Backend Engineer, PHP

Job description

**This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Backend Engineer, PHP based in United Kingdom.** Join a high-scale engineering environment where you’ll build and evolve backend systems powering a global digital gaming marketplace and a growing portfolio of new products. You’ll work within a cross-functional team alongside backend, frontend, mobile, design, and data specialists. The role offers the opportunity to solve complex challenges across distributed systems, performance, reliability, trust, and safety. You’ll contribute to a modern microservices ecosystem spanning more than 100 services. Beyond delivering features, you’ll influence technical decisions, architectural direction, and engineering practices. With strong infrastructure and significant ownership, your work will have a direct impact on products used by millions of customers. ### Accountabilities: - Design, build, scale, and maintain reliable backend services using PHP and Symfony within a large microservices architecture. - Develop and deliver product features while considering scalability, performance, reliability, and the overall user experience. - Contribute to architectural discussions and help shape technical solutions for complex distributed-system challenges. - Work with technologies including GraphQL, Golang, Temporal, Saga orchestration, and established service design patterns. - Collaborate closely with frontend, mobile, design, data, and platform engineering teams to deliver high-quality products. - Help improve engineering practices, code quality, observability, and system resilience across the technology ecosystem. - Take ownership of technical problems from investigation through implementation and continuously look for opportunities to improve how the team works. **Requirements:** - 8+ years of professional backend engineering experience, including hands-on work building and scaling distributed systems. - Strong expertise in PHP and Symfony, with experience working with modern versions of the framework. - Solid understanding of microservices architecture and common distributed-system patterns such as CQRS, circuit breaking, and service orchestration. - Experience working with databases and data stores such as MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, Prometheus, InfluxDB, or Elasticsearch. - Familiarity with cloud and infrastructure technologies such as Kubernetes, Helm, AWS, and Terraform. - Ability to contribute effectively to architectural discussions and make thoughtful technical decisions. - Strong problem-solving skills, a high level of ownership, and a product-minded approach focused on end-user impact. - Openness to feedback and a collaborative mindset, with genuine interest in learning, experimentation, and continuous improvement. - Ability to work effectively in a fast-moving, cross-functional engineering environment. **Benefits:** - €55,000–€72,000 annual compensation, plus bonus opportunities. - Opportunity to participate in an employee stock options program. - Performance-based, referral, additional paid-leave, and other bonus programs. - Personal learning budget to support continued professional development. - Paid volunteering opportunities. - Flexible choice of work location, including remote work, office work, and the opportunity to work while traveling. - Strong opportunities for personal and professional growth supported by structured feedback and promotion processes. - Opportunity to contribute to scaling a distinctive technology product used by a large global gaming community.