## The Role

We're looking for a senior Backend PHP Developer to join the small team that builds and maintains **Orchestra**, StudioForty9's proprietary middleware platform.

Orchestra is the integration layer that connects our clients' Shopify storefronts to the rest of their business — ERPs, warehouse management systems, third-party logistics providers, POS systems, and more. It handles order routing, inventory synchronisation, fulfilment workflows, and a growing set of automated processes that allow Irish retail businesses to operate at scale across multiple channels.

This is a fully remote position.

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## What the Work Actually Looks Like

Orchestra is a mature, production platform running across 30+ client implementations. That shapes the nature of the role significantly, and we'd rather be upfront about it than oversell it.

The majority of the work is extending and maintaining a well-established codebase: onboarding new clients onto the platform, building client-specific integration modules, diagnosing and resolving issues in production, and incrementally improving how the platform works.

There are opportunities to take on larger, more substantial pieces of new development — but they need to fit cleanly within the existing architecture. You won't be rewriting things for the sake of it, and you won't be introducing patterns that can't be rolled out consistently across dozens of live client environments.

If you're looking for a greenfield-heavy role with constant context switching and shiny new tech every few months, this probably isn't it. If you take quiet satisfaction in doing difficult integration work well, in a platform that genuinely matters to the businesses running on it, read on.

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## What We Expect From You

**Seniority and ownership.** You'll be working in a small team of 3–4 developers. There's no one looking over your shoulder. You're expected to manage your own work, communicate proactively, and escalate when something needs it — not sit on a problem hoping it resolves itself.

**AI as a daily tool.** We use Claude Code as a standard part of the development workflow. If you're resistant to AI tooling, or haven't yet built up enough day-to-day exposure to have an instinctive reflex for when and how to use it, this role isn't the right fit. We don't expect you to have all the answers — we expect you to know how to find them efficiently.

**Solid judgment.** When you encounter something ambiguous or outside the brief, we expect you to think it through, form a view, and communicate clearly — not wait to be told what to do.

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## Requirements

- 5+ years of commercial PHP development experience
- Strong Symfony experience — Symfony certification is a plus
- Solid MySQL skills, including complex query writing and an understanding of performance implications
- Familiarity with the Shopify ecosystem, ideally including the Shopify GraphQL Admin API
- Experience integrating with third-party APIs and building reliable data pipelines or event-driven workflows
- Confident working in a remote team: clear written communication, good async habits, knows when to escalate
- Strong Git fundamentals

## Nice to Have

- Experience with infrastructure tooling: DigitalOcean, Terraform, Ansible
- Background in ecommerce operations or retail systems (ERP, WMS, POS integrations)
- Experience with queue-based architectures (e.g. RabbitMQ, Symfony Messenger)
- TDD/BDD experience
- Certifications in Shopify, PHP, MySQL, or Linux

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## Who We Are

StudioForty9 is a recognised leader in the Irish digital sector with a proven track record of delivering and continuously improving high-performance ecommerce solutions for some of Ireland's best-known retail brands.

We work at the intersection of ecommerce strategy, technology, and operations — helping ambitious retailers scale their online businesses, open new channels, and build the integrations and automation that make growth sustainable. We're platform-agnostic, independently minded, and we put long-term client relationships above short-term wins.

Our team is experienced and direct. We hire people who can do the work, take responsibility for it, and make good decisions without needing constant guidance.

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To apply, visit: [https://studioforty9.com/career/](https://studioforty9.com/career/)

Senior PHP Developer — Integrations Team (Remote)

Job Description