Job Description

Full-Stack Developer (Laravel + Modern Frontend)
Location: San Diego, CA (US Based Remote acceptable)
Employment Type: Full-Time

**About Us**
R1 Learning makes R1 Discover, a behavioral health SaaS platform used across
healthcare, corrections, and education. Our evidence-based interactive
curriculum is available in both hands-on and digital formats, our curriculum
covers topics in Mental Health & Wellness, Substance Use & Addiction, and Life
Skills. Our products serve as engagement tools for clients, development tools
for the workforce, and generate highly structured data to support outcome
measurement.

**Job Description:**
We are a fast-growing SaaS company in behavioral health, looking for a Full-
Stack Developer to join our team. We're seeking a creator with an
entrepreneurial mindset, someone who is insanely curious and passionate about
solving complex problems.

You’ll work directly with our leadership team to design, build, and ship
features across our Laravel based platform. Our frontend is undergoing
modernization; you'll play a key role in evolving it from a jQuery/Blade
foundation toward a modern component-driven architecture. Our platform serves
sensitive populations in healthcare, corrections, and education, so security
isn't an afterthought, it's central to everything we build. This is a unique
opportunity to own projects end-to-end and directly shape a mission-driven
platform that is expanding rapidly across the nation in healthcare,
corrections, and education. This role has the potential to grow into a
leadership position as we scale our team.

**Key Responsibilities:**

Frontend
• Lead the modernization of our frontend from jQuery/Blade templates toward a
modern component-based framework (Vue.js 3 or React).
• Build responsive, accessible interfaces for interactive activities,
assessments, and dashboards using Bootstrap 5.
• Architect reusable UI components and establish frontend patterns and
standards for the team.
• Maintain and improve existing jQuery/Blade functionality during the
transition.
• Write frontend tests using Jest and maintain build pipelines (Laravel
Mix/Webpack).

Backend
• Develop and maintain features using Laravel 12 (PHP 8.3) within a modular
plugin-based architecture (~36 plugins).
• Design and optimize MySQL 8.0 queries and Redis caching strategies for
performance at scale.
• Build and maintain RESTful APIs that serve both internal frontends and
third-party integrations.
• Write and maintain tests using PHPUnit, and use static analysis tools
(Larastan/PHPStan) and Laravel Pint for code quality.
• Integrate third-party services such as Stripe and AWS SDK.

Security
• Implement and maintain authentication and authorization flows including JWT,
SAML 2.0, LTI 1.3, OAuth 2.0, and two-factor authentication.
• Enforce multi-tenant data isolation and company-scoped access controls.
• Apply security best practices: input validation, CSRF protection, rate
limiting, secure session management, and proper CORS configuration.
• Participate in security reviews and help identify and remediate
vulnerabilities (OWASP Top 10).

DevOps & Infrastructure
• Collaborate on deployments with Docker, Nginx, and AWS ECS Fargate.
• Contribute to CI/CD workflows using Bitbucket Pipelines.
• Monitor application health using CloudWatch and Grafana.

**What We’re Looking For**

**Must-Haves:**
• 3+ years of experience with Laravel/PHP (Laravel 10+ preferred).
• 3+ years of strong frontend development experience with at least one modern
framework (Vue.js 3 or React).
• Proven ability to architect and build component-driven UIs from the ground
up.
• Strong JavaScript/ES6+ fundamentals — not just framework knowledge.
• Strong SQL skills (MySQL) and experience with query optimization.
• Solid understanding of web application security: authentication protocols
(JWT, OAuth, SAML), CSRF, XSS prevention, input validation, and secure session
handling.
• Experience with Docker and modern CI/CD workflows.
• Familiarity with AWS services (RDS, S3, ECS, CloudWatch).
• Solid Git workflow experience (Bitbucket).

**Nice-to-Haves:**
• Experience modernizing legacy jQuery codebases to modern frameworks.
• Experience with multi-tenant SaaS applications and data isolation patterns.
• Familiarity with Botble CMS or modular Laravel plugin architectures.
• LTI 1.3 or SAML 2.0 integration experience.
• Payment integrations (Stripe).
• Experience with Laravel Mix/Webpack build configuration.
• Monitoring and observability tools (Grafana, CloudWatch).
• Familiarity with Nginx configuration and performance tuning.
• Experience with AI-assisted development workflows (e.g., Claude Code, Codex,
Cursor, or similar tools) and an understanding of how to use them without
compromising code quality or security.

**Soft Skills:**
• Entrepreneurial Mindset and Curiosity: You're a creator, not just a coder.
You take initiative, contribute ideas, and have a thirst for learning that
helps solve problems and thrive on change.
• Adaptable and Collaborative: You thrive in a dynamic environment where
priorities can shift quickly. You are a clear communicator and an exceptional
collaborator with a team-first mindset.
• Loves Structure and Organization: You believe in a clean, well-documented
codebase and appreciate structured processes.
• Security-Conscious: You think about attack vectors before writing code. You
understand that our platform serves vulnerable populations and treat data
protection as a first-class concern.
• Strong Problem-Solving Skills: You have a solid skill set for debugging and
proactively improving code. You are also comfortable using AI-assisted tools
to enhance your work, and you know when to trust them and when to think
critically about their output.

**Why Work at R1 Learning?**
• Build tech that makes a real impact in behavioral health, justice, and
education.
• Lead a meaningful frontend modernization initiative with real architectural
ownership.
• Join a growing SaaS company with a strong mission.
• Work directly with leadership and see your contributions matter.

Benefits
✅ Medical, Dental, Vision
✅ Paid Time Off
✅ Retirement Plan (401k)
✅ Growth opportunities