Things you should know before applying

At Ludus our mission is to bring people together through shared experiences. Its a big goal that allows for limitless expansion to make a difference in the world.

We get shit done move fast and are constantly learning and adapting. We embrace low process and high trust to navigate change and figure out what works.

We believe success is never final and when you think it is that is when you fail. For us success is a sum of small efforts including trial and error so we move at an unrelenting weekly pace.

In order to grow as a company and individually discomfort is necessary so we can continue exploring new ideas and push ourselves to build quality tools to offer the best solutions for our customers.

If you prefer a hand-holding environment where everything is black and white thats not us. If youre a self-starter and can thrive in controlled chaos Ludus is the place for you its time to find your role

Role Overview

As a Senior Software Engineer youll join our engineering team as a core contributor to this migration and beyond. Youll not only help us move to a Laravel-based architecture but also bring valuable long-term improvements to our system and development practices. This role is ideal for someone with a deep understanding of web technologies specific skillsets in PHP and Laravel and has a keen understanding of the challenges and opportunities that come with modernizing an existing application

IMPORTANT NOTE:

While our team generally works 9-5 EST Ludus offers a flexible work environment. We encourage employees to work in a way that suits them best. While its incredibly rare there may be occasions when urgent issues require immediate attention outside of normal hours. We maintain a rotating on-call schedule (approximately 5-6 weeks/year) to ensure fair distribution of any after-hours responsibilities among team members.

What youll be doing

• Transforming our platform: Collaborate with the team on migrating a legacy PHP application to Laravel establishing sustainable architecture patterns and supporting others in understanding and adopting new code structures.

• Building whats next: Develop new application features within the Laravel framework focusing on creating secure maintainable code.

• Maintain and Enhance Legacy Code: Assess and update the existing PHP codebase where necessary to improve performance security and functionality as we migrate.

• Mentoring and collaboration: Act as a senior contributor and resource within the team sharing expertise and supporting a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

• Infrastructure & Performance: Contribute to deployment automation server configuration and database optimization to keep our application fast secure and reliable.

Traits were looking for

(In no certain order)

• 5 years of web development experience: Solid experience in developing scaling and optimizing web applications particularly in PHP environments.

• Full-Stack Generalist with Deep HTTP Knowledge: Competent in HTML CSS JavaScript and PHP with a fundamental understanding of HTTP protocols headers cookies sessions requests and responses. Able to work fluidly across the stack and troubleshoot issues holistically.

• Strong experience with the Laravel Framework: While familiarity with Laravel is a major plus a broader understanding of web development fundamentals and modern practices is key.

• Pragmatic Approach to Problem Solving: We value a thoughtful approach that balances pragmatism and improvement. You should have a strong improvement mindset focused on sustainable solutions that make the system better with every task completed.

• Scalable Architecture Experience: Demonstrated experience contributing to scaling an application rather than only maintaining or patching an existing system. A background in optimizing systems for growth and scalability is essential.

• Strong Software Design Principles: A solid understanding of OOP principles (critical for working with Laravels architecture) and/or functional programming practices with the ability to apply these to design clean maintainable code structures.

• Curiosity and Independent Problem-Solving: Demonstrated ability to proactively learn and explore new solutions technologies and methodologies. This role values a natural curiosity and commitment to tackling challenges with a mindset that actively seeks improvement and optimization.

• Continuous Improvement & Impact Assessment: A mindset focused on measurable improvements both in your contributions and the systems overall state. You are someone who not only completes tasks but actively seeks to leave systems better than you found them with the ability to assess and articulate the impact of your work.

• Testing & Security Mindset: Regularly employs testing as a tool for preventing regressions as well as experience measuring and addressing security risks. Familiarity with security tools (e.g. SonarCloud) and experience implementing security best practices in code are highly valued.

• Performance & Debugging Proficiency: Experience with debugging and profiling for performance improvements. Able to analyze optimize and streamline code to improve overall application efficiency.

• Database & Query Optimization: Strong understanding of relational databases specifically MySQL. Skilled in writing and optimizing complex queries with experience in database design configuration partitioning and using tools like Phinx or Artisan for migrations.

• CI/CD and Deployment Experience: Familiarity with DevOps tools Linux servers and continuous integration and deployment strategies including Docker and container management. Experience automating deployment pipelines to streamline and stabilize releases.

BONUS Qualifications:

• Experience with Stripe or other payment processing APIs.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Pragmatic Problem Solver: Able to balance immediate needs with long-term scalability making informed decisions that benefit both the project and the overall system.

• Collaborative & Communicative: Demonstrates the ability to work effectively within a team showing humility and curiosity. Capable of translating complex technical concepts into clear understandable language for non-technical stakeholders and less experienced developers.

• Curiosity & Initiative: A lifelong learner with a proactive approach to problem-solving always exploring new technologies and methodologies to enhance development processes and outcomes.

• Adaptable & Resilient: Thrives in a dynamic environment able to pivot quickly in response to changing priorities or challenges while maintaining focus on the end goal.

• Mentor: Eager to share knowledge and guide less experienced team members fostering a culture of growth and learning within the team.

Perks

Health Insurance (Medical Vision Dental) Provided by Blue Cross Blue Shields and Guardian. Ludus covers 90% of the premium of our employees and 50% of all dependents.

401(k) matching Full match on the first 5% contribution and 50% match on the next 5% of contribution (7.5% contribution match by Ludus if you contribute 10%).

Profit Sharing and Stock Options We believe in sharing our success and offer annual profit-sharing bonuses during profitable years along with stock options that give employees a stake in our long-term growth and success.

Personal Wellness $50 monthly reimbursement that can be used on anything personal wellness related.

Experience Credit $100 yearly reimbursement toward concert tickets theatre tickets etc. to encourage shared experiences.

Flexible PTO Take the time you need for vacation or personal days - simply work with your team to ensure everything runs smooth while you are away.

Sick Days If youre under the weather we expect you to take the time needed to recover within reason.

Role Details

• Salary Range: $130-150k

• Location: Hybrid West MI - Based in Holland and Grand Rapids Michigan.
  

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Interested in joining our growing team Then wed love to hear from you!