Team Lead - PHP (ID: tbn5HhW9)

Engineering Manager (PHP) – Bristol

About the Opportunity:

We're looking for an experienced Engineering Manager with a strong PHP background to join our team in Bristol.

This is a hands-on leadership role where you'll contribute directly to the codebase while managing a small team of 5–6 engineers. You'll be responsible for maintaining high engineering standards, ensuring consistent delivery, supporting team development, and fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

You'll work across our technology stack, including:

• Our core PHP/Linux/Apache application
• Mission-critical Python messaging services
• MySQL databases
• Internal development tooling
• Linux-based infrastructure
• Cloud platforms and deployment pipelines

Your responsibilities will include:

• Designing, building, and maintaining new platform features
• Troubleshooting and resolving bugs and production issues
• Managing and improving Linux-based development and production environments
• Building and maintaining scalable CI/CD pipelines
• Reviewing code and providing constructive feedback
• Mentoring engineers and promoting best practices in software design and development
• Identifying technical risks and proposing solutions
• Collaborating across the business to deliver customer value

What You'll Need - (Technical Experience)

• Minimum 6 years of commercial PHP development experience
• At least 2 years of experience leading or managing development teams
• Experience building and maintaining high-volume, transactional systems
• Strong understanding of modern PHP development practices
• Working proficiency in Python
• Solid knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Experience with CakePHP or another MVC framework
• Experience designing and integrating with SOAP, REST, and GraphQL APIs
• Strong understanding of relational database design, normalisation, and indexing
• Ability to learn new technologies and adapt quickly

Leadership Experience:

• Proven experience managing and developing engineers
• Experience conducting performance reviews and supporting career growth
• Experience hiring and building engineering teams
• Strong delivery management skills, including planning, estimation, prioritisation, and accountability
• Ability to balance technical excellence with business outcomes

Bonus Points:

• Experience within e-commerce, logistics, fulfilment, or shipping technology
• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure and DevOps practices
• Passion for developer productivity and efficient CI/CD processes

About You:

We're a small, ambitious, and highly collaborative team. You'll thrive here if you're someone who enjoys solving problems, taking ownership, and contributing wherever needed.

This role is ideal for someone who is equally comfortable leading a team, writing code, improving infrastructure, and rolling up their sleeves to tackle challenges directly.

What You'll Get:

• A highly influential role within a successful and growing SaaS business
• The opportunity to shape both our product and engineering culture
• Significant autonomy and freedom to drive improvements
• Flexible working hours
• 33 days annual leave (25 days plus bank holidays)
• Competitive salary of £55,000–£90,000 depending on experience

About Us:

• We are a leading SaaS e-commerce shipping management platform that helps retailers streamline fulfilment through intelligent automation. Our software removes friction, reduces manual intervention, and saves businesses valuable time by automating complex shipping workflows.
• We work with innovative brands including Minirig, Wiper, True, Scrub Daddy, AU Vodka, and many more.
• As a bootstrapped company, we have grown without external funding by staying lean, moving quickly, and working closely with our customers to build solutions that deliver immediate value and solve real-world problems.

Our Culture:

• Our success is built on a strong set of values centred around freedom, ownership, and results.
• Everyone has a voice. We work in a collaborative and democratic environment where individuals have a direct impact on both the business and the thousands of customers who rely on our platform every day.
• We make decisions based on data, remain objective in our thinking, and continuously learn from both our successes and failures. We value honesty, accountability, and a willingness to improve.

Equal Opportunities:

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences.

Requirements:

• Ability to reliably commute to Bristol BS1 or relocate before starting work
• Right to work in the United Kingdom

Hiring Process:

• When applying, we'd love to see something you're proud of. Please include links to projects you've built, open-source contributions, GitHub repositories, technical blogs, or other relevant work.

Our hiring process consists of:

• An informal introductory call to get to know each other and discuss the role.
• A take-home technical exercise designed to showcase your skills and creativity.
• A technical discussion where you'll walk us through your solution, explain your decisions, and ask any remaining questions.

We believe interviews should be a two-way conversation and encourage candidates to learn as much about us as we learn about them.

Application Questions:

• What worries you most about this role?
• What is your proudest personal or professional achievement?
• What excites you most about this opportunity?

Position: Engineering Manager / Team Lead -  Job Type: Full-time - Salary: £55,000 to £90,000 per year - Location: Bristol BS1 (Office-based)