Senior PHP Developer

Senior Back-end Developer - PHP / Symfony

Location: Leeds (Hybrid – 2 days per week onsite, Monday & Thursday)
Salary: Up to £65,000 (DOE)

The opportunity:
We’re looking for a Senior Back-end Developer, with expertise in PHP and Symfony to join a growing technology team building modern web platforms that support a globally recognised education-focused organisation.

This is a hands-on senior engineering role, ideal for someone who enjoys owning backend development, solving complex technical problems, and contributing to the ongoing evolution of scalable web applications and APIs used by thousands of users.

You’ll join a close-knit engineering team where collaboration, openness, and culture are genuinely valued. The environment is modern, supportive, and delivery-focused, with a strong emphasis on continuous improvement, technical quality, and shared ownership.

The business is investing heavily in its digital platforms, with an ambitious roadmap focused on improving user experience, expanding platform capability, and supporting long-term growth. You’ll play a key role in shaping backend architecture and helping drive engineering standards across the team.

What you’ll be doing:
As a Senior Back-end Developer, you’ll take ownership of backend development across a modern Symfony-based platform and API ecosystem, working closely with frontend developers, stakeholders, and leadership teams.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading backend development across web applications and APIs
• Designing, building, and maintaining scalable Symfony-based services
• Developing and improving RESTful API endpoints
• Supporting ongoing platform scalability, reliability, and performance
• Refactoring existing functionality to reduce technical debt and improve maintainability
• Collaborating with frontend developers working within React / Next.js applications
• Supporting architectural decisions and promoting engineering best practices
• Participating in code reviews and mentoring less experienced developers
• Contributing to technical discussions, sprint planning, and delivery processes
• Supporting integrations with third-party platforms including CRM, payment, and analytics tools

Core technology stack:

• PHP 8
• Symfony
• Symfony API Platform
• MySQL
• Docker
• AWS
• React / Next.js frontend environment
• Jira, Bitbucket, Slack

 
What we’re looking for:
Essential experience:

• Strong commercial experience with PHP and Symfony
• Experience building and maintaining APIs and backend services
• Solid understanding of MySQL and relational database design
• Experience supporting and improving complex web applications
• Strong understanding of software architecture and backend best practices
• Experience working within collaborative Agile development teams
• Ability to write clean, scalable, and maintainable code
• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills

 
Desirable / bonus experience:

• Experience with Symfony API Platform
• Experience working with Docker-based local development environments
• Exposure to AWS and cloud-based deployments
• Experience integrating third-party platforms and services
• Experience mentoring junior developers
• Frontend exposure with React or Next.js

 
About you:

• You’re a hands-on engineer who enjoys solving real technical problems
• You take ownership and care about building high-quality systems
• You enjoy working as part of a collaborative, close-knit team
• You’re comfortable contributing ideas and influencing technical direction
• You value clean architecture, maintainability, and continuous improvement
• You’re adaptable, proactive, and motivated by meaningful work with real-world impact