May 12, 2023 · 8 min read

PHP developer job description template

PHP is a popular programming language, and developers are in high demand. Unfortunately, hiring the right PHP developer for your company can take time and effort.

The good news is that help is at hand! Here at Gun.io, we’ve helped hundreds of companies hire talented developers, and this blog’s PHP developer job description template can help you attract highly skilled engineers.

When hiring a PHP developer, writing a concise job description that attracts suitable candidates is essential. The specifics you list in your job description will help candidates assess whether they’d fit your company well.

The PHP developer job description should include a list of responsibilities, required skills, and a section to showcase your company’s culture.

Don’t worry if this sounds overwhelming. Here at Gun.io, we know a thing or two about hiring PHP developers. That’s because we’ve helped hundreds of companies – from Fortune 500s to startups – hire talented engineers by tapping into our network. As a result, we can help you build the perfect PHP developer job description for full-stack and back-end engineers.

Before we dig deeper into the PHP developer job description template, let’s learn more about PHP developers.

What is a PHP developer?

A PHP developer uses the PHP programming language to create or modify software – primarily websites and apps. PHP developers often work in teams, collaborating with designers to ensure that front-end applications appeal to users.

To be successful, PHP developers need to know PHP frameworks, database technologies, web servers, server OSs, web fundamentals, and CMSs. They work mainly on the server side of the development process and are responsible for laying the foundations for online apps. They also provide behind-the-scenes web services.

For these reasons, PHP developers need to have a solid grasp of PHP frameworks and back-end development, be able to build responsive and successful apps, and troubleshoot any source code or security concerns.

PHP developer job description template

This PHP developer job description will do three things:

It will introduce candidates to your company’s culture and values
It will help candidates understand what the role will entail
It will get candidates excited about the possibility of working for your company!

You’re welcome to copy and edit this template as you see fit.

Okay, so let’s start with a detail that’s easy to overlook: The job title.

Job title

Think of your job title like a newspaper headline. It’s the first thing candidates see before reading your PHP developer job description, so it must capture their attention. After all, you want to attract candidates and get them to click through.

So how do you do this?

You want to keep the title short, but there’s a line. Make it too short, and you won’t capture a candidate’s attention. For example, a broad title like “PHP Developer” won’t stand out on a job board.

Instead, you should thread in qualifiers. Qualifiers can be things like seniority level and the type of PHP developer you’re looking for (front-end, back-end, full-stack).

Other technical qualifiers can also help, like required languages or frameworks. So can non-technical qualifiers, such as whether the role is full-time, part-time, or freelance. The role’s location (remote or office-based) is also worth mentioning.

An example of a good job title is “Senior PHP Developer – Database Engineer – Back-End (Remote)”. It details the seniority level, type of development work, and location.

Now that you’ve got your job title, it’s time to start crafting your PHP developer job description.

About the company

You want to make a strong first impression with your job description. One way to do this is by talking about your company in a way that gets candidates excited about what you do. Paint your company in its best light and highlight what makes it a great workplace.

This section can highlight key information about your company’s culture, size, mission, goals, and perks. These include benefits, office hours, or remote working possibilities. Anything that makes your company stand out.

Unlike most companies, we also try to inject humor into our job descriptions when recruiting at Gun.io. We’ll let you judge whether that’s working for us! (See below.)

Here’s one we made earlier:

About Gun.io

Gun.io is a technology company that connects great companies and proven software engineers who are the world’s best-hired guns. Our mission is to create joy through connection, collaboration, and achievement for the world’s professional class.

We believe that the current system for hiring and being hired as a software engineer isn’t working. For hirers, the process is long and time-intensive, typically requiring a developer from their team to pause their other work and manage technical vetting. On the other side, job seekers must wade through recruiter spam, repetitive interviews, code tests, and cryptic job descriptions just to answer the question: is this a job I want and would be good at?

Gun.io’s vetting and matching are designed and run by a team of developers passionate about fixing technical hiring. Each job posted to the Gun.io platform is vetted by a senior developer, and each new job seeker who joins the platform has a 1-1 conversation with a member of the team so we can personally pitch them to clients they’d love.

We believe in excellence, taking risks, and speaking the truth, and we take a talent-first approach to everything we do. Our fully-remote team is highly collaborative and indulgently nerdy. You’ll love working with Gun.io if:

You’re passionate about making talent and opportunity more accessible for all, especially those outside of the Silicon Valley bubble.
You have exceptional follow-through and organizational skills, and value teammates with the same.
You love chasing big ideas, pitching them to stakeholders, and taking the initiative to implement and test them.
You consider yourself to be a linchpin, not a cog.
You’re very nerdy about something. Star Wars, a particular subreddit, Web3, backyard chickens, famous guitar history, anything.
Career growth and financial success are core motivations for you.
You thrive in remote office environments.
You’re looking for a team culture that is curious, respectful, supportive, and at least once a day, hilarious.

About this role

You’re hiring a PHP developer (or three), and these devs know what a PHP job entails. They’ve done it before. But what does a PHP role mean for you?

You want to get to the point on your PHP developer job description. State what you’re looking for and what tasks a successful applicant will do when they join your company. One or two sentences should do the trick.

Here’s a sample:

To help drive our mission, our Programming team is looking for a Junior PHP developer. This developer will combine design and programming skills to upgrade existing applications and build new ones from scratch.

PHP developer responsibilities

This section is arguably the most important part of the PHP developer job description.

You want to be clear about the responsibilities associated with the role, so list them all. Be concise and clarify what you expect from a candidate if they join your company.

Here’s how it might look:

Develop user-facing elements in collaboration with front-end developers
Build efficient, testable, reusable PHP modules
Solve complex performance problems and architectural challenges
Integrate data storage solutions (databases, key-value stores, blob stores, etc.)
Conduct analysis of website and application requirements, and produce detailed specifications
Troubleshoot and fix issues related to PHP programs and web processes
Follow industry best practices and contribute in all phases of the development lifecycle
Create scripts to facilitate client systems to meet performance and objectives
Refactor, optimize, and improve existing code for maintenance and scale
Provide leadership for the IT team by fielding requests, prioritizing tasks/projects, providing coaching, and leading by example
Perform other duties as assigned

PHP developer requirements

Alright, it’s time for the nitty-gritty details. What will your PHP developer do on the job?

This section lists all the professional qualifications a candidate needs to apply for this role. It also includes mandatory technical skills.

Try not to go over the top here. For example, only include skills or years of experience if it’s a dealbreaker. Also, be realistic. Most candidates don’t have 20+ years of experience, so asking for this will significantly reduce your talent pool.

Here’s a sample:

3-5+ years of proven software development experience in PHP
Strong knowledge of PHP web frameworks, such as Laravel, Yii, and CodeIgniter
Understanding of the fully synchronous behavior of PHP and MVC design patterns
Good understanding of front-end technologies, including JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS3
Knowledge of object-oriented PHP programming and the ability to create scalable applications
Familiarity with SQL/NoSQL databases and their declarative query languages, including MySQL, Oracle, and MongoDB
Strong troubleshooting and debugging skills, and the ability to integrate multiple data sources and databases into one system
Knowledge of APIs like Google Maps and Instagram
Understanding of responsive design frameworks, such as Bootstrap
Experience with building restful JSON web services
Proficient understanding of code versioning tools, such as Git, Mercurial, CVS, and SVN
Excellent communication and verbal skills in English

Desired skills for PHP developers

Desired skills is an optional section. You can list any additional skills/requirements that would be desirable for candidates to have.

Here’s a sample:

High-level proficiency in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, and demonstrable knowledge of web technologies
Good knowledge of version control tools, relational databases, and developing web services
Experience in building and managing a content management system (CMS)
Expertise in identifying and fixing fundamental PHP 7 or web server vulnerabilities
{{List any professional certifications required for the role}}

Benefits of this role for PHP developers

It’s time to seal the deal!

In this section of your PHP developer job description, you can list the additional benefits/perks a candidate will receive by joining your company.

Here’s a sample:

{{Career & growth opportunities}}
{{Attractive salary and 401k matching}}
{{Medical Insurance}}
{{Remote working opportunities}}
{{Incentives and perks, such as the office’s location and flexible vacation allowance}}