Backend Engineer - PHP & MySQL
We are looking for an old-school backend engineer: 4+ years of native PHP and MySQL, a love of structure and the willingness to roll up your sleeves and tackle complex, business-critical systems.
About the role
You will build and maintain backend functionality in PHP on a large, custom-built e-commerce and back-office platform. You write native PHP, not just framework code, and you know your way around MySQL at a deep level: complex queries, indexes, transactions and data integrity. You translate complex business processes into reliable software, investigate performance bottlenecks in both application code and database queries, and integrate new functionality safely into existing operational processes. You take ownership from analysis through implementation and production. You will work closely with Product Owners, Information Analysts, Backend and Frontend Engineers, UX specialists and Data Analysts in fixed three-week sprints. Product ownership and technical direction remain with the client in the Netherlands, but you are expected to actively contribute ideas and challenge decisions when you see opportunities for improvement. This role suits someone who enjoys structure, gets energy from difficult problems and is not afraid to get their hands dirty in an existing, business-critical codebase.
About the company
Our client is a Dutch omnichannel retailer with international webshops, physical stores, warehouses and a complex operational backend. The platform supports product information, orders, inventory, logistics, assembly, point-of-sale and customer service, and is used by hundreds of colleagues and thousands of customers every day. Software directly supports daily operations, so changes in the backend can affect product availability, order processing and customer experience. The culture is pragmatic and business-driven: engineers are expected to understand the process behind a feature, ask questions and take responsibility for quality.
What we offer
Responsibilities
- Write clean, native PHP and refactor existing code to keep the platform structured and maintainable
- Translate complex business processes into reliable, maintainable software solutions
- Design, review and optimize complex MySQL queries on large transactional datasets
- Design and improve data models, indexes, transactions and data integrity
- Investigate performance bottlenecks in application code and database queries, and fix them at the root
- Integrate new functionality safely into existing operational processes
- Collaborate with Product Owners, analysts, developers, UX specialists and Data Analysts
- Participate in technical discussions, code reviews and three-week sprint ceremonies
- Help improve development practices, software quality and CI/CD processes
- Take ownership of your work from analysis through implementation and production
Requirements
- At least 4 years of professional experience as a Backend Developer or Backend Engineer
- Strong, native PHP skills: you can write, read and debug PHP without depending on a framework
- Excellent knowledge of MySQL and complex SQL queries
- Deep understanding of object-oriented programming and clean code structure
- Experience with relational data models and large transactional datasets
- Comfortable digging into an existing, business-critical codebase and improving it
- Experience using Git in a professional development team
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills: you enjoy complex challenges
- A proactive, hands-on mindset: you roll up your sleeves and get things done
- Excellent professional English communication skills
- Comfortable working independently while staying closely connected to the team
- The confidence to ask critical questions and challenge decisions when needed
- A formal Bachelor's or Master's degree is welcome, but demonstrable experience at the right level is what matters most
Nice to have
- Experience with large or high-traffic databases
- Query and database performance optimization
- Complex software architecture and long-running platforms
- E-commerce, marketplace or omnichannel retail environments
- Order, inventory, warehouse, logistics or payment systems
- CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices
- Automated testing
- GitHub, Jira and Confluence
Working model
Hybrid, 40 hours per week. You work from our office in Pristina 1-2 days per week and remote the rest of the week. You collaborate directly with the Dutch client team and need enough overlap with the Netherlands time zone to participate in sprints and technical discussions.
About tre plus
tre plus is a boutique nearshore partner that connects Dutch product teams with talented developers from Kosovo. We offer Developer as a Service and Team as a Service models, built on ownership, quality and long-term collaboration.
Interested in this role?
Send us your details and we'll get back to you within 72 hours.
We only hire people currently residing in Kosovo. Applicants from other countries will not receive a response.