Lead PHP Developer

We are seeking a highly accountable, hands-on Lead PHP Developer to join the Platform Feed Management team. This position involves end-to-end ownership of projects requiring deep technical judgment and carrying high release risk, while also serving as the team's release manager and technical escalation point. You will collaborate closely with Product and Engineering leadership to translate business objectives into scalable, well-architected solutions, establishing technical patterns and direction for your projects.

This role provides significant ownership and accountability, combining hands-on engineering with technical leadership, and actively developing the technical capabilities of your team.

Responsibilities

• Act as the designated Project Owner for high-impact projects requiring deep technical judgment and managing high release risk.
• Define and evolve architectural direction and technical patterns for assigned projects, establishing engineering standards.
• Review and approve solution descriptions and sizing for your projects.
• Validate the technical approach for projects, either personally or by engaging other Lead or Staff Engineers as needed.
• Collaborate with Product teams on refinement, decomposition, and maintaining project status in Jira.
• Design and develop scalable PHP APIs, services, and solutions from concept to production as a hands-on contributor.
• Manage the release process and CI pipeline health for the team, serving as the escalation point during releases and coordinating rollbacks.
• Lead improvements to the release pipeline and develop a team of additional releasers to ensure robust release execution.
• Mentor team engineers, fostering visible growth and development.
• Offer an escalation path for other Project Owners as required.
• Integrate AI-powered capabilities, developed by the FDX AI team, into merchant-facing feed features when applicable.
• Champion the team's technical and cultural practices, setting standards for constructive technical discussions.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• At least 1 year of relevant leadership experience.
• Expertise in PHP, including building scalable, production-grade APIs and services.
• Familiarity with MySQL or similar relational data stores.
• Ability to own delivery for medium to large, ambiguous technical problems.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring engineers with visible growth.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with comfort representing the team in cross-functional discussions.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with modern JS/TS frameworks (e.g., Angular, React).
• Knowledge of caching technologies (e.g., Redis).
• Background in e-commerce, product catalogs, or sales channel/marketplace data models.
• Proficiency in integrating with AI or LLM-powered services in production applications.

We offer

• International projects with top brands.
• Collaboration with global teams of highly skilled, diverse peers.
• Healthcare benefits.
• Employee financial programs.
• Paid time off and sick leave.
• Upskilling, reskilling, and certification courses.
• Unlimited access to the LinkedIn Learning library and 22,000+ courses.
• Global career opportunities.
• Volunteer and community involvement opportunities.
• EPAM Employee Groups.
• Award-winning culture recognized by Glassdoor, Newsweek, and LinkedIn.

EPAM is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.