PHP Developer

Backend Developer – PHP / Laravel Location: Leeds (Hybrid – 3 days per week onsite) Salary: £34,000–£50,000 DOE + discretionary bonus The opportunity We're looking for a talented Backend Developer with strong PHP and Laravel experience to join an established, award-winning digital agency delivering high-quality websites and digital experiences for a diverse range of clients. This is an opportunity to work on varied, technically interesting projects, with a particular focus on CMS-driven websites, bespoke functionality and backend development. You'll help build everything from content-rich marketing websites to more complex digital platforms, working closely with experienced developers, UX/UI designers and project teams. You'll join a collaborative, employee-owned business where quality, creativity and continuous improvement are central to the way the team works. With exposure to different clients, industries and technical challenges, there's plenty of opportunity to develop your skills and progress your career. What you'll be doing As a Backend Developer, you'll contribute to the development and ongoing improvement of client websites and digital platforms, with a focus on building reliable, maintainable backend solutions. Key responsibilities include:

• Developing and maintaining backend functionality using PHP and Laravel
• Building and supporting CMS-driven websites, including content structures, custom functionality and integrations
• Translating website designs and client requirements into logical content models and intuitive CMS experiences
• Working closely with frontend developers, UX/UI designers and project managers to deliver high-quality solutions
• Contributing to technical discussions, project planning and development estimates
• Writing clean, maintainable and well-structured code
• Supporting website improvements, ongoing maintenance and client retainers
• Troubleshooting technical issues and improving performance, reliability and usability
• Collaborating with the wider team to explore new technologies and share knowledge What we're looking for Essential experience:
• Commercial experience developing backend applications and websites using PHP
• Good working knowledge of Laravel and modern PHP development practices
• Experience working with CMS platforms such as Craft CMS, WordPress or similar
• Understanding of CMS architecture, content modelling and custom website functionality
• Experience integrating backend functionality with frontend websites
• Comfortable working across multiple projects and collaborating with different disciplines
• A good understanding of clean code, maintainability and development best practices Desirable experience:
• Hands-on experience with Craft CMS
• Experience building custom CMS modules or plugins
• Previous experience within a digital, creative or web development agency
• Familiarity with Vue.js and Tailwind CSS
• Experience with APIs and third-party integrations
• Experience contributing to technical estimates and project specifications About you You're a developer who enjoys solving problems and takes pride in building well-structured, reliable solutions. You understand that good backend development isn't just about the code. It's also about creating intuitive systems that support great user experiences and make content management straightforward for clients. You'll enjoy working as part of a collaborative team, be comfortable balancing different projects and have a genuine interest in developing your technical skills.