Senior PHP Developer (Laravel)

Paramount students take the pain out of studying abroad for both students and universities. All courses across the country in one view, smooth application process, a great selection of nearby accommodation, and a welcoming international community, and many local events and interest-based groups to create a once in a lifetime, culturally enriching experience.

Position: Senior PHP Developer (Laravel)

Duration: 20 Weeks

Compensation: Unpaid (with potential for paid employment)

This is an unpaid internship that will run for 20 weeks. During this period, you will gain valuable experience and contribute to meaningful projects.

This internship is unpaid. However, based on your performance and the successful acquisition of company funding, there is the potential for this role to transition into a paid position after the internship period. At the end of the 20 weeks, candidates who demonstrate exceptional performance will receive a pre-agreement, with payment commencing upon securing funding.

Overview:

Paramount Students by Plentora is building the future of global student mobility. Our digital ecosystem connects students with high schools, universities, and verified education services, making the international study journey seamless, accessible, and community-driven.

We?re looking for a Senior PHP Developer with deep Laravel expertise to lead the development of our backend architecture. In this leadership volunteer role, you?ll build scalable systems and APIs that power our global platform for students and education partners.

This is a volunteer, unpaid opportunity ideal for experienced professionals looking to build something meaningful from the ground up. Top performers will be considered for future paid roles and equity opportunities (ESOP) after our upcoming funding round.

Responsibilities:

? Backend Development: Lead the design and development of RESTful APIs and server-side logic using Laravel (v10+).

? Database Design: Architect scalable and efficient database schemas using MySQL or PostgreSQL.

? Security & Performance: Ensure backend systems are secure, performant, and built with best practices in mind.

? Integration: Build integrations with third-party services (payment gateways, email systems, analytics, etc.).

? Code Quality: Enforce clean code principles, write unit/integration tests (PHPUnit), and manage CI/CD workflows.

? Collaboration: Work closely with frontend developers (Vue.js), product leads, and designers to deliver end-to-end features.

? Mentorship: Support and review work from junior developers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and clean architecture.

? Documentation: Maintain comprehensive documentation of API endpoints, logic, and systems architecture.

Qualifications:

? 4+ years of experience building production applications with Laravel and PHP.

? Deep understanding of MVC architecture, Eloquent ORM, queues, jobs, events, and middleware.

? Experience designing RESTful APIs and working with frontend teams on full-stack features.

? Strong knowledge of MySQL or PostgreSQL database management and optimization.

? Familiarity with version control (Git), Agile methodologies, and tools like GitHub, Jira, or Notion.

? Experience deploying Laravel apps on cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, DigitalOcean, Laravel Forge) is a plus.

? Prior experience in startups, edtech, or building 0 to 1 product is highly desirable.

? Excellent communication skills and leadership mindset for a remote-first team.