Intermediate PHP Developer (Games)

**This is an opportunity to work for a remote-first company. Only applicants living in British Columbia will be considered for the role. Must be legally eligible to work in Canada.**

Our Values

Driven by PLAYER OBSESSION, we earn our players’ trust by understanding their needs and creating experiences that put them first.

OWNERSHIP means we take responsibility for our work and outcomes; we follow through, learn from mistakes, and never say “that’s not my job.”

With RESOURCEFULNESS, we do more with less, finding creative ways to overcome challenges and deliver impactful results.

Grounded in CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, we are relentless in our pursuit of better; for ourselves, our games, and our players.

The Opportunity:

Kano is looking for a passionate Game Developer to join our classic social text-based RPGs games team, where your dedication, keen eye for detail, and knowledge of software design principles can shine. As a Game Developer, you will play a pivotal role in crafting, enhancing, and evolving our nostalgic clicker-based role-playing games collection. We are actively integrating Artificial Intelligence into our development workflows, and a strong preference will be given to candidates who embrace these tools to drive efficiency and innovation.

What you will be responsible for:

• Collaborate with the development team to design and implement game features and mechanics.

• Develop and maintain complex game logic, backend systems, and server-side functionalities using PHP.

• Actively utilize and experiment with AI tools (Claude, Codex, Cursor, LLMs) to accelerate refactoring, optimize legacy code, and increase development velocity.

• Ensure high-quality code through code reviews, testing, and debugging.

• Collaborate with stakeholders to define technical requirements and project milestones.

• Optimize data architecture and performance across both MongoDB and MySQL environments.

• Optimize game performance for various platforms and devices.

• Work closely with the design team to bring their ideas to life in the game.

• Stay updated with industry trends, technologies, and AI-assisted engineering to improve game development processes.

Your background should look something like:

• Minimum 3 years of full-stack experience, and knowledge with PHP, Javascript, HTML, and CSS.

• A proven track record of embracing Artificial Intelligence tools (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, LLMs) to enhance your development workflow and code quality.

• Familiar with MongoDB and/or mySQL.

• Strong understanding of object-oriented design principles.

• Solid understanding of web development strategies.

• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative team environment.

• A passion for game development with excellent problem-solving and communication skills.

• A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field

Salary Range:

• $85,000 - $102,000 / year

The listed pay range reflects the potential earnings for this role. Actual compensation will depend on experience, skills, and alignment with company needs, typically falling toward the midpoint for most candidates

Kano is a remote-first workplace with an in-person attendance requirement 2-6 times a year.

What we offer

• Competitive wages determined by market research

• Uncapped profit share program

• Health, dental and vision benefits

• 3 weeks vacation to start

• Paid holiday shutdown in December

• 12 paid Care Days per year

• Yearly Continuous Improvement allowance

• A results-driven company with a compassionate culture

• Opportunity to work on game projects that are enjoyed by millions of players worldwide!

• Ability to make a difference. Have an idea? Talk directly with leadership about it instead of running through layers of bureaucracy

About Kano

Since inception, Kano has released twelve gaming titles (seven of which are live serviced today), with over 35 million downloads and close to $100M in sales.

Bootstrapped in 2008, and achieving profitability in 2009, Kano continues to grow its team, game portfolio and player base as an independent gaming studio, with hit games like Mob Wars, Idle Distiller and Monster Country.

Canadian owned and full-remote, we believe in giving small teams of talented people challenging problems and getting out of their way. That’s why we look for the best and brightest to join our team; people who have talent, vision, and commitment.

Check out this article If you'd like to get some insight into our hiring process, our employee manual to understand how and why we do things the way we do, and this fun little video for an intro to the team!

• 2025 Great Place to Work Certified™

• 2024 Great Place to Work Certified™

• 2023 Great Place to Work Certified™

• 2022 Best Workplace™ for Mental Wellness

• 2022 Best Workplace™ in Canada - Less than 50 employees

• 2022 Best Workplace™ in British Columbia

• 2021 Best Workplace™ in British Columbia

• 2020 Best Workplaces™ in Canada – Less than 100 employees

• 2020 Best Workplaces™ for Inclusion

• 2020 Best Workplaces™ for Mental Wellness

• 2020 Best Workplaces™ in British Columbia

• 2019 Great Place to Work - British Columbia

• 2019 VIATEC Employer of the Year - Finalist

• 2018 VIATEC Company of the Year (11-49 Employees) - Winner

• 2018 VIATEC Employer of the Year - Finalist

• 2017 VIATEC Company of the Year (11-49 employees) - Finalist

• 2014 VIATEC Employer of the Year - Winner

*Kano is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, age, disability, medical condition, religion, marital status or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law*