PHP & JavaScript Software Developer

ChiroCat; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days holiday

Bank holidays

Private Medical Insurance

Pension

Social events

Job summary

ChiroCat is seeking a Software Engineer (PHP & JavaScript) in Bristol. This hybrid role involves owning internal systems for a fast-moving international trading business.

You’ll work on backend-heavy features and the B2B portal, with a modern JS frontend and close collaboration with the Head of Development. The ideal candidate has strong PHP (Symfony or Laravel) and JavaScript (Vue/React) skills, plus experience with APIs, testing and scalable architectures.

Qualifications

• Commercial experience with PHP in a modern framework such as Symfony or Laravel.
• Strong OO design and adherence to SOLID principles.
• Experience building and testing API-driven backend systems with unit and functional tests.
• Comfortable using a modern JS framework (Vue or React) as part of a full-stack workflow.
• Ability to own and deliver features in a small, collaborative team.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and maintain backend heavy features across internal systems supporting operations, reporting and the B2B portal.
• Work closely with the Head of Development to shape solution design and architecture.
• Write clean, testable, SOLID PHP code using Symfony with solid test coverage.
• Contribute to shared standards, code reviews, CI and deployment practices.
• Collaborate with business users to understand requirements and translate them into pragmatic solutions.
• Help evolve platform and infrastructure using PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, Vue.js, AWS and Docker.

Skills

PHP Symfony

JavaScript Vue/React

OO Design SOLID

API testing

Unit tests

PostgreSQL

Docker

AWS

CI/CD

Tools

Docker

AWS

CI/CD

Git

ClickHouse

Vue.js

React

Job description

Software Engineer (PHP & JavaScript) Bristol, hybrid, typically 1 day a week in the office £50,000 to £60,000 + 28 days holiday + bank holidays, PMI, pension, social events

If you like the idea of owning proper, business critical software rather than being one tiny cog in a huge engineering machine, this is one to look at. This role is all about building the internal systems that sit at the heart of a fast-moving international trading business, where every feature you ship shows up directly in how the company runs and makes money.

You will be joining a small, profitable B2B luxury fashion distribution business that partners with global brands to turn problematic wholesale into a controlled, profitable channel. It is a low ego, close knit team across sales, operations and IT, with in house development treated as a strategic function, not a support service. They care a lot more about team fit, attitude and communication than ticking every single box on a tech checklist. It is a friendly place where everyone gets on, with a grown up, flexible approach to work. The IT team is typically in the Bristol office one day a week, with the rest of the time spent working remotely.

The role sits in a small development team working on their own internal platform rather than off the shelf tools. You will spend most of your time on the backend, building and evolving the core systems that power operations, reporting, analytics and their B2B customer portal, while also being comfortable in a modern JavaScript front end. You will work closely with the Head of Development on solution design and architectural decisions, and with end users across the business to make sure what you build actually solves real problems in a pragmatic way.

The ideal candidate will be a Full Stack Software Developer with strong PHP (Symfony or Laravel) and JavaScript skills (Vue or React).

This is a fantastic opportunity for a Software Developer to join a small, flexible and talented team where your work is central to how the business runs, where you will have proper ownership without the politics of a huge organisation, and be treated well!

The Role

• Design, build and maintain backend heavy features across internal systems that support operations, reporting, analytics and the B2B portal


• Work closely with the Head of Development to shape solution design, architecture and technical direction


• Write clean, testable, SOLID compliant PHP using Symfony, with strong unit and functional test coverage as part of everyday development


• Contribute to and improve shared standards, code reviews, CI and deployment practices, including the growing use of AI tools in the workflow


• Work with business users across sales and operations to understand requirements, refine ideas and turn them into pragmatic, maintainable solutions


• Help evolve the platform and infrastructure, using technologies such as PostgreSQL, Clickhouse, Vue.js, AWS and Docker

The Person

• Strong commercial experience with PHP in a modern framework such as Symfony or Laravel in an enterprise or business critical environment


• Solid understanding of object oriented design, SOLID principles and how to structure systems for long term maintainability


• Experience building and testing API driven backend systems, with unit and functional tests as a normal part of your work


• Comfortable working with a modern JavaScript framework such as Vue or React as part of a full stack workflow


• Happy working in a small, collaborative team where you take real ownership, communicate clearly and enjoy being close to the commercial side of the business


• Nice to have experience with PostgreSQL or other relational databases, Dockerised applications, AWS hosted environments and using AI tools to improve productivity or code quality

The salary advertised is the bracket available for this position. The actual salary paid will be dependent on your level of experience, qualifications and skill set and will be decided by our client, the employer.

We are an equal opportunities company and welcome applications from all suitable candidates