Job Description: Autonomous Laravel Developer (PHP)

Location: Remote (Worldwide)
Hours: Full-time, 40 hours/week (Overlap with 9 AM – 5 PM US Central Time)
Salary: South Africa / LATAM: Mid-level: ~$3,500/month | Senior: ~$5,500/month
Eastern Europe: Potentially slightly higher, within client ceiling, ~$60K–$70K annually
Start Date: Flexible / March 2026

Overview:
Our client is a lean, consultative software agency that builds right-sized solutions for SMBs. We are not looking for a "task-only" coder who waits for a list of instructions. We are looking for an Autonomous Laravel Developer.
This means we need a self-sustaining developer with high "Intuition-as-a-Service." You should be someone who can take a ticket, run with it, ask smart clarifying questions at the right time, and own a project end-to-end without constant hand-holding. If you thrive in a fast-paced agency environment where you manage multiple codebases and repository types, we want to talk to you.

Hard Skills (The Non-Negotiables)
●   Laravel Mastery: 3–5+ years of deep experience building and maintaining production-level web applications.
●   PHP & Backend: Strong PHP proficiency
●   MySQL competency is mandatory.
●   Frontend Fundamentals: Strong HTML and CSS skills.
●   Infrastructure: Comfortable handling deployments and occasional server-related tasks.
●   Portfolio: You must be able to provide a GitHub repository, code samples, or links to public projects demonstrating your best work.

Bonus Skills (Nice-to-Haves)
●   React: Experience with React (Web) or React Native (Mobile) is a massive plus.
●   Tailwind: Experience with Tailwind CSS.
●   Design-Minded: A natural eye for UI/UX and clean design implementation.
●   Tooling: Comfortable Mac user with experience in project management tools like ClickUp and Trello
●   Agency Background: Previous experience in an agency or high-volume freelance setting is highly preferred.

Soft Skills: Ownership & Critical Thinking
We prioritize critical thinking over pure years of experience. You will succeed here if you:
●   Own the Outcome: You don't just "code what you’re told"; you troubleshoot independently and write technical documentation as you go.
●   Manage Ambiguity: You are comfortable working on a project that might be a new repo or a legacy system inherited from another developer.
●   Proactive Communication: You are an excellent communicator (English) who flags potential roadblocks before they become a "crunch."
●   AI Balance: You use AI tools to speed up your workflow, but you have the technical depth to validate and debug the output. We are sensitive to AI over-reliance; we need your brain, not just your prompts.

Responsibilities
●   Build, maintain, and scale Laravel-based platforms and static content websites.
●   Collaborate on React Native mobile apps when required.
●   Respond to feature requests and technical issues with minimal supervision.
●   Test code locally and in development environments before deployment.
●   Lead the technical lifecycle of a ticket: from clarifying the requirements to final execution.

Technical Assessment & Interview Process
1.   Initial Screen: Review of your portfolio, video submission, and technical resume.
2.   Take-Home Assessment: Selected candidates will receive a technical assessment PDF. Note: We will discuss your use of AI during this stage; we look for transparency and validation skills.
3.   Live Technical Interview: A live session to check your logic, communication, and "intuition" in real-time.

Laravel Developer (PHP) - 17960