Refactor-Driven Backend-First Full-Stack Engineer

Twelve; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Twelve in Reading is seeking a backend-focused engineer to tackle technical debt, refactor legacy systems, and optimize performance while delivering new features. The role combines strong PHP 8+ and Laravel expertise with hands-on MySQL optimization, Docker tooling, and modern frontend integration.

Ideal candidates will balance backend and frontend work (70/30 to 50/50) and be comfortable shipping code from local development through to production within a lean, autonomous team.

Qualifications

• Proven PHP 8+ and Laravel experience with Eloquent, Form Requests, and queued jobs.
• Strong background refactoring legacy code and improving maintainability.
• Hands-on MySQL optimization, indexing strategies, and schema design.
• Experience with Docker, PHPUnit, and modern frontend tools (Tailwind/Alpine.js/Vue).
• UK-based, able to commute to Reading area for 1 day/month on-site.

Responsibilities

• Build backend services end-to-end in PHP 8 and Laravel.
• Identify database/API performance bottlenecks and implement fixes.
• Contribute to Docker container setup and CI/CD pipelines.
• Ship code directly from local environment through to production in a lean, autonomous team.

Skills

PHP 8+

Laravel

Eloquent

Form Requests

Queued Jobs

Artisan commands

Code refactoring

MySQL optimization

Backend/frontend balance

Docker

PHPUnit

Tailwind

Alpine.js

Vue

Tools

Docker

Job description

Twelve in Reading is seeking a backend-focused engineer to tackle technical debt, refactor legacy systems, and optimize performance while delivering new features. The role combines strong PHP 8+ and Laravel expertise with hands-on MySQL optimization, Docker tooling, and modern frontend integration.

Ideal candidates will balance backend and frontend work (70/30 to 50/50) and be comfortable shipping code from local development through to production within a lean, autonomous team.