Senior Backend Engineer (Laravel)
Design and build the backend of platforms that carry real operational load, alongside engineers who take correctness seriously.
- Engineering
- Remote — UK, EU or West Africa
- Full Time
- Remote
- GBP 75,000 – GBP 95,000 / year
- Closes 5 Oct 2026
You will work on client platforms and our own SaaS products, typically as the technical lead on a small cross-functional team. The work is genuinely varied: one quarter might be event-driven architecture for a payments client, the next a data-heavy internal tool.
We care much more about judgement than about which frameworks you have used. If you can explain why a design will hurt in eighteen months, we want to talk.
What you will do
- Lead the backend design of one or two concurrent engagements
- Write production code and review your colleagues' with care
- Contribute to architecture decisions and technical proposals
- Mentor mid-level engineers through code review and pairing
- Take part in the on-call rotation for platforms you helped build
What we are looking for
- Five or more years building and operating production backend systems
- Deep PHP and Laravel experience, or strong equivalent plus a real appetite to learn it
- Practical relational database design and query optimisation
- Experience with automated testing as a default rather than an afterthought
- Clear written communication — we are distributed and decisions live in writing
What we offer
- Remote-first with a home office budget and a co-working allowance
- Private medical cover for you and your dependants
- 28 days annual leave plus public holidays and a birthday day
- £2,500 annual learning budget with conference travel
- Enhanced parental leave for all parents
- Four-week paid sabbatical after five years
- Company pension with employer matching to 8%
Apply for this role
We read every application. You will hear from us either way within ten working days.