Experienced php/mysql developer

Permanent job (40 hrs per week) for an experienced webdeveloper. The website is an established portal offering a huge range of content and services. News, sports, opinions, social network, entertainment, games, etc. With the exception of phpbb2 discussionsforums the entire website has been custom-coded with php/mysql. The website has been online since 1999, has an Alexa top-10000 ranking, and gets 30 million pageviews per month. Your initial project is to assist with a major upgrade. This upgrade consists of replacing the current layout, which is currently still implemented with html tables and tags, to a new CSS layout. This involves re-coding of hundreds (!!) of php scripts. The functionality of the site will remain the same just like the database design and the mysql queries. After this upgrade you will permanently work as a webdeveloper on the website. Build new functionality, optimize the performance, fix problems. For this position we need a REAL programmer with a passion for producing compact, readable quality code for a high-traffic environment. Please do not respond if you only know how to install and customize a script. Please do not respond if you produce php scripts with thousands of lines of code. You must be able to use different techniques for interfacing exchanging content with other websites. Current we use the API's from Youtube, Amazon, Paypal plus a wide range of custom-developed interfaces. A solid understanding of database design and mysql is required. You will develop queries for an environment with hundreds of queries per second. A poorly designed query can kill the website. A thorough understanding of unbreakable CSS is needed. The layout of pages should never break if the visitor uses an older browser, or different font-size or if the content is different than expected. Javascript knowledge is a pre. Currently the site hardly uses javascript but at a later stage we plan to offer a more dynamic interface using Ajax. You must be self-steering, self-motivating, easy to work with and have good command of English. Since this is a fulltime job for many years you should be available accordingly. The budget is indicative for the monthly salary.