Software Engineer (PHP)

Ocho People Ltd.; Belfast City District; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Ocho People Ltd. in Belfast is seeking a Software Engineer to join a fast-growing startup and help shape a cloud-based platform. You will design, build and optimise backend services with PHP, aiming for high performance and reliability.

You will collaborate with product and engineering teams to deliver robust PHP solutions, scale the platform, and influence infrastructure decisions. The role emphasizes ownership, DevOps practices and a cloud-native approach in a high-growth environment.

Qualifications

• Strong commercial experience in PHP.
• Understanding of performance optimisation and scalable architecture.
• Experience in cloud environments (AWS, Azure or GCP).
• Familiarity with containerisation (Docker/Kubernetes).

Responsibilities

• Designing and developing high-quality backend services using PHP.
• Improving application performance, response times and scalability.
• Working within a cloud-native environment (AWS, Azure or GCP).
• Contributing to architectural decisions around infrastructure and deployment.
• Writing clean, testable and maintainable code.
• Identifying bottlenecks and implementing optimisation strategies.
• Supporting CI/CD pipelines and modern DevOps practices.

Skills

PHP

Performance optimisation

Distributed systems

API design

Databases

Cloud environments

CI/CD / DevOps

Start-up mindset

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

CI/CD tooling

Job description

Are you a Software Engineer who thrives in fast-paced environments where performance truly matters? Do you want to help shape the technical direction of one of the most exciting and fastest-growing start-ups in the area?

My client is building something special - a high-growth technology business with ambitious plans, strong backing, and a product already gaining real traction. They are now looking for a Software Engineer with strong PHP experience to join the team and play a key role in scaling their platform.

The Role

As a Software Engineer, you will be working on a modern, cloud-based platform where performance, scalability and reliability are critical. This is not a maintenance role - you will be building, optimising and helping to define best practice from the ground up.

You will collaborate closely with product and engineering teams to deliver robust backend services, improve system performance, and help architect solutions that scale as the business grows.

What You'll Be Doing

• Designing and developing high-quality backend services using PHP

• Improving application performance, response times and scalability

• Working within a cloud-native environment (AWS, Azure or GCP)

• Contributing to architectural decisions around infrastructure and deployment

• Writing clean, testable and maintainable code

• Identifying bottlenecks and implementing optimisation strategies

• Supporting CI/CD pipelines and modern DevOps practices

What They're Looking For

• Strong commercial experience in PHP

• Solid understanding of performance optimisation and scalable architecture

• Experience working in cloud environments (AWS, Azure or GCP)

• Understanding of distributed systems and API design

• Experience with databases and performance tuning

• Familiarity with containerisation (Docker/Kubernetes beneficial)

• Comfortable working in a start-up or high-growth environment

Why Join?

• One of the fastest-growing and most exciting companies in the region

• Genuine influence over technical direction and architecture

• High ownership and autonomy

• Exposure to cloud-native, performance-focused engineering

• A collaborative, ambitious and forward-thinking culture

This is a brilliant opportunity for someone who wants more than just another development role - it's a chance to build, scale and shape a product in a company that is going places.

If you have any further questions on the role, please feel free to reach out to Brendan McCrory directly.