Lead Full-Stack Developer

Location: Remote, with a preference for someone near Worthing, West Sussex (near Brighton) Working pattern: Five days per week, with a four-day arrangement considered Salary: Salary: £70,000–£80,000 depending on experience Four-day working considered, with salary adjusted pro rata. Start date: September About 3ev 3ev is an independent digital agency with almost 30 years’ experience solving complex digital problems for its clients. Our work includes booking platforms, membership systems, operational software and established websites that need careful ongoing development. We bring together strategy, user experience and engineering, and often remain involved with our clients long after the initial project has launched. We’ve worked across travel, education, aviation, the public sector and the third sector. That variety has taught us how to understand unfamiliar organisations, challenge assumptions and find solutions that work in the real world. We’re a small team, so everyone has meaningful influence over our work, technology and direction. Alongside our established client work, we’re productising our experience in booking technology and thinking carefully about the next stage of the business. The opportunity We’re looking for a Lead Full-Stack Developer to take technical ownership across 3ev while remaining actively involved in delivery. You’ll be our senior technical voice: setting direction, making and communicating important technical decisions, checking work and establishing the processes and standards that help the team deliver well. You’ll have the authority to make day-to-day engineering decisions, working with the managing director to shape 3ev’s output and offering. This is primarily a technical leadership role, centred on scoping work, reviewing delivery, supporting developers and establishing effective processes. You’ll remain hands-on, but the amount of time you spend coding will vary according to the needs of the team, our clients and the work. You’ll work directly with the code and will need to understand what a client is really trying to achieve, turning sometimes unclear requirements into proportionate solutions. That means thinking about architecture and maintainability, but also budget, timescale and what will deliver genuine value. You’ll join an established small development team with valuable knowledge of our clients and systems. Part of your role will be bringing that knowledge together, improving how it is shared and helping shape future hires. Your leadership will initially focus on technical direction, delivery and developer growth rather than formal line management. As the team develops, we’ll shape the longer-term responsibilities together. This role will be fundamental to the next stage of 3ev’s development team. You’ll help establish the technical principles, working practices and values that shape how we build software and work together. Your decisions will influence the services we offer, the technology we invest in and how relevant and valuable 3ev remains to its clients, giving you genuine scope to shape both the team and the role. The kind of person we’re looking for You’ll have substantial experience building and supporting full-stack web applications, including taking technical ownership and working confidently with systems you didn’t originally create. Strong PHP experience is important, ideally including Laravel. Experience with a modern JavaScript framework is also valuable, although it doesn’t need to be Vue specifically. The work spans front-end and back-end development, APIs, databases, integrations, performance, accessibility and cloud infrastructure. Our current technology includes: Vue.js and AstroPHP and LaravelWordPress, TYPO3 and Payload CMSAWS and Google CloudOpenSearchOpenAI APIs and related AI services You don’t need experience with everything on that list. We care more about strong web fundamentals, adaptability and good engineering judgment. Beyond the technology, we’re looking for someone who: Understands requirements before jumping to a solutionCan balance technical quality with commercial realityCommunicates clearly with developers, non-technical colleagues and clientsIs comfortable making decisions and taking responsibility for themHas proven experience mentoring developers through thoughtful code reviews, technical guidance and knowledge-sharingCan work pragmatically across both new and established systemsEnjoys being part of a small team where their contribution will be visible The right working relationship matters to us as much as a precise checklist of technologies. Practical details and benefits 3ev currently operates as a remote team. We’re open to remote candidates, although we particularly welcome people within practical travelling distance of Worthing, West Sussex (near Brighton), who would enjoy occasional in-person working. We have a small dedicated workspace and hope to create more opportunities for collaboration as the team develops. Proximity is a preference, not a condition of the role. We’re happy to discuss an arrangement that works well for everyone. This is primarily a five-day position. We would also consider a four-day working week for the right person, paid at 80% of the agreed full-time salary and with responsibilities designed accordingly. Benefits include: 25 days’ annual leave, plus UK bank holidaysAdditional paid time off during our Christmas office closureEmployee private healthcare following successful completion of the three-month probationary periodEmployer workplace pension contributionRemote working with opportunities to collaborate in personA four-day working arrangement considered Starting a conversation If this sounds like a working relationship you might enjoy, apply with your CV. We’ll begin with an informal conversation about what you’re looking for, what we need and whether there could be a good fit. We welcome applicants from different backgrounds and encourage you to apply even if you haven’t worked with every technology we use.