Trustpilot, Captera, Apple and Google.

Your experience at Deel will be a career accelerator. At the forefront of the global work revolution, you'll tackle complex challenges that impact millions of people's working lives. With our momentum—backed by a $12 billion valuation and $1 B in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in just over five years—you'll drive meaningful impact while building expertise that makes you a sought-after leader in the transformation of global work.

Get ready to:

• Be a part of a truly cross-functional team; Backend Engineers, Frontend Engineers, Product Teams, Designers and QA’s.
  

• Participate in product planning (from discovery all the way to deployment) - we want your input at all stages of the Software Development Lifecycle!
  

• Collaborate! Our teams work together to develop robust new features, APIs, continuously improve our industry-leading products and find and fix any bugs at DeelSpeed.
  

• Ensure our customers receive a white-glove experience with our products!
  

• Fully own the development of features on the client, server, service, and database.
  

The bits and bytes that you’ll bring to your new team:

• You will maintain and improve stability in our legacy PHP monolith (PHP 5.6, Zend components).
  

• Eagerness to embrace new technologies, as the role will involve transitioning to a modern JavaScript stack in the near future. Familiarity with later versions of PHP (such as PHP 8) will also be beneficial in the event of system updates.
  

• You will design and implement server-side APIs, data models, and business logic, primarily in PHP, with MySQL.
  

• You will create and optimize database schemas, queries, and interactions with relational databases (MySQL or PostgreSQL).
  

• You will perform thorough testing, debugging, and troubleshooting of applications to ensure high-quality deliverables - even in a legacy environment where regressions can be easy to introduce.
  

• You will collaborate with the team on reducing technical debt and delivering feature backlog items that improve operational efficiency.
  

• You will participate in code reviews and provide constructive feedback to maintain code quality standards.
  

• You will communicate project progress, challenges, and solutions effectively to team members and stakeholders.
  

• Contribute to the continuous improvement of development processes, methodologies, and tools.
  

You're the Engineer we're looking for if you:

• Bring 8+ years of backend development experience.
  

• Are highly skilled in PHP, with a solid understanding of OO principles, architecture, and design patterns.
  

• Bring strong relational database experience (MySQL or PostgreSQL).
  

• Are proficient with the Linux command line and familiar with AWS.
  

• Thrive in a collaborative, remote-first work culture where teamwork and camaraderie are key.
  

• Embrace ind