Mid-Level Backend Developer — Laravel

Overview: We’re searching for a talented, proactive Mid-Level Backend Engineer to join our rapidly growing engineering team. Reporting directly to the CTO, you will play a pivotal role in scaling and enhancing our innovative media platforms. You will work alongside senior developers and cross-functional teammates to deliver robust, high-performance features that drive our expansion. About the Role: Medialake is experiencing rapid growth, and we are expanding our engineering team to increase platform scalability, reliability, and capability. As a Mid-Level Backend Engineer, you will own substantial portions of application logic, contributing directly to architecture discussions, code reviews, and API design. While your core focus will be backend architecture in Laravel, you will collaborate closely with frontend engineers to ensure seamless API integrations and reliable platform performance. This role is ideal for a developer with solid commercial experience who is ready to take on greater autonomy, solve complex scaling problems, and push production-ready code in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced environment. Key Responsibilities Backend Development: Design, build, and maintain scalable, production-grade SaaS backend applications using Laravel.API Architecture: Build robust, highly maintainable RESTful APIs and integrate third-party services using established architectural patterns.Testing & Quality Assurance: Drive code quality by writing comprehensive automated test suites using PHPUnit.System Ownership & Reliability: Participate in code reviews, optimize database queries, and contribute to out-of-hours/on-call rotational support as required.Collaboration: Work alongside senior engineers to design platform capabilities, mentor junior team members, and ensure seamless frontend-backend integration. Technology Requirements & Experience Commercial Experience: 2–4 years of professional experience building and deploying backend applications.Framework Expertise: Solid commercial proficiency with PHP and the Laravel framework.API Design: Proven track record designing, building, and consuming RESTful APIs.Testing: Demonstrated experience writing automated unit and integration tests (PHPUnit).Version Control & CI/CD: Proficient with Git workflows (branching strategies, PR reviews) and familiarity with CI/CD deployment pipelines.Database Management: Strong knowledge of relational databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL), schema design, and query optimization. Company Benefits Vitality Health InsurancePaid Time Off: 20 days per year (Role dependant)Nest Pension PlanOnboarding Starter Merch and New MacBook ProHybrid WorkingFree snacks, drinks and breakfasts in our lovely office located near to Carnaby Street (Soho, London)Regular company and team offsites - we encourage a tight-knit workplaceCycle To Work SchemeLearning OpportunitiesPaid Volunteering Days Interview Process Initial interviewTechnical interview/codingFinal interview