How to apply for Senior PHP Developer

About AMPECO

AMPECO is a fast-growing SaaS company building the platform that powers EV charging networks globally, directly contributing to the acceleration of sustainable transportation. Working here means tackling complex, real-world problems at the intersection of energy, mobility, and cloud-scale software, with a mission that has tangible environmental impact.

About the role

As a Senior PHP Developer at AMPECO, you will be a key architect of the core platform that manages EV charging infrastructure for businesses worldwide. Your work will directly influence how reliably and efficiently thousands of charging stations operate, from designing scalable APIs to ensuring the codebase remains clean and testable as the company scales.

A typical day

You’ll start your day with a stand-up, then dive into designing a new API endpoint for real-time charging session monitoring or refactoring a legacy module for better scalability. After lunch, you might review a teammate’s pull request, pair on a tricky database query, and wrap up by writing tests for your latest feature before pushing to CI. Collaboration is constant, and your code will ship to production frequently, directly impacting how EV drivers charge their vehicles.

Who AMPECO is looking for

• 5+ years of professional PHP development, with at least 3 years using an MVC framework (e.g., Laravel, Symfony) in a SaaS or multi-tenant environment.
• Proven experience designing and integrating REST APIs that handle high traffic and complex business logic, ideally in IoT or infrastructure-adjacent domains.
• Strong background in relational databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL), including query optimization and schema design for scalable solutions.
• Comfortable with AWS or similar cloud platforms, CI/CD pipelines, and writing comprehensive unit and feature tests to maintain code quality.

Tips for this application

• Highlight any experience with IoT, energy management, or real-time data processing—AMPECO’s platform deals with live charging sessions, so relevant domain knowledge stands out.
• Showcase your contributions to scalable architectures: quantify user loads, transaction volumes, or system uptime improvements in your resume bullet points.
• Demonstrate familiarity with AMPECO’s tech stack by mentioning specific tools (e.g., Laravel, MySQL, AWS, GitLab CI) in your application, as they likely use these daily.
• Include links to your GitHub or code samples that show clean, well-tested PHP code, especially if they involve API integrations or cloud services.
• In your cover letter, explicitly connect your work to AMPECO’s mission—explain why accelerating EV charging infrastructure motivates you personally and professionally.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your experience building and maintaining scalable SaaS platforms using PHP and MVC frameworks, with concrete examples of how you improved performance or reliability.', 'A specific project where you designed or integrated REST APIs that handled significant traffic or complex data flows, ideally in a real-time or IoT context.', 'Your approach to code quality: how you use unit/feature tests, code reviews, and CI tools to ensure maintainable code in a collaborative team.', 'Your motivation to work at AMPECO: tie your personal interest in sustainable technology and EV adoption to the company’s mission and product.']

Research before applying

• Explore AMPECO’s website and product pages to understand their EV charging management platform, key features, and target customers (e.g., charge point operators, businesses).
• Read about the EV charging industry and common technical challenges (e.g., OCPP protocol, load balancing, roaming) to speak intelligently about the domain.
• Check AMPECO’s engineering blog or tech talks (if available) to learn about their architecture, tech stack, and engineering culture.
• Look up recent news or funding announcements about AMPECO to understand their growth stage and strategic priorities.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• Deep dive into your experience with MVC frameworks (likely Laravel or Symfony): architecture patterns, dependency injection, and how you structure large applications.
• Designing a REST API for a high-throughput system: how you handle versioning, authentication, rate limiting, and data consistency.
• Database scaling strategies: indexing, query optimization, and handling relational data in a multi-tenant SaaS environment.
• Your approach to testing: what you test, how you mock external services, and how you integrate tests into CI/CD pipelines.
• Scenario-based questions about EV charging: how you would model charging sessions, handle real-time status updates, or integrate with hardware protocols like OCPP.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Submitting a generic resume that doesn’t highlight SaaS, MVC, or API experience—AMPECO needs to see direct relevance to their platform’s requirements.
• Neglecting to mention testing or CI/CD in your application; they explicitly require experience with unit/feature tests and CI tools, so omitting this suggests a lack of rigor.
• Failing to connect your work to their mission: AMPECO is driven by sustainability, so not showing interest in EV charging or clean tech can make you seem like a poor cultural fit.