---
title: 'Senior PHP Developer (Ironwall) at Surfshark'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-php-developer-ironwall-surfshark-vilnius-f4efrczse7cd'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-24'
---

# Senior PHP Developer (Ironwall) at Surfshark

- **Company:** Surfshark
- **Location:** Vilnius, Lithuania
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-10-22
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-24
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/surfshark/5fff666b-d902-469e-b9d1-ebc81bba4190

## Job description

Join the Incogni engineering team to help us scale Ironwall, our specialized protection service safeguarding the online privacy and personal data of vulnerable individuals and public servants. We are looking for a Senior Backend Engineer who thinks in distributed systems, designs for resilience, and takes complete ownership of high-impact technical initiatives. Our mission is to build a scalable, secure, and resilient platform that supports rapid product growth. You will design core application services, eliminate architectural bottlenecks, and help evolve our tech stack across backend ecosystems.

If you want to:

- Partner closely with product managers and stakeholders to analyze business requirements and translate them into clear, scalable technical solution proposals.
- Architect, build, and maintain high-traffic, business-critical backend services with a strong focus on reliability, low latency, and data security.
- Leverage modern AI developer tooling (e.g., coding assistants, LLM-driven refactoring, automated testing agents) to maximize delivery velocity and streamline technical workflows.
- Lead technical decision-making across service boundaries, domain modeling, data persistence, and deployment pipelines.
- Identify performance bottlenecks, optimize database queries, and design robust distributed workflows.
- Drive engineering excellence by conducting high-standard code reviews, establishing testing practices, and mentoring other engineers.
- Own initiatives end-to-end: from initial technical RFCs and system design to deployment, observability, and post-launch stability.

And you can check off:

- Senior-level backend expertise: Extensive experience building, scaling, and maintaining production applications using PHP (modern 8.x) and familiarity or willingness to work with languages like Go or Node.js/TypeScript.
- System & API Design: Proven track record designing scalable RESTful APIs, clean domain models, and microservice/modular architectures.
- Data Management: Strong hands-on experience with relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL) including indexing, schema optimization, and caching strategies (e.g., Redis).
- Engineering Ownership: Demonstrated ability to drive projects from concept to deployment, making sound trade-offs between speed, scalability, and technical debt.
- Culture of Quality: Mastery of automated testing (unit, integration, end-to-end), CI/CD pipelines, and writing maintainable, well-documented code.

Bonus points if you:

- Experience scaling platforms handling millions of high-concurrency requests or large-scale automated data removal pipelines.
- Deep understanding of observability practices (distributed tracing, structured logging, Prometheus/Grafana).
- Experience with cloud-native infrastructure (AWS, Kubernetes).

Here’s the deal:

- Growth and learning opportunities: time dedicated to learning, conferences, online learning platforms, and books for your professional development;
- Health and wellness: we want you to feel and be your best. That's why we offer various benefits, from online workouts, a physical coach and a gym to regular mental health checks;
- Tools of your choice: choose technical equipment and the tools you need to do your best;
- Community and celebrations: get ready for long-lasting traditions such as yearly workation, Friday get-togethers, various team buildings and company celebrations;
- Convenient commuting: traveling from point A to point B can be a pain. That’s why, depending on your unique circumstances, we compensate part of your public transport costs;
- Work-life balance: We encourage working in the office, with the possibility of up to two remote days per week. Plus, with our WFA policy, you can work from almost anywhere in the world;
- Premium Surfshark accounts: for you, your family, and friends;
- Gross salary: 5,600 - 7,200 Eur/month for the Lithuanian market, 23,800-33,400 PLN/month for the Polish market. It may vary depending on your skills and experience.

## About Surfshark

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Surfshark is a cybersecurity company that provides a suite of online privacy and security solutions, including a top-rated VPN, antivirus, and data removal tools.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Unicorn, merged under a holding company with Nord Security)
- **Headquarters**: Amsterdam, Netherlands (with offices in Vilnius & Kaunas, Lithuania; Warsaw, Poland; and Berlin, Germany)
- **Founded**: 2018
- **Founders**: Vytautas Kaziukonis

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Cybersecurity, Consumer Privacy, VPN Services
- **Target customers**: B2C (individual consumers), with specific programs for journalists, activists, and NGOs
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "To empower people to take full control of their digital lives, raise awareness about evolving online threats, and champion the accessibility and future of the internet."

## Products & Services
For each major offering:
- **[Surfshark VPN](https://surfshark.com/vpn)**: Core virtual private network service, a top-3 global VPN. Includes features like a strict no-logs policy (verified by Deloitte), 100% RAM-only servers, the proprietary WireGuard protocol, and the FastTrack route optimizer.
- **[Surfshark Antivirus](https://surfshark.com/antivirus)**: Malware and virus protection software.
- **[Surfshark Alert](https://surfshark.com/alert)**: A personal data leak monitoring service that alerts users if their credentials are exposed.
- **[Surfshark Search](https://surfshark.com/search)**: A private, ad-free search engine.
- **[Alternative ID](https://surfshark.com/alternative-id)**: A tool to create a synthetic online identity to protect a user's real email and personal data.
- **[Alternative Number](https://surfshark.com/alternative-number)**: A virtual phone number service for enhanced privacy.
- **[Incogni](https://incogni.com/)**: An automated data removal service that forces data brokers to delete a user's personal information.
- **[HeyPolo](https://heypolo.com/)**: A location-sharing app focused on privacy and consent.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: $1.6 Billion (as of 2022 merger with Nord Security), making it a Lithuanian unicorn. [surfshark.com](https://surfshark.com/about-us)
- **Key Metric**: Over 40 million app downloads, 500+ employees. [surfshark.com](https://surfshark.com/about-us)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Merged with Nord Security (2022) under a single holding company. Partners include Amnesty International and the VPN Trust Initiative. [surfshark.com](https://surfshark.com/about-us)
- **Growth Signals**:
    - Ranked as one of the fastest-growing European companies by the Financial Times FT 1000 for 2024, 2025, and 2026. [surfshark.com](https://surfshark.com/about-us)
    - Awarded "Best of 2026" by PCMag and "Editors’ Choice 2026" by CNET. [surfshark.com](https://surfshark.com/about-us)
    - Received AV-TEST Certification for its antivirus in 2025. [surfshark.com](https://surfshark.com/about-us)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Integrated Security Suite**: Beyond a standard VPN, Surfshark offers a comprehensive ecosystem (antivirus, data removal, leak alerts) creating a strong switching cost for users.
- **Privacy-First, Verified Operations**: The company has a strict, independently audited no-logs policy (verified by Deloitte) and operates a 100% RAM-only server network, a strong trust signal in the privacy-focused market.
- **Rapid Growth & Brand Recognition**: Consistently ranked among the fastest-growing companies in Europe and holds "Best of" awards from major tech publications (PCMag, CNET), giving it strong market credibility.
- **Innovation & Open Source**: Developed Dausos, the first VPN protocol built specifically for VPN users, and maintains a public Research Hub on internet censorship and cyber threats. [surfshark.com](https://surfshark.com/about-us)

## Strategic Focus
- **Global Expansion & Product Diversification**: Continues to expand its suite of privacy products (e.g., launching HeyPolo, Incogni) to capture more of the user's digital life.
- **Advocacy and Trust**: Deepening its commitment to digital rights through partnerships (e.g., Amnesty International) and transparency initiatives (publishing annual reports, impact reports, and transparency reports).
- **Enterprise-Grade Scaling**: The 2022 merger with Nord Security created a cybersecurity powerhouse, allowing for shared infrastructure and resources while keeping brands independent.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture & Values**: Company culture is rated 4.2/5 on Glassdoor. Core principles include **Radical Ownership, Open-mindedness, Collaboration, and High Standards**. [glassdoor.com](https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Surfshark-EI_IE6375899.11,20.htm)
- **Remote & Flexibility**: Offers a "work from anywhere" policy (up to five times a year globally), flexible office hours, and a hybrid work-from-office model. [surfshark.com](https://surfshark.com/career)
- **Perks & Growth**: Includes private health insurance, mental and physical wellbeing programs (yoga, gym access), access to online learning platforms (Udemy, Masterclass), and bonus days off. [surfshark.com](https://surfshark.com/career)
- **Team**: A dynamic, fast-growing environment with over 500 specialists across global offices in Vilnius, Kaunas, Warsaw, and Berlin. [surfshark.com](https://surfshark.com/about-us)
- **Mission-Driven**: Employees work on products used by millions, with a clear mission to protect digital freedom and fight censorship.

## Sources
1. [Surfshark - About Us](https://surfshark.com/about-us)
2. [Surfshark - Careers](https://surfshark.com/career)
3. [Surfshark on Glassdoor](https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Surfshark-EI_IE6375899.11,20.htm)
4. [Surfshark on LinkedIn](https://pl.linkedin.com/company/surfshark)

## Other roles at Surfshark

- [Community Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/community-manager-surfshark-vilnius-dknj3zmwtfmg) — Vilnius, Lithuania
- [Junior Linux Sysadmin (content access)](https://feeny.ai/job/junior-linux-sysadmin-content-access-surfshark-vilnius-asqh5eyb83zp) — Vilnius, Lithuania
- [Application Security Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/application-security-lead-surfshark-vilnius-p2jwbnbp2dqq) — Vilnius, Lithuania
- [Talent Acquisition Partner](https://feeny.ai/job/talent-acquisition-partner-surfshark-vilnius-356bbr98ts8v) — Vilnius, Lithuania
- [Talent Acquisition Team Lead (Tech)](https://feeny.ai/job/talent-acquisition-team-lead-tech-surfshark-vilnius-zfjmnnez6h14) — Vilnius, Lithuania
- [Mid/Senior Data Scientist](https://feeny.ai/job/mid-senior-data-scientist-surfshark-vilnius-n6y9w89q281x) — Vilnius, Lithuania
- [Senior VPN Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-vpn-software-engineer-surfshark-vilnius-p8qvge6asepy) — Vilnius, Lithuania
- [Mid/Senior Marketing Data Analyst](https://feeny.ai/job/mid-senior-marketing-data-analyst-surfshark-vilnius-fyq3skcpcp4y) — Vilnius, Lithuania
- [Senior Cybersecurity Engineer (SOC)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-cybersecurity-engineer-soc-surfshark-vilnius-eezftz9gcf0v) — Vilnius, Lithuania
- [Senior Backend Engineer (Node.js)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-backend-engineer-node-js-surfshark-vilnius-kk1ytp2eexs2) — Vilnius, Lithuania