EMPIRE
Lead Backend Engineer (Publishing, PHP/Laravel)
EMPIRE, San Francisco, California, United States, 94199
Overview
Lead Backend Engineer (Publishing, PHP/Laravel) at EMPIRE. Lead backend role focused on architecture, development, and scaling of backend systems powering the music publishing management platform. EMPIRE is a premier and dynamic music company known for development and support of independent artists, with a global presence and a broad range of music-related services from original content and marketing to distribution and recordings. Responsibilities
Own the architecture, design, and implementation of application code and APIs for our music publishing SaaS platform. Build scalable, secure, and maintainable backend code using PHP (vanilla + Laravel). Implement and maintain workflows for publishing data ingestion, validation, transformation, and delivery. Drive backend performance, availability, and resilience across rights, works, and royalty processing pipelines. 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 publishing teams to deliver seamless, industry-compliant 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 publishing industry standards and company growth. Qualifications
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), relational databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL), and API design. Proven ability to lead and mentor backend engineering teams. Expertise in designing scalable data models for complex datasets. 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. Nice To Have
Deep familiarity with music publishing concepts: works, rights, royalties, splits, licensing, and publishing agreements. Experience with industry-standard publishing data formats and flows, such as CWR, DDEX, and metadata exchange. Knowledge of DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform). Experience in compliance-heavy environments (GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2, sensitive rights and royalty data). Background in distributed systems design, event-driven architecture, or microservices. Prior experience working on SaaS products tailored to music publishing or rights management. Range: $120,000 - $160,000/annual salary + benefits + discretionary bonus + profit sharing program. The base pay offered will take into account internal equity and may vary based on market location, knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package may include other elements depending on the position offered. Details of participation in benefits will be provided with an offer of employment. EMPIRE values diversity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you are passionate about the music industry and seek a challenging role in a fast-paced, innovative environment, apply today. We look forward to hearing from you. Seniorities
Mid-Senior level Employment type
Full-time Job function
Engineering and Information Technology Perks Playlist
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 and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Paid Time Off (Holidays, Vacation, and Sick) Company 401(k) Plan Wellness Resources Commuter Allowance Cell Phone Allowance About EMPIRE: Founded in 2010, EMPIRE is a leading independent music company with a focus on artist development, publishing, distribution, and analytics software for partners. We use E-Verify to confirm identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.
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Lead Backend Engineer (Publishing, PHP/Laravel) at EMPIRE. Lead backend role focused on architecture, development, and scaling of backend systems powering the music publishing management platform. EMPIRE is a premier and dynamic music company known for development and support of independent artists, with a global presence and a broad range of music-related services from original content and marketing to distribution and recordings. Responsibilities
Own the architecture, design, and implementation of application code and APIs for our music publishing SaaS platform. Build scalable, secure, and maintainable backend code using PHP (vanilla + Laravel). Implement and maintain workflows for publishing data ingestion, validation, transformation, and delivery. Drive backend performance, availability, and resilience across rights, works, and royalty processing pipelines. 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 publishing teams to deliver seamless, industry-compliant 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 publishing industry standards and company growth. Qualifications
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), relational databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL), and API design. Proven ability to lead and mentor backend engineering teams. Expertise in designing scalable data models for complex datasets. 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. Nice To Have
Deep familiarity with music publishing concepts: works, rights, royalties, splits, licensing, and publishing agreements. Experience with industry-standard publishing data formats and flows, such as CWR, DDEX, and metadata exchange. Knowledge of DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform). Experience in compliance-heavy environments (GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2, sensitive rights and royalty data). Background in distributed systems design, event-driven architecture, or microservices. Prior experience working on SaaS products tailored to music publishing or rights management. Range: $120,000 - $160,000/annual salary + benefits + discretionary bonus + profit sharing program. The base pay offered will take into account internal equity and may vary based on market location, knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package may include other elements depending on the position offered. Details of participation in benefits will be provided with an offer of employment. EMPIRE values diversity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you are passionate about the music industry and seek a challenging role in a fast-paced, innovative environment, apply today. We look forward to hearing from you. Seniorities
Mid-Senior level Employment type
Full-time Job function
Engineering and Information Technology Perks Playlist
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 and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Paid Time Off (Holidays, Vacation, and Sick) Company 401(k) Plan Wellness Resources Commuter Allowance Cell Phone Allowance About EMPIRE: Founded in 2010, EMPIRE is a leading independent music company with a focus on artist development, publishing, distribution, and analytics software for partners. We use E-Verify to confirm identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.
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