Lead PHP Engineer

Key Responsibilities

• Drive a security-first culture by defining and enforcing security protocols 
• Lead threat modelling and oversee vulnerability remediation plans 
• Track security compliance 

• Set platform performance KPIs 
• Conduct performance analysis 
• Monitoring dashboards  
• Guide teams in implementing scalable solutions and optimising system performance 

• Establish organisation-wide testing standards and ensure adherence through coaching and reviews 
• Promote quality ownership within teams 

• Define and enforce API design principles 
• Oversee API governance and documentation standards across the team 

• Identify areas of technical debt and lead strategic refactoring initiatives 
• Track and measure technical debt reduction progress 
• Prioritise optimisation projects that improve system health 

• Make strategic decisions on introducing new frameworks and tools
• Evaluate emerging technologies and guide adoption to improve productivity 

• Lead the transition to microservices/event-driven architecture 
• Define architectural patterns and mentor teams on implementation best practices 
• Maintain system design documentation and Architecture decision records (ADRs) 

• Develop clear documentation guidelines to ensure consistency and quality  
• Maintain detailed documentation for complex systems, including architecture diagrams, workflows, and integration points, ensuring accessibility for all stakeholder Implement and manage a structured process for creating incident reports, capturing root causes, and resolutions to drive continuous improvement 

• Drive predictable and effective Agile delivery Set clear objectives, monitor KPIs, and ensure timely delivery of high-quality solutions
• Drive career progression through regular feedback, mentoring and knowledge-sharing to support in identifying growth opportunities 

Skills, Knowledge and Experience Required:

• Solid and proven experience as a Lead PHP Engineer with a minimum of 2+ years of experience in a technical leadership role 
• Experience with PHP and MySQL is essential 
• Experience with React, Typescript, Elasticsearch and AWS is desirable but not essential 
• Proven team management and leadership skills 
• Experience with OOP concepts and SOLID principles 
• Experience with Unit and Integration testing 
• Experience with design patterns 
• A good understanding of building and operating cloud-based microservices 
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills 
• Strong problem-solving, critical thinking, and analytical skills 
• Scrum certification is advantageous but not essential 
• Agile experience is desirable but not essential 

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