About the role

As the #1 aggregator of cinema sessions in Australia, our core platform has successfully scaled to handle massive datasets of movie showtimes and discount tickets. Today, our engineering philosophy is evolving. While our high-performance core is built on a mature, reliable CakePHP stack, we are actively expanding our architecture to integrate an ambitious, cutting-edge AI automation layer.

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to build the "connective tissue" between our live relational database and modern Large Language Models. In this role, you will take our massive dataset and make it the primary, real-time source for global AI ecosystems using the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).

Beyond data retrieval, you will lead the development of our next-generation automation tools. You will build autonomous Web Agents designed to navigate external cinema platforms, bypass sophisticated bot detection, and automate complex voucher redemptions. Using Playwright, AI-driven computer vision, and behavioural biometrics simulation, you will engineer resilient systems that secure transaction accuracy where traditional API integrations don't exist.

This role is the perfect intersection of data scaling and advanced AI engineering—allowing you to leverage a proven, high-traffic backend while pioneering our path into autonomous agentic workflows.

Key Responsibilities

- Bridge & Extend the Core Stack: Maintain, optimize, and safely extend our high-traffic CakePHP (MVC) core application, ensuring the relational database architecture and existing business logic integrate seamlessly with new AI modules.
- Architect RAG Pipelines: Build Retrieval-Augmented Generation systems using vector search capabilities alongside our transactional databases to grant Large Language Models real-time, low-latency access to thousands of live cinema sessions.
- Develop MCP Servers: Design and implement Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to securely expose cinema datasets, room capacities, and timetable logic directly to external AI models and assistants.
- Build Autonomous Web Agents: Utilize Playwright and AI Vision frameworks to develop headless web agents capable of automating complex, multi-step voucher redemptions on external cinema platforms where native APIs are unavailable.
- Implement Agentic Reasoning:



Design self-correcting logic and execution loops (such as ReAct frameworks) that allow autonomous agents to independently plan, adapt, and complete multi-cinema booking paths.
- Bypass Anti-Bot Mitigations: Engineer sophisticated browser-spoofing layers, utilizing TLS/JA4 fingerprint manipulation and behavioral biometric simulations to navigate enterprise bot detection systems (like Kount/Braintree Hosted Fields).
- Optimise for AI Discovery (GEO): Deploy advanced, dynamic Schema.org structured data layouts to guarantee our aggregator remains the authoritative source cited in Google AI Overviews and LLM searches.
- Scale Cloud Infrastructure: Assist in deploying and orchestrating these agentic workflows using cloud-native infrastructure, leveraging services like AWS Fargate/Lambda or GCP Cloud Run for serverless container execution.
- Ensure Transactional Integrity: Implement strict transactional guardrails, state-machine rollbacks, and "Human-in-the-Loop" alerting systems to verify automated voucher orders and prevent data errors.

About you

- Senior PHP & MVC Mastery: A seasoned developer with extensive hands-on experience using CakePHP (or similar mature frameworks like Laravel/Symfony with a willingness to cross-train) to maintain and scale high-traffic web applications. You know how to leverage traditional ORMs, MVC scaffolding, and object-oriented design patterns to write clean, maintainable code.
- Model Context Protocol (MCP) Expertise: Proven track record building MCP servers (Python, TypeScript, or PHP-based) to securely expose live relational data as contextually aware "tools" for LLMs.
- Hybrid Database & Vector Search Skills: Proficiency in managing large relational datasets (MySQL/PostgreSQL), combined with experience implementing semantic search or vector embeddings (e.g., using OpenSearch, pgvector, or managed vector databases) to fuel RAG pipelines.
- Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG):



Ability to architect low-latency pipelines that dynamically "ground" AI models in highly volatile real-time data, such as rapidly shifting cinema session times and discount seat allocations.
- Agentic Orchestration: Experience utilizing advanced AI frameworks like LangChain, LangGraph, or CrewAI to design multi-step, autonomous reasoning loops (like ReAct) that can handle complex user intentions.
- Advanced Browser Automation: Mastery of Playwright or Puppeteer to build resilient headless browser scripts capable of navigating complex, multi-origin, JavaScript-heavy checkout flows.
- Anti-Bot & Transactional Resilience: Strong understanding of web security layers, browser fingerprinting, and stealth techniques required to bypass advanced enterprise bot detection (e.g., Kount/Braintree). You know how to implement robust error-handling and "Human-in-the-Loop" checkpoints to protect high-stakes payments.
- Multi-Cloud Fluency: Hands-on experience deploying, monitoring, and scaling AI workloads across modern containerized ecosystems—specifically AWS (Bedrock, SageMaker, Fargate, Aurora) or GCP (Vertex AI, Cloud Run, Cloud SQL).
- AI Discovery Optimization (GEO & SEO): Expert knowledge of advanced Schema.org structured data (specifically Movie, ScreeningEvent, and Offer markups) and Generative Engine Optimization techniques to ensure our aggregator remains the primary cited source in Google AI Overviews.

Benefits

- 9-day fortnight, paid as 10
- Never work on your birthday
- A lean, high-performing team where your work has real impact
- Strong growth opportunity as the business continues to scale
- A collaborative Melbourne-based team that values team spirit
- A business that genuinely embraces innovation and AI

About us At Choovie, we're on a mission to get more people going to the movies. We are a fast-growing Melbourne-based business with real momentum, having nearly doubled revenue every year since 2021. We stay lean, move quickly, and work with a highly motivated team that cares about building great products and doing excellent work together.

We're also genuinely passionate about what we do. Movies are at the centre of our business, and that passion shows up in our product, our culture and our ambition. We treat our people extremely well and have built a culture around trust, flexibility and high performance.

📌 AI Platform Engineer | HYBRID | 9-Day Fortnight | MCP | AGENTIC AI | Automation (Melbourne)
🏢 Choovie
📍 Melbourne