Senior Full Stack Developer

About ScholarshipOwl ScholarshipOwl is the largest scholarship marketplace in the US, using AI to connect 14 million students who are looking for scholarships with companies that are looking for students. Our mission is to make education financing more accessible and engaging, while giving brands a way to connect with the next generation. We’re powered by AI technology that simplifies scholarship discovery, streamlines the application process, and delivers measurable results for both students and partners. Whether it’s helping students secure funding or enabling brands to run impactful campaigns, we’re reshaping how education is funded — and discovered. The Role We’re looking for a highly skilled and innovative Senior Full-Stack Engineer to architect high-performance web applications and accelerate our development velocity across our B2B platform. You’ll play a pivotal role in bridging modern Nuxt 3/4 frontend applications—including customer management portals and embeddable widget engines—with a robust Laravel and Doctrine ORM backend API, delivering seamless experiences that connect millions of students to funding opportunities. You will own the technical implementation of core products across our entire stack, working with PHP 8.2+, Laravel, MySQL, and Vue 3 / Nuxt 3/4. Beyond traditional engineering, this role champions efficiency: you will deeply integrate AI-native workflows (using tools like Cursor and Google Gemini) to double shipping velocity, automate test coverage, and build intelligent LLM-driven platform features. If you are passionate about full-stack architecture, widget infrastructure, and leveraging AI to build smarter and faster, this role is for you. What You’ll Do Full Lifecycle Development: Architect, build, and ship end-to-end B2B features across the stack- from Laravel/Doctrine JSON:API endpoints to reactive Nuxt 3/4 Vue components and server routes.Embed & Analytics Engine: Develop and optimize high-performance embedded widget systems, Nitro server engine logic, iframe cross-origin messaging, client event-tracking SDKs, and data ingestion pipelines.API & Database Architecture: Design robust relational database schemas (MySQL), Doctrine entity mappings, clean migrations, performant RESTful/JSON:API contracts, and Redis caching layers.AI-Native Acceleration: Integrate AI coding tools (Cursor, Gemini) into daily development for rapid feature prototyping, code refactoring, test generation, and building LLM-driven product features (e.g., automated applicant evaluation).Third-Party Integrations*:* Integrate and maintain core third-party services and APIs, including CRM platforms, error tracking systems, payment gateways, and cloud data servicesAutomated Testing & Quality: Establish comprehensive automated test coverage (PHPUnit for backend, Playwright and Vitest for E2E/components) integrated into CI/CD pipelines to guarantee zero regressions.Mentorship & Code Reviews: Conduct thorough, constructive code reviews and collaborate closely with product managers, QA engineers, and leadership to elevate team standards. Required Qualifications (Must Haves) Experience: 4+ years of professional full-stack web development experience, with at least 1+ year actively incorporating AI coding assistants into daily engineering workflows.Backend Expertise (PHP & Laravel): Strong commercial experience with PHP 8+ and Laravel (clean service architecture, queues/jobs, middleware, and OAuth2/Passport authentication).Frontend Mastery (Vue 3 & Nuxt 3/4): Deep proficiency in modern Vue 3 (Composition API), Nuxt 3 or Nuxt 4, TypeScript, Pinia state management, and Tailwind CSS.Database & ORM Skills: Strong relational database modeling and query optimization in MySQL, along with solid experience using ORMs (Doctrine ORM / DBAL or deep Eloquent experience with the ability to adapt to Doctrine quickly).API Design & Caching: Deep understanding of RESTful / JSON:API standards, server-side validation error mapping, request formatting, and Redis performance caching.AI-Native Workflow: Active daily use of AI coding tools (Cursor, Gemini) as a force multiplier for coding, debugging, and test creation.Automated Testing: Hands-on experience writing backend test suites (PHPUnit) and frontend/E2E tests (Playwright, Vitest, or Cypress).DevOps & Tooling: Solid working knowledge of Git, CI/CD release pipelines, Docker containerization, and Linux/container environments.Async Communication & Autonomy: Exceptional written technical communication skills for authoring PRs, architectural design docs, and issue tracking; high autonomy to navigate multi-service codebases, solve complex blockers independently, and drive initiatives. Good to Have Education & Background: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical software engineering experience.Certifications*:* Advanced degree or formal certifications in Cloud Architecture, Modern Software Engineering, or AI Engineering.Doctrine ORM: Direct production experience with Doctrine ORM / DBAL in Laravel environments.Widget & SDK Systems: Experience developing embeddable web widgets, lightweight JavaScript tracking SDKs, iframe cross-origin communication, or browser fingerprinting.Modern Tooling: Experience with Nitro server engines, Bun runtime, PrimeVue components, or streaming data into data warehouses (e.g., BigQuery).Payment Gateways: Integration experience with payment processors (Stripe/Braintree) and B2B subscription billing lifecycles.Gemini LLM Integration: Practical experience integrating Google Gemini models (prompt engineering, structured JSON outputs, Gemini API / SDKs).Cloud Infrastructure (GCP): Hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform (Cloud Run, Kubernetes, Cloud Build). Bonus Skills (The "X-Factor") Technical Leadership: Prior experience in a Tech Lead or Team Lead capacity—driving architectural decisions, coordinating delivery, and unblocking team members.Domain Knowledge: Background in high-growth B2B SaaS platforms, grant/applicant management systems, EdTech, recruitment/ATS tools, or conversion tracking ecosystems.Product-Minded Execution: Strong product ownership mindset—evaluating engineering trade-offs through the lens of user experience, conversion funnel impact, and tangible business value. Why Join ScholarshipOwl? Mission-Driven Work – Build technology that helps students unlock education opportunitiesFully Remote – Work from anywhere while collaborating with a global teamHigh Impact & Ownership – Small team, big challenges, real autonomyUnlimited PTO – Take time when you need it, we trust youCoworking Budget – $200/month to invest in your ideal coworking workspaceContinuous Learning Culture – We support curiosity, experimentation, and growthHardware Budget – Up to $1,600 to invest in your ideal computer.Annual Company Off-sites – Meet your teammates in person and connect beyond the screen Ready to lead and build something meaningful? Apply now and help us shape the future of AI-powered education.