Sr Software Engineer - Backend & Infrastructure
Ludus is looking for a Senior Software Engineer with a strong track record in developing and supporting web applications. This role primarily focuses on our legacy PHP and Laravel applications, while also contributing to infrastructure improvements to improve redundancy and promote better distribution of infrastructure knowledge across the engineering team.
Full-time · Remote (Michigan)
Ludus is a SaaS company that builds digital tools trusted by thousands of organizations of all sizes to power their event ticketing, marketing, fundraising, retail and registration needs.
Ludus is looking for a Senior Software Engineer with a strong track record in developing and supporting web applications. This role primarily involves working on legacy PHP and Laravel applications, and includes an infrastructure component to help improve redundancy and better distribute infrastructure knowledge across the engineering team. This is a long-term opportunity where the candidate will play a key role in optimizing performance, and ensuring reliability as the company continues to grow.
While the primary focus will be on full-stack PHP and Laravel development (potentially with a backend emphasis), the candidate will also collaborate with the SRE (Site Reliability Engineer) to assist with infrastructure tasks, DevOps improvements, and incident response readiness. This includes gaining hands-on experience with database backups, server deployments, and monitoring.
At Ludus, our mission is to bring people together through shared experiences. It’s 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, that’s not us. If you’re a self-starter and can thrive in controlled chaos, Ludus is the place for you — it’s time to find your role ⬇️
Application Stack: PHP and Laravel (TALL Stack) with a MySQL database. We are migrating to Laravel while maintaining our legacy system. You'll help stabilize and optimize both
Infrastructure: Linux, Nginx, Docker, Ansible, Cloudflare
Cloud Provider: We use Digital Ocean as our cloud provider
Key Challenges: Keeping our system fast, reliable, and scalable while modernizing our codebase.
Backend Development (80%)
Develop and maintain PHP & Laravel applications, balancing new feature development with legacy system maintenance.
Optimize system performance, security, and scalability at the application level.
Collaborate with the team to refactor and migrate our codebase from legacy PHP to Laravel.
Infrastructure & System Operations (20%)
Gain exposure to our overall infrastructure (database backup systems, server deployment, recovery processes, etc).
Assisting our Site Reliability Engineer with initiatives to improve our platform stability, scalability, uptime, and ease-of-maintenance.
Monitor server health, security, and application performance, proactively preventing downtime.
Assist in MySQL performance tuning and optimizations when needed.
Help triage and handle infra-related incidents.
Backend Development & PHP Experience
5+ years of PHP development experience - both framework (Laravel/Cake/Symfony - Laravel preferred) and non-framework PHP experience.
Strong understanding of OOP, functional programming, and software design principles.
Experience scaling and modernizing applications, not just maintaining them.
Deep understanding of HTTP protocols, API design, and database-driven applications.
Infrastructure & Performance Exposure
Comfortable working in Linux environments and optimizing Nginx, MySQL, and caching strategies.
Experience with developer-focused cloud providers like DigitalOcean or Linode (we don’t use AWS, so an AWS-heavy background may not translate directly).
Some hands-on experience or familiarity with Docker, Ansible, Cloudflare (Workers, Firewall, Load Balancing), and MySQL replication.
Interest in observability, including monitoring, logging, and alerting tools.
Security, Testing & Debugging
Experience writing secure, well-tested code and identifying vulnerabilities.
Strong debugging skills, including profiling, query optimization, and performance tuning.
Bonus Skills
Experience with Stripe or other payment APIs.
Familiarity with WebSockets or event-driven architectures.
Exposure to infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform, Pulumi, etc
Background in load testing and high-concurrency optimization.
Personal Attributes
Pragmatic & Improvement-Oriented – You balance quick solutions with long-term improvements.
Curious & Independent Problem-Solver – Always looking to learn and refine your craft.
Collaborative Communicator – Able to work closely with backend engineers, SREs, and non-technical stakeholders.
Attention to Detail: Exhibits a keen eye for detail, ensuring that code quality and system integrity are maintained, while also identifying potential issues before they escalate.
💪 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%).
🏊♂️ Employee Liquidity Pool — Ludus has a long-term focus, but in the event of an acquisition or IPO, a percentage will be allocated to employees.
👓 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 — We do not track sick days. If you're under the weather, we expect you to take the time needed to recover within reason.
Salary Range: $125,000 to $150,000
Hours: 9am - 5pm EST *Occasionally, urgent issues may require attention outside of normal hours.
Location: Remote - (Michigan)
Interested in joining our growing team? Then we'd love to hear from you!