Software Engineer Backend mit PHP (m/w/d)

Tandem is the leading global language learning community, where more than 30 million members from over 200 countries practice languages together. The concept of learning from each other is not only an integral part of the Tandem community but it is also at the heart of our everyday lives at Tandem. We are based in Berlin and are backed by top European investors. We are highly international and driven by a shared passion for languages, technology, and culture. We are looking for an entrepreneurial Backend Lead (PHP / Go) to join our team here in Berlin!

Help us make the shift from a monolithic architecture to a modern, microservices-based system - from legacy PHP to Golang microservices - in a high traffic environment. It’s a huge challenge, and we need a motivated Backend Lead (PHP / Go) to help us get there. If you're a backend pro who's ready to take the lead (even if you haven’t officially done it before), we’d love to talk!

Lead & Mentor: Guide and support a small but mighty team of 3 to 4 backend engineers, helping them grow and do their best work (e.g. building innovative features that enhance language learning experiences).

Shape the Tech Strategy: Work closely with our CTO to design and implement backend architecture, with a focus on transitioning from monolith to microservices.

Stay Hands-On: We want a leader who codes! Collaborate Across Teams: Work with Client Engineers, Product, Design, and Marketing to make sure our backend aligns with business goals and delivers a top-notch experience.

Own DevOps & Infra: Manage cloud deployments (AWS/Azure), keep CI/CD pipelines running, and champion Infrastructure as Code.

You’re a backend pro with strong skills in PHP and Go (yep, both!).

• 6+ years of experience in software engineering, ideally in a startup or scale-up where you’ve seen some serious growth.
• Cloud know-how —you’ve deployed and maintained production workloads on AWS or Azure and have a solid DevOps mindset.

You’ve worked cross-functionally with Client Engineers, Product, Design, and Marketing teams and can explain technical stuff without the jargon overload.

Even if you haven’t had an official leadership role yet, you’ve mentored others, led initiatives, or driven change in past roles.

The benefits

For those wanting to improve their German (or Denglisch!), you can join one of our German classes on us.

Pick a topic you’ve always wanted to explore for your professional development that has never made it out of your backlog. We offer Urban Sports Club gym memberships to boost our team’s physical and mental health. It takes a team to Tandem:

We organize regular team events: from day trips to monthly lunches, summer BBQs, and movie nights.

We know when to snooze Slack notifications, recharge our batteries, and take time out for our personal hobbies. As home office has become the new normal for some of us, it’s even more important to be able to switch off from work and relax.

Relocation without the stress:

If you’re looking to relocate to Berlin, we’re ready to assist you with the infamous German bureaucracy. Many of us have been through it before, so we have plenty of tips to share. It’s the best of both worlds, and we’ll support you in creating the perfect setup for this dynamic way of working.

Tandem is the leading global language learning app, where 30 million members in over 200 countries practice languages together. We are based in Berlin and are backed by top European investors. We are highly international and driven by a shared passion for languages, technology, and culture.