Backend Developer

Build the next generation of e-commerce technology as a Senior Backend Developer PHP/Symfony, with a focus on AI and e-commerce, at Hygi.de GmbH & Co. KG. You will help shape the systems behind a major online shop serving more than 3 million customers and offering over 140,000 products. About The Company Hygi.de GmbH & Co. KG is a leading German online retailer for medical products, hygiene supplies, and cleaning products. Since 2003, the company has continued to expand its offering and now serves more than 3.2 million customers with a range of over 140,000 products. Around 300 employees contribute to the company’s growth and success. Hygi.de combines deep industry expertise with modern digital infrastructure, streamlined decision-making, and a culture that values innovation, ownership, and teamwork. Based in Telgte, near Münster, the company offers an environment where technology teams can work closely with business stakeholders and make a meaningful impact. About The Role As a Senior Backend Developer, you will join a backend team of four developers and work closely with the Shop Team Lead. You will take ownership of backend architecture, develop complex e-commerce features, and help establish high standards for code quality and engineering practices. The role brings together software engineering, artificial intelligence, and business outcomes. You will use AI tools thoughtfully in your development workflow, assess potential AI applications for the shop, and help turn promising ideas into reliable, commercially valuable solutions. Qualifications You have at least five years of professional experience developing backend applications with modern PHP and Symfony. You bring a strong understanding of software architecture and can evaluate approaches such as domain-driven design, modular monoliths, microservices, and event-driven architecture. You are comfortable working with MySQL and understand performance optimization, caching, and message queues. You have practical experience using AI coding assistants or coding agents, such as Claude Code, Cursor, or GitHub Copilot, and can critically review AI-generated code. You balance technical quality with business value and communicate effectively with developers, product owners, and other teams. Very good German and good English skills are required. Experience with LLM APIs, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), embeddings, vector databases, agentic workflows, e-commerce platforms, or integrations with ERP, payment, and logistics systems is an advantage. Mentoring or supporting the development of other engineers is also welcome. Responsibilities Develop and evolve the backend architecture using PHP 8.x and Symfony, making well-reasoned decisions that support scalability, maintainability, and performance. Design and implement sophisticated shop functionality across checkout, pricing, product assortment, search, and fulfillment. Promote code quality through clean code practices, automated testing, code reviews, and CI/CD. Use AI coding assistants and agents to support development, refactoring, testing, and documentation, while helping the team establish responsible, effective AI-assisted workflows. Identify and evaluate practical AI opportunities for the shop, including intelligent search, product data enrichment, recommendations, and process automation. Translate business objectives into technical solutions, considering measures such as conversion, average basket value, margin, and process costs. Act as a technical partner to product owners, developers, and business teams, and share your knowledge across the team. The technology environment includes PHP 8.x, Symfony, MySQL, Redis, RabbitMQ, Git, CI/CD, on-premise hosting, Jira, and Confluence. Benefits Hygi.de offers a secure position in a growing e-commerce business, competitive compensation, and a contribution toward occupational pension provision. Benefits include 30 days of annual leave, flexible working hours with flexitime, and individual professional development opportunities. You can also enjoy employee discounts across the product range, modern workspaces and digital tools, bike leasing, regular team events, and complimentary drinks, fruit, and snacks. Equal Opportunity Hygi.de GmbH & Co. KG welcomes applicants of all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive workplace. The company values diversity in origin, skin color, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, disability, and personal beliefs. Different perspectives and experiences help the team innovate and achieve exceptional results together.