PHP Developer

Description
Whisker is redefining what it means to live with cats—designing intelligent systems that remove friction, elevate the everyday, and celebrate the quiet brilliance of feline companionship. Today, Litter-Robot leads the category. Tomorrow, an entire ecosystem that expands what’s possible for cats and the people who love them. We believe the future is feline. And we’re imagining that future today.

We work onsite 4+ days a week, with our team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Juneau, Wisconsin. Our team of 700+ passionate pet people thrives on collaboration, innovation, and the occasional office cameo from a four-legged friend.

What You’ll Do
The PHP Developer will build, enhance, and maintain the software and systems that power Whisker’s operations, including fulfillment of our Litter-Robots, Feeder-Robots, and other innovative pet products. This role is ideal for a mid-level developer with strong PHP expertise who is eager to contribute to core business systems and expand their technical skillset. Experience with ERP, MES, or similar enterprise systems is a strong bonus. The Specialist will collaborate across teams, actively participate in Agile processes, and deliver clean, maintainable, and efficient solutions that support Whisker’s global operations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
This list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities as deemed necessary.

Contributes to the development, enhancement, and maintenance of Whisker’s operations management systems

Collaborates with operations, manufacturing, and shipping teams to understand challenges and support solutions

Translates requirements into incremental deliverables, provide accurate estimates, and participate in Agile ceremonies (planning, stand‑ups, reviews, retros)

Writes, tests, and deploys clean, maintainable code across both back‑end and front‑end systems

Participates in code reviews, offering and receiving constructive feedback

Assists in designing and maintaining database schemas and queries

Develops and supports integrations with third‑party systems (e.g., shipping, returns, ERP)

Troubleshoots and resolves system issues with urgency and attention to detailCreates and maintains technical documentation for system functionality and processes

Writes and maintains unit and integration tests to ensure application reliability

Follows best practices in software development, including coding standards, testing, and Agile methodologies

Stays current with emerging technologies and recommends improvements for systems and processes

Will perform additional responsibilities when required

Requirements
What You’ll Bring

BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering and/or equivalent experience

2–3+ years of professional experience in web development with strong PHP expertise

Experience with modern MVC frameworks such as Laravel or Symfony

Experience developing REST APIs and integrating with third‑party APIs

Hands‑on experience with relational databases and writing efficient queries

Familiarity with project management tools for task/issue tracking

Experience participating in Agile teams and ceremonies

Exposure to maintaining and refactoring existing applications

Experience with unit testing frameworks (e.g., PHPUnit)

Proficiency in PHP (7.x/8.x) and object‑oriented programming

Strong understanding of MVC frameworks and clean code principles

Basic knowledge of cloud hosting and deployments (Azure preferred)

Front‑end skills: JavaScript, JQuery, SASS/LESS, with familiarity in build tools (Webpack, Gulp, or Grunt)

Familiarity with modern JS frameworks (React, Vue, Angular, or Svelte)

Exposure to CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker), and version control (Git)

Maintains confidentiality of proprietary information

Ability to maintain a professional atmosphere in a fast‑paced environment with numerous interactions and interruptions

Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with Team Members and colleagues

Comfortable with office pets (cats, dogs)

Not Required but Nice to Have

Experience working with ERP, MES, or other enterprise‑grade systems

Experience migrating PHP applications from older versions (7.x to 8.x)

Familiarity with caching (Redis, Memcache) and message queues (RabbitMQ or similar) is a plus

Hands‑on experience containerizing applications

Familiarity with accessibility/ADA compliance in web apps

Cloud certifications (Azure, AWS, or GCP)

Experience working cross‑functionally with non‑technical stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical deliverables

Not required to have pets, but highly recommended

Benefits & Perks

Premium Medical/Dental/Vision insurance

Paid parental leave

Whisker Parents Program

1 day “pawternity” leave for new pet adoption

Pet Insurance Discount

401K match

Flexible spending accounts

Company‑paid short‑term disability and life insurance

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Generous paid time off

14 Paid Holidays

Top of the line equipment

Pet‑friendly office

Whisker products and swag

Continuing education Support

On‑site gym with Peloton

Referral program

Statement of Inclusivity
We believe different perspectives make Whisker better and strive to create a place where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive.

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