PHP Application Architect

Who We Are

We’re Dealer Tire, a family-owned, international distributor of tires and parts established in 1918 in Cleveland, OH. We’re laser focused on helping the world’s largest and most trusted auto manufacturers grow their tire business—in fact, we’ve sold more than 60 million tires to date. We’re a thriving company, and we’re looking for driven individuals to join our team. That’s where you come in!

Base Pay Range:

The Application Architect PHP, a fully remote position, will report directly to the Distinguished Engineer in the Dealer Tire CEG Technology group. They play a critical role in designing, integrating, and implementing components to meet the organization's needs, while collaborating with various teams to maintain the desired future-state code and systems. This role requires strong critical and analytical thinking — the ability to evaluate complex trade-offs, diagnose root causes, and make sound architectural decisions in a fast-moving environment.

As Application Architect - Consumer Technology - PHP, your essential job responsibilities will include the following:

Architect and Integrate Components

• Architect and integrate components to meet the needs of the organization, with a primary focus on PHP/Symfony-based systems.
• Collaborate with peers, engineering leadership, and subject matter experts to develop and maintain the organization's desired future-state code and systems.
• Apply critical and analytical thinking to evaluate architectural trade-offs and recommend scalable, maintainable solutions.

Develop and Implement Solutions

• Develop and implement solutions both incrementally (near-term sprints) and strategically (long-term roadmap).
• Perform and facilitate requirements analysis, coordinate user acceptance testing, and manage competing resources and priorities through sprint planning.
• Integrate and build AI-powered features into products, leveraging LLM APIs (e.g., Claude/Anthropic) and emerging AI tooling to deliver intelligent user experiences.
• Champion the use of AI development tools (e.g., Claude, Google Gemini) to accelerate team velocity and code quality.

Maintain System and Infrastructure Availability

• Incorporate methods to maintain high system and infrastructure availability.
• Document and communicate the results of your efforts clearly across technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Other Duties as Assigned

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Minimum of 7 years' experience as an application developer utilizing required technologies.
• Experience leading both onshore and offshore teams.
• Demonstrated ability to think critically and analytically — including evaluating and decomposing requirements, asking targeted clarifying questions to resolve ambiguity, assessing technical trade-offs, identifying risks, and communicating well-reasoned decisions clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Extensive proficiency in PHP 8 and the Symfony framework, following PSR-12 coding standards and common design patterns.
• Strong understanding of API design and implementation, including RESTful APIs and webhooks.
• Experience with JIRA, GitHub, and related DevOps tooling.
• Proficiency in applying and building with AI tools — including using AI assistants (Claude is a plus) in daily development and integrating LLM-based capabilities into products.
• Results-oriented, with an agile mindset and strong intuitive problem-solving skills.
• Self-motivated, able to work independently, and capable of recognizing implications and impacts of technical decisions.
• Excellent project management (JIRA), communication, and interpersonal skills.
•  Ability to thrive under changing deadlines and aggressive priorities in a fast-paced, high-growth business environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of Single Sign-On (SSO) protocols and identity federation standards (e.g., SAML, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect).
• Ability to create thorough technical designs from requirements and review AI-generated designs for correctness, completeness, and alignment with architectural standards.
• Ability to review code against requirements and technical designs, ensuring adherence to intent, quality standards, and design specifications.

Physical Job Requirements

• Continuous viewing from and inputting data to a computer screen
• Sitting for long periods of time
• Travel as needed (up to 10%)

Drug Policy

• Dealer Tire is a drug-free environment.  All applicants being considered for employment must pass a pre-employment drug screening before beginning work.

This position is targeted to be closed on:

Why Dealer Tire: An amazing opportunity to join a growing organization, built on the efforts of hard working, innovative, and team-oriented people. The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and geographic location. The total compensation package may also include commission, bonus or profit sharing. We offer a competitive & comprehensive benefit package including: paid time off, medical, dental, vision, and 401k match (50% on the dollar up to 7% of employee contribution). For more information on our benefit offerings, please visit our Dealer Tire Family of Companies Benefits Highlights Booklet.

EOE Statement: Dealer Tire is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, veteran status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status or disability (in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act*), or any other legally protected status, with respect to employment opportunities. 

*ADA Disclosure: Any candidate who feels that they may need an accommodation to complete this application, or any portions of same, based on the impact of a disability should contact Dealer Tire’s Human Resources Department to discuss your specific needs. Please feel free to contact us at 1-800-933-2537 x6550.