Lead Software Engineer (PHP, MySQL)

We are looking for a highly motivated Lead Software Engineer with PHP and MySQL to join our Engineering team. You'll partner with our product, design, and engineering leadership to drive the technical direction of our web-based applications, mentor a team of engineers, shape product decisions with deep technical expertise, and ensure the successful delivery of our core platform and other products using industry-leading development practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, and development of scalable PHP APIs, services, and solutions from concept to production, setting the technical vision for a focused product team
• Provide technical leadership across all aspects of the software development lifecycle, including design, development, testing, deployment, code reviews, debugging, and documentation
• Define and drive solutions to complex problems within large-scale distributed systems, making key architectural decisions that influence multiple teams
• Establish and champion engineering standards for clean, reusable, and high-quality code, and lead the continuous improvement of those practices across the team
• Own technical decisions that support goals of quality, performance, scalability, reliability, availability, and security at a platform level
• Guide the team in building new features with a strong focus on testability, extensibility, and long-term maintainability
• Identify opportunities to optimize existing software and lead initiatives to improve overall system efficiency
• Mentor and coach engineers, fostering their professional growth and technical development
• Cultivate a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the team
• Advocate for and drive the adoption of modern development practices, tools, and technologies across the engineering organization
• Collaborate with product managers, designers, and other stakeholders to align technical strategy with business goals

Requirements

• 5+ years of PHP programming experience, including prior technical leadership or lead engineer responsibilities
• Proven experience architecting and delivering large-scale, production-grade systems
• Deep expertise in MySQL or similar technology, including performance tuning and schema design
• Strong background in HTML, JS/TS, and SASS/SCSS
• Solid experience with Git and modern version control workflows
• Deep understanding of Distributed Systems and their design patterns
• Ability to perform time and memory complexity analysis, and guide others in applying these principles
• Demonstrated experience mentoring engineers and leading technical initiatives
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English (B2+ level), with the ability to influence both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Nice to have

• Experience with caching technologies (e.g., Redis) at scale
• Hands-on experience with a modern JS framework (Angular and Bootstrap are a bonus)
• Advanced knowledge of PHP optimization and performance tuning
• Experience driving cross-team technical initiatives or contributing to broader engineering strategy

We offer

• International projects with top brands
• Work 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.