At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build APIs for financial transactions, ensuring reliability and performance.
- Company: Join Chip, a fast-growing fintech startup on a mission to empower customers' financial futures.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, bonuses, private medical insurance, and flexible working arrangements.
- Other info: Enjoy a fun, collaborative team culture with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on customers' wealth while working with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: 3+ years in PHP backend development and experience with production APIs.
The predicted salary is between 46000 - 65000 £ per year.
At Chip, we build systems that move real money and help customers build wealth to empower their financial futures. Savings deposits, ISA subscriptions, transfers, investments—every transaction must be reliable, auditable, and accurate because we operate in a regulated financial environment where correctness genuinely matters.
We are hiring a Backend Engineer (PHP) remote in the UK to help scale the API backbone of our savings and investment platform. This role is for someone who enjoys building clean, well-tested services that handle meaningful complexity—not just shipping basic features.
What You’ll Be Working On:
- Designing and building APIs that power thousands of daily regulated financial transactions
- Owning backend domains end-to-end, from design through deployment
- Improving reliability, performance, and observability across our services
- Contributing to architectural decisions, not just implementing tickets
- Writing high-quality, well-tested code in a collaborative engineering team
- Working closely with Product, Mobile, and Operations to ship safely and quickly
You’ll have real ownership. The systems you build will directly impact customers' money and financial outcomes.
Our Stack:
We primarily work in modern PHP, using frameworks such as Laravel and Symfony, with strong automated test coverage and clear service boundaries. We also regularly build and maintain services in Go, particularly where performance, concurrency, or scalability requirements demand it. Our broader stack includes:
- Service-oriented architecture
- Docker
- AWS
- CI/CD pipelines
- Observability and monitoring tooling
We care more about clean design, thoughtful testing, and well-structured systems than chasing trends, but we’re pragmatic about using the right tool for the job.
What we’re looking for:
Must have:
- 3+ years building backend systems in PHP
- Experience designing and maintaining production APIs
- Confidence writing automated tests
- Comfortable working in a collaborative engineering team
Nice to Have (not required):
- Experience with Laravel or Symfony
- Familiarity with Go
- AWS experience
- Experience with microservices or event-driven systems
- Experience in fintech or other regulated environments
If you meet most of the must-haves, we encourage you to apply. We don’t expect perfection.
What we’re really looking for:
Someone with a genuine interest in Chip and is excited about being part of a fast-growing company and our mission to build the investment super app of the future. Although we’re in the financial space, and under the scrutiny that comes with it, the current engineering team works well together, and even sometimes with a smile. We’re sure you’ve got the technical skills, otherwise, you would have stopped reading by now, so let us be clear on what will make us want to work with you. We want a real person, with interests outside of work, to join our team. You could be a dancer, a gamer, a musician, a parent, a hockey fan, or even that one person that still writes Twilight fan-fiction. Doesn’t matter to us.
At the interview stages, we will be looking for empathy, EQ, fun stories, and the ability to smile even when things are tough.
Working Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Friday: 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM (Start your weekend early)
Enjoy a structured yet balanced workweek, with an early Friday finish to kickstart your weekend.
PERKS:
- £46,000 - £65,000 per annum
- Discretionary Performance-Related Bi-Annual Bonus of up to 10% (Cash) and 5% (Shares) based on your gross annual salary.
- Workplace pension scheme - We invest in your future with a workplace pension scheme, contributing 5% on earnings up to £50,000.
- Fully comprehensive private medical insurance (medical history disregarded)
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Season ticket loan
- Free ChipX subscription for UK-based employees
- We are an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity
- Flexible working arrangements
- 28 days holiday plus bank holidays, plus the days between Christmas and New Year
- Annual training budget for courses, workshops, or conferences to help you advance your career.
- £30 per month Chip Fitness Benefit to suit your Mental/Physical Wellbeing
- Company laptop
- Opportunity to have a huge impact on our product while fast-tracking your knowledge, responsibility, and skills in a high-growth fintech startup
Our Interview Process:
- Video screen with someone from our Talent team
- Short take-home test
- Video interview with hiring manager and Senior Engineer
- Final interview with Product Manager
About Chip:
Our mission is to make our customers wealthy. We’re building the wealth super app of the future. An app to build your long-term wealth across savings, investments, and pensions. We use technology to break down barriers so users can invest like the ultra-wealthy, giving them one simple place to manage, grow, and protect their wealth.
The Sunday Times listed Chip as the 6th fastest growing tech company in Britain… and we’re not slowing down. Chip serves over 300,000 active customers and looks after over £5 billion in assets. These customers trust us to build the most amazing product we can, so working at Chip comes with real purpose.
Chip is being built by a fast-growing team of designers, developers, customer service professionals, marketers, banking experts, and entrepreneurs. Our funding story though is a little different. Chip is one of the most crowd-funded businesses in Europe, having raised over £50 million from 29,000 investors, over 9 years. Crowdfunding is in our DNA and only Brewdog has more investors than Chip.
Our vision:
We know planning for your future can be a tedious, daunting task often avoided, so we want to change that. We’re building the wealth app for our community, giving them one place for saving and investing. We’re giving customers control and guidance to effortlessly build their long-term wealth using award-winning tech, while celebrating their achievements along the way.
Who we are:
Chip has a creative and diverse team of 180, from all different backgrounds and industries. We’re driven and passionate people, but no one takes themselves too seriously. Don’t just take our word for it. We have a few awards under our belt, including Best Personal Finance App at the 2022, 2024 & 2025 British Bank Awards.
Our Values:
- Be ACCOUNTABLE: Everything you do matters, care about the end result, challenge the norm, disagree, yet commit to making it happen once a decision has been made, do the best job possible.
- Be BOLD: Share our ambition and do your bit to achieve it, innovate: challenge the norm, break the mould and make it happen, set goals that truly align with our mission, do your best for our customers.
- Be COLLABORATIVE: Work cross-functionally - we win as a team, build strong relationships based on trust, treat others fairly and respectfully, hold others to account, be supportive and inclusive, have fun together.
Equal Opportunities:
We are passionate and committed to our people and go beyond the rhetoric of diversity and inclusion. You will be working in an inclusive environment and be encouraged to bring your whole self to work. We will do all that we can to help you successfully balance your work and home life. As a growing business, we will encourage you to develop your professional and personal aspirations, enjoy new experiences, and learn from the talented people you will be working with. It’s talent that matters to us and we encourage applications from people irrespective of their gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability status, or caring responsibilities.
Note to Agencies:
Chip does not accept unsolicited CVs from recruiters or employment agencies in response to any of our live roles on our career page. Chip will not consider or agree to payment of any referral compensation or recruiter fee relating to these unsolicited CVs. Chip explicitly reserves the right to hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency. Any unsolicited CVs, including those submitted to hiring managers, are deemed to be the property of Chip.
PHP Backend Engineer — UK Remote — £55–60k in London employer: Chip
Join a dynamic and supportive team as a Remote Customer Support Executive, where your passion for customer care will be valued and nurtured. With flexible working hours and a focus on employee well-being, we offer a competitive salary, performance-related bonuses, and a workplace pension scheme to help you secure your future. Embrace the opportunity to grow within a fast-paced, innovative company that celebrates individuality and fosters a positive work culture, all from the comfort of your home in the UK.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land PHP Backend Engineer — UK Remote — £55–60k in London
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Chip or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Chip.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Chip.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Chip that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace PHP Backend Engineer — UK Remote — £55–60k in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Chip.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Chip and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Chip
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Chip uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
