Senior Software Engineer - PHP

Join our Workforce Management (WFM) Integrations team and help shape the way support teams manage their operations across the globe. As a Senior Software Engineer, you’ll design and build scalable integration solutions that connect Zendesk’s core WFM capabilities with third-party systems - ensuring our customers can deliver efficient, data-driven support experiences.

You’ll work on impactful projects at the heart of Zendesk’s ecosystem, collaborating closely with engineering teams across regions, product managers, and external partners. This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to Zendesk’s growing engineering organization and to products that power seamless workforce management for millions of users.

What You'll Be Doing?

• Taking full ownership of designing, writing, testing, reviewing, and maintaining high-quality code for systems used by millions worldwide.

• Driving the entire SDLC -  from ideation and architecture through delivery and ongoing support - for projects involving multiple developers and complex requirements.

• Leading squad-based initiatives, influencing technical decision-making, and driving work that affects complex systems and mission-critical areas.

• Collaborating closely with product managers, engineers, and customer-facing teams to accurately translate business needs into effective technical solutions.

• Addressing technical debt proactively, breaking down complex tasks into manageable, actionable components, and leading by example through insightful, comprehensive code reviews.

• Monitoring and optimizing system performance, scalability, and reliability, setting a high standard for code quality and maintainability.

• Participating actively in the hiring process to attract top talent to Zendesk.

What Would You Bring to the Team?

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience in backend or integration engineering, designing and developing scalable microservices, distributed systems, and cloud-based solutions.

• Advanced proficiency in PHP, Laravel, PHPUnit & Codeception, Swoole, Docker, PostgreSQL and MySQL.

• Strong fluency with cloud platforms and services, preferably AWS.

• Profound understanding of programming best practices, distributed system concepts (eventual consistency, timeouts, partitioning, circuit breaking, etc.), and the SDLC.

• Hands-on experience with Kafka and event-driven architectures.

• In depth experience with REST API integrations, including third part applications integration.

• Strong ability to design, develop, and execute test cases to validate functionality, reliability, and scalability of delivered solutions.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to clearly articulate ideas, actively listen, and engage effectively with diverse teams.

• Proficient in Agile and Scrum methodologies.

• Passionate about continuous learning, mentoring other engineers, and driving continuous improvement.

• Adaptable and open-minded - you excel in managing changes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with the Go programming language.

• Experience working with ClickHouse or other analytical databases.

• Familiarity with monitoring and observability tools, preferably Datadog and Sentry.

• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines using tools like GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or Spinnaker.

• Previous experience working with Workforce Management (WFM) tools or platforms.

Tech Stack

• Backend: PHP, Laravel, Go

• Frontend: JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Redux

• Data & APIs: PostgreSQL, MySQL, ClickHouse, Kafka, Redis, REST, GraphQL

• Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS, Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, Spinnaker

• Monitoring: Datadog, Sentry