Application Developer

Based onsite in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the Application Developer role at Vanguard Dealer Services focuses on building and maintaining production-grade web applications using PHP and Symfony, with REST and SOAP integrations and AI-assisted tooling.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain production-grade web applications using PHP and the Symfony framework, with approximately 3-5+ years of experience.
• Design, implement, and maintain software solutions aligned with architectural guidelines and framework best practices.
• Contribute to complex codebases while upholding high standards for quality, maintainability, and scalability.
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of user interface and user experience principles.
• Design and deliver intuitive, responsive user experiences using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• Leverage Symfony ecosystem tools such as Twig, Live Components, Stimulus, and Turbo to deliver modern interfaces.
• Maintain a solid understanding of application architecture, abstraction layers, and software design patterns.
• Integrate internal and third-party systems via REST and SOAP APIs.
• Maintain strong working knowledge of relational databases, preferably PostgreSQL and/or MySQL, including schema design, query optimization, and data modeling.
• Utilize AI tools to improve development productivity, code quality, documentation, testing, and solution delivery.
• Identify opportunities to incorporate AI capabilities into business applications to improve efficiency, automation, decision support, and user experience.
• Demonstrate curiosity and interest in understanding business processes and operational challenges.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent work experience.
• 3 to 5 years of relevant experience.
• Proficiency with PHP, HTML, JavaScript, and MySQL.
• Experience with REST and SOAP APIs.
• Experience working in a traditional LAMP stack.
• Familiarity with Linux and version control systems (SVN or Git).
• Go language experience is a plus.
• Docker experience is a plus.
• Experience developing and shipping containerized environments using Docker, Podman, etc.
• Self-starter who thrives in a collaborative engineering environment.

Technologies

• PHP
• Symfony
• Twig
• Live Components
• Stimulus
• Turbo
• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript
• REST
• SOAP
• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• Docker
• Podman
• GoLANG
• Git
• SVN
• Linux

Benefits

• 401K with company match
• Medical, vision and dental insurance
• Paid vacation, Sick, Holiday, and personal time
• Career advancement opportunities

Principal Purpose of Position

The Developer will play an integral part building functional applications and databases.