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EMPIRE · 3 months ago

Lead Backend Engineer, Content Management (PHP/Laravel)

EMPIRE San Francisco

Full-time

Onsite

Senior Level

$120K/yr - $160K/yr

5+ years exp

EMPIRE is a premier and dynamic music company that prides itself on the development and support of independent artists. They are seeking a Lead Backend Engineer to own the architecture, development, and scaling of backend systems for their music content management platforms. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in PHP and strong systems design experience, particularly in the music industry.

Information TechnologyMusicMusic Label

Growth Opportunities

Responsibilities

Own the architecture, design, and implementation of robust, scalable backend systems and APIs that support our music content management and distribution systems

Build scalable, secure, and maintainable backend code using PHP (vanilla + Laravel)

Drive backend performance, availability, and resilience across core applications

Establish and enforce best practices in code quality, testing, database design, and deployment

Mentor and guide backend engineers, providing technical direction and career growth support

Collaborate cross-functionally with product, frontend, and media operations teams to deliver seamless, integrated solutions

Lead evaluation and adoption of backend frameworks, libraries, and infrastructure tooling

Contribute to technical strategy and long-term planning for backend architecture to support company growth

Qualification

PHPLaravelAPI designMySQL/PostgreSQLAutomated testing frameworksPerformance optimizationContent management applicationsLeadership skillsCollaboration skillsCommunication skills

Required

5+ years of professional backend engineering experience, including at least 2+ years leading PHP/Laravel development efforts

Strong hands-on experience with PHP (vanilla and Laravel), MySQL/PostgreSQL, and API design

Proven ability to lead and mentor technical teams

Expertise in designing and scaling content management applications, large-scale backend services, and media processing systems

Experience building and integrating RESTful APIs (GraphQL a plus)

Proficiency in automated testing frameworks for backend systems (e.g., PHPUnit, Pest)

Strong grounding in performance optimization, caching strategies, and database profiling

Excellent leadership, collaboration, and communication skills in cross-functional environments

Comfortable context switching between legacy code and newer codebases

Proven track record in data modeling, database design, and schema optimization

Preferred

Familiarity with modern music industry workflows and standards (royalties, rights management, metadata, DSP delivery)

Experience integrating with third-party APIs common in the music ecosystem (e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Content ID)

Understanding of music industry data formats (DDEX and other proprietary formats)

Knowledge of DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform)

Experience in compliance-heavy environments (GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2, handling of sensitive rights/royalty data)

Background in distributed systems design, event-driven architecture, and/or microservices

Prior experience working on digital media or SaaS platforms for creative industries

Benefits

Competitive Compensation Package

Competitive Benefits Package

Company Paid Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability Insurance

Company Paid Health Savings Account (HSA) Contribution

Healthcare Spending Account (FSA)

Paid Time Off (Holidays, Vacation, and Sick)

Company 401(k) Plan

Wellness Resources

Commuter Allowance

Cell Phone Allowance

Company

EMPIRE

Founded in 2010 by Bay Area native Ghazi, EMPIRE is currently leading through its innovative and progressive approach to the digital music era across its label, distribution and publishing arms.

Founded in 2010

San Francisco, California, USA

201-500 employees