Senior PHP Developer

Spectrum IT Recruitment is working with a client looking for an experienced Senior PHP Developer to join their team on a 12-month fixed term contract. This is a hands-on opportunity for a developer with strong PHP and Symfony experience who can quickly understand an existing codebase and take ownership of development, maintenance and production support. You’ll work on business-critical web applications, delivering new functionality, resolving complex technical issues and modernising legacy systems while maintaining reliable day-to-day operations. The Role Develop, enhance and maintain existing web applications and supporting systems.Deliver work throughout the full software development lifecycle within an Agile team.Investigate and resolve production defects across application code, APIs, databases and infrastructure.Translate business requirements into secure, maintainable technical solutions.Build and integrate RESTful APIs, including authentication and authorisation.Modernise legacy applications and reduce technical debt.Write automated unit and integration tests and contribute to code reviews.Improve application and database performance.Maintain technical documentation and follow secure coding practices. Skills & Experience At least five years’ commercial experience developing and supporting business-critical web applications.Extensive PHP 8+ development experience and strong Symfony knowledge.Strong understanding of object-oriented programming, SOLID principles and design patterns.Experience developing and integrating RESTful APIs, with knowledge of OAuth2, OpenID Connect and JWT.Good knowledge of HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript ES6+.Strong SQL skills, including relational database design, query optimisation and performance tuning using PostgreSQL, MySQL or equivalent.Experience with Linux, Git, Docker and containerised development.Experience with automated testing, secure coding and OWASP practices.A track record of maintaining and modernising legacy applications.Clear communication skills and the ability to work independently and directly with technical and non-technical stakeholders. Desirable Experience AWS services, including RDS, S3 and CloudWatch.CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions, GitLab CI or similar.Nginx or Apache administration.Experience within eCommerce, financial or operational business environments.Leading technical projects or workstreams.If you’re an experienced PHP Developer who enjoys solving complex problems and improving established systems, please apply with your latest CV.