Backend PHP Developer - AWS / Serverless

Backend PHP Developer – AWS / Serverless On-Site – Evanston, IL Bear Claw is an AI-powered recruiting and applicant tracking platform built to help recruiters work smarter and place top talent faster. Our platform brings the recruiting workflow into one system—from candidate and job management to sourcing, outreach, and team collaboration. At the center is Cora, our conversational AI assistant, which uses vector search and LLM-powered technology to identify candidate-job matches, surface opportunities, and help recruiters take action faster. We are looking for a full-time Backend PHP Developer to join our development team and help build and scale the Bear Claw platform. Our core application is built primarily in PHP with a serverless AWS architecture. We're looking for a developer comfortable working in an established production environment—building new functionality, improving existing services, integrating APIs, and continuing to modernize the platform. This is a hands-on development role with significant ownership and direct collaboration with our product and development team. Key Responsibilities Build and improve backend services using PHP, AWS Lambda, API Gateway, and MySQLDevelop APIs, third-party integrations, and new product functionalityImprove the performance, reliability, and scalability of existing servicesRefactor and modernize existing code while troubleshooting production issuesCollaborate on architecture, code reviews, testing, and technical decisions Required Experience Strong professional PHP development experienceHands-on experience with AWS Lambda and serverless architectureExperience with REST APIs, integrations, and relational databases such as MySQLWorking knowledge of AWS services such as API Gateway, S3, CloudWatch, SQS, and SNSComfortable working within an established production codebase and owning projects from development through deployment Nice to Have Python and PostgreSQLExperience with AI/LLM-powered applicationsTypeScript / Node.jsDocker, CI/CD, or infrastructure-as-code experienceExperience with vector databases, RAG, LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar AI technologies Perks Competitive base salary with healthcare, dental, vision, and 401(k)Work closely with a small team where you'll have direct impact on the productHigh-performance, collaborative environment focused on building great technologyMultiple career advancement paths, including opportunities to develop specialized technical expertise or move into leadership