PHP Engineering Lead

Our client is seeking a PHP Engineering Lead to balance approximately 50% hands-on engineering with 50% leadership, architecture, and team development. This role requires someone who can bring structure, clarity, and technical direction to a growing engineering function.

You'll be responsible for shaping technical decisions, guiding delivery, mentoring engineers, and contributing hands-on where it has the most impact. Strong communication, a collaborative mindset, and solid product instincts are essential., Engineering Leadership, Delivery & Team Development

• Architect, design, and deliver scalable, high-performance full-stack solutions.
• Lead complex feature development across PHP (Symfony/Laravel), JavaScript (Vue.js or React.js or Node.js), and AWS.
• Own technical direction, architecture decisions, and engineering standards.
• Manage end-to-end delivery of features from discovery and planning through deployment and iteration.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of five engineers (one senior, four mid-level).
• Conduct code reviews, guide technical approaches, and raise engineering standards.
• Support team growth through coaching, pairing, and knowledge sharing.
• Collaborate closely with the CEO and senior stakeholders on product and engineering strategy.
• Identify and address technical debt to support long-term platform growth.

Platform, Infrastructure & Reliability

• Build and maintain APIs, microservices, backend systems, and third-party integrations.
• Ensure platform security, performance, reliability, and scalability.
• Manage cloud-native workflows using AWS, Docker, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Work with distributed systems and messaging technologies (e.g. SQS, RabbitMQ).
• Drive strong testing practices, monitoring, observability, and production readiness., * Take on a pivotal leadership role influencing the technical direction of a rapidly scaling platform.
• Work directly with senior leadership on engineering strategy and product evolution.
• Lead and mentor a growing development team, shaping culture and standards.
• Contribute hands-on and architecturally to a platform with strong industry visibility and creative impact.
• Be part of a visionary company pushing innovation in physical media and creator technology.

• Significant full-stack engineering experience, particularly with PHP (Symfony or Laravel).
• Strong experience with JavaScript (Vue.js, React.js, and/or Node.js).
• Solid database expertise across MySQL and PostgreSQL.
• Hands-on experience with AWS architecture, Docker, and CI/CD automation.
• Experience building APIs, microservices, and distributed systems.
• Familiarity with messaging systems such as SQS or RabbitMQ.
• Strong testing mindset using frameworks such as PHPUnit, Vitest, or equivalents.
• Proven ability to deliver features end-to-end from concept to production.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to balance technical depth with delivery.

Desirable Experience:

• Previous experience leading engineering teams or acting as a technical lead.
• Interest in progressing further into people leadership.
• Exposure to automation systems, industrial software, or production workflows.
• Familiarity with manufacturing or factory-adjacent technology environments.
• Experience with Node.js.

• Highly competitive salary package
• 25 days annual leave
• Pension scheme
• Private medical insurance
• Modern, technology-focused office environment

Our client is a forward-thinking technology organisation reshaping how creative products are produced and delivered. Their platform connects a global network of industry partners while empowering independent artists with scalable, accessible tools. As demand grows, the company is rapidly expanding its platform and infrastructure to support increasing global scale.