Senior PHP/Symfony Engineer (Remote, Full-Time) [AR024] (PK)

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About the Role

As a Senior PHP/Symfony Engineer, you will take hands-on ownership of backend development within a mature Symfony platform that manages marketing and revenue data for enterprise customers. The core application currently runs on Symfony 6.1, with an upgrade to Symfony 7 planned, alongside an Angular front end and TypeScript and Python AI agent microservices. 

This is a strongly backend-weighted, senior hands-on engineering role requiring an architect mindset, strong independence and the ability to understand how technical decisions affect the wider system. You will work within a remote, cross-functional product squad alongside engineering, product, QA and DevOps colleagues.

• 8+ years of commercial software engineering experience, including 5+ years in PHP. 
• 7+ years of PHP experience at Expert level.
• 3+ years of recent commercial Symfony 6.x/7 experience at Advanced level. Very senior Laravel experience that is clearly transferable may be considered, provided you have a solid understanding of how Laravel and Symfony differ.
• 4+ years of Advanced experience in backend system design and scalability.
• 2+ years of Advanced experience critically using AI tooling, including reviewing and challenging AI-generated output rather than accepting it blindly.
• 5+ years of Advanced MySQL experience covering schema design and query optimisation. PostgreSQL or another relational database at the same depth may be considered.
• 1+ year of Angular/TypeScript awareness. React or Vue with TypeScript may be considered, but zero front-end exposure is disqualifying.
• 3+ years of Advanced automated testing experience with PHPUnit. Pest or equivalent PHP testing frameworks may be considered.
• 1+ year of Intermediate experience with framework upgrades and legacy-code modernisation. Major version upgrades or refactoring in other large PHP codebases may be considered.
• 2+ years of Intermediate AWS experience. Azure or GCP may be considered. 
• Fluent written and spoken English. 
• Strong written and verbal communication and a proven record of working effectively remotely.
• Ability to work UK hours.
• Ability to pass strict background checks and comply with PII policies.
• Strong self-sufficiency, with the ability to work with zero handholding after 2–3 months while continuing to collaborate effectively.
• A hands-on technical approach with an architect mindset: understanding how and why the system works rather than only producing code.