We're looking for a Backend Developer Lead to take technical ownership of the core platform at Ultimate Guitar, the world's largest destination for musicians, with over 14 million monthly active users.
You'll drive architecture decisions, mentor engineers, and own the technical direction of the platform, while staying close to the code.
Hands-on leadership role.
Requirements
5–7+ years of commercial PHP development experience
Strong knowledge of modern PHP (8.0+) and backend engineering best practices
Solid hands-on experience with Yii2
Experience designing scalable backend systems with software architecture and system design principles
Strong MySQL experience: schema design, indexing, query optimization, performance tuning
Experience with high-load production systems and application performance optimization
Experience designing APIs and service integrations
Solid Git workflows, code review practices, and CI/CD experience
Strong debugging, troubleshooting, and root-cause analysis skills
Proven experience leading development teams or major technical initiatives
Ability to independently drive projects from design to production
Experience working with large legacy codebases and driving incremental modernisation
Strong estimation, planning, prioritisation, and risk management skills
Experience mentoring engineers and supporting their professional growth
Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset
Effective communication and collaboration in cross-functional teams
High autonomy, accountability, and product ownership
Product-oriented thinking with business impact focus
Nice to have: Interest in music and willingness to go deep on the product domain
Nice to have: Experience building large-scale consumer products
Nice to have: Hands-on experience with AI-assisted development tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, etc.)
Done for you
We'll apply to this for you
Denidel's HR team submits and tracks the application on your behalf.
