PHP Developer (mid-level)

We are looking for a PHP Developer to join the technical team of our digital agency, Studio 24.

In this role you will be focussed on PHP development, using Laravel and Symfony, and building on top of CMSs such as WordPress and Craft. You will be working on a variety of client projects.

You will join teams put together on a per-project basis. You will collaborate with Project Managers, Web/UX Designers, Front-End developers, DevOps specialists and interact directly with clients.

You will give your input on technical constraints and the feasibility of solutions. Sometimes formally as part of a ‘discovery’ process during which we research the project requirements.

You’ll also work on internal projects, developing our best practices, and supporting and mentoring team members.

Recent projects include RNIB Bookshare, a Laravel web app that helps students with learning or visual disabilities access accessible books online, building the W3C website in Symfony, a Covid health web app for the Health Security Agency, and integrating job data from different external systems for HS2 into a Laravel middleware app.

What we are offering you

• Work on exciting, highly visible client projects including many public institutions and charities
• And thereby learn what it takes to build websites for a wide audience (performance optimisation, CI/CD, accessibility, GDPR, etc) using techniques that follow web standards
• In the context of an ever-evolving small business in which your voice will be heard
• With a team of  friendly and approachable experts ready to mentor you and discuss best practices
• In a role that will evolve over time, whether you’d like to specialise in an area, or expand beyond technical skills (into research and/or management)
• A workplace that values well-being (flexible working arrangements, mental health awareness and support)
• A quick and straightforward hiring process

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for a mid-level PHP developer with at least 3 years experience, who has a good understanding of modern PHP, cares about creating solutions that work for users, and is happy to work in a team environment.

Here comes the usual list of skills for the job. Please don’t be put off by this list. We don’t expect you to know all of these or work that way from the get go. We are looking for someone who has interests in these areas, and is ready to adapt their skills and learn to do these things well. We’re also happy to learn from others and get input from you on our ways of working. 

So, without further ado, you will have experience in or be motivated to learn about (in order of importance):

• Modern PHP
• Laravel
• Git version control (we use GitHub)
• MySQL and database modelling
• Symfony
• JavaScript using progressive enhancement
• Vanilla JavaScript using progressive enhancement
• Unit testing
• End-to-end testing (automated browser testing)
• Continuous integration (we use GitHub Actions)
• Templating engine syntax (we use Twig)
• Data integration with APIs
• Plugin development in CMSs (we use WordPress, Craft CMS)
• Elasticsearch
• Semantic HTML and accessibility
• CSS (and Sass)
• Build tools (we use NPM scripts)

Some important “soft skills” we are also looking for, or will support you to develop in:

• Positive, honest and open attitude
• Talking to clients and users to understand business problems and user needs
• Problem solving and advising clients on how best to achieve their goals and user needs
• Planning web projects and estimating work
• Team communication and collaboration
• Documentation

Where we hire from

We are looking for staff based in the UK for this role. You’ll need a valid work permit to work in the UK. Please note we cannot sponsor visas.

Working pattern

We believe in flexibility and supporting staff to do their best work. Our preference is for full-time though we may consider part-time hours (4 days a week) if that works best for you. Normal full-time hours are 37.5 hours a week.

We have a hybrid work pattern, with working remotely the default. There is no expectation of regular in-office working. The team has the option of coming into the office to collaborate or just to have a different work environment. You are expected to attend meetings, either in person or virtually. We expect the team to attend Company days in person.

About us

Studio 24 is an ethical and human-centred digital agency with a strong focus on accessibility. We create websites and digital services that are designed to work for everyone.

Our work is focused on public sector and not-for-profit organisations, but we work with a range of clients including arts and culture, science/tech, education, and local community. Recent clients include W3C, UK Parliament, CBM Global and Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Our studio is based in Cambridge, UK.

You can find out more on what it’s like to work at Studio 24 on our careers page.

Benefits

The role has a salary range of £36,750 to £46,200, based on your experience. We have a pay scale system at Studio 24 to ensure everyone is paid fairly and equally. We’re developing a career progression framework to make it clear what we expect from people at different stages in your career.

Benefits include:

• We are a friendly team with a flexible, inclusive and supportive working environment. We run regular staff culture surveys and we score highly for fairness, respect, empowerment, pride in our work and positive relationships.
• We take work-life balance seriously, and don’t work more than our contracted hours. On the rare occasion this may be required, time in lieu is given.
• We take our staff’s mental wellbeing seriously and have two trained mental-health first aiders who provide support and guidance to our colleagues.
• We offer flexible working hours, because we understand that life happens! So whether you need to manage your work around family life, or if you are not a morning person and like to start a little later, or if you want to finish early to get to the gym – you can.
• You can choose to work from home or our office. We have a home office equipment budget to ensure you have a healthy setup, wherever you work.
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, this increases after two years service up to 30 days off a year.
• Paid volunteering days (2 a year) where you can contribute your time to a charitable organisation.
• Company days: an all-team in-person get-together out of the office 3-4 times a year to talk strategy and improvement.
• Free eye tests and flu jabs.
• We invest in your training via courses, conferences and time to self-study.
• We get together for events and lunches (in-person and virtual).
• Free local benefits (free entry to Cambridge Botanic Garden and Cambridge Film Festival).

How to apply

Step 1: Please apply for this job online. You will be asked to:

• upload a recent CV or resume (required)
• tell us why you think you are suitable for this role (required)
• list a few links to some of your work that is online (optional)

If you have difficulty using our online system please email [email protected] with the above information.

You’ll receive a thank you email along with a link to our anonymous equality and diversity questionnaire. If you can respond to this we’d appreciate it.

Step 2: We’ll review your CV. If your CV is what we’re looking for, we’ll invite you to proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: We’ll arrange an initial telephone or video call with Simon, our MD.

Step 4: If we think you could be a good fit, we’ll move you to the next stage. We’ll invite you for an interview with the wider team. During this interview you’ll be asked about your experience, to talk about some projects you’ve worked on, and to undertake a code review exercise to show us how you approach PHP development.

Step 5: If the team agrees, we’ll make an offer.

Studio 24 recognises the positive value of diversity, promotes equality and challenges discrimination. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds.

There is no closing date for this job role, we are interviewing people on an ongoing basis. All applications we receive will be treated equally.

Please note we will not respond to recruitment agencies for this role.