PHP Backend Engineer (Data Pipeline) in Brighton

The company Pi Datametrics is an AI search intelligence platform. We’re trusted by high-profile global brands to help them understand their online performance across traditional search and emerging AI-based experiences, including LLMs like ChatGPT. We care deeply about employee experience. Our surveys consistently show very high engagement scores, and we provide a supportive, collaborative, and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

We’re looking for a bright and enthusiastic PHP developer to join our Platform team, with a specific focus on managing and evolving our data collection pipeline. This is not your average PHP project. Our pipeline processes millions of search results and other data points every day, integrating with multiple third-party services, optimising complex workflows, and managing failure scenarios. You’ll work on systems that are mature, reliable, and built to scale, solving meaningful technical problems that make a difference to our customers.

The responsibilities of the team have recently expanded and with AI search and ever more data sources we need to grow the team. While the system is well-architected and robust, we need to spread the knowledge further and are constantly looking for ways to improve reliability, resilience and cost effectiveness using automation, modern tooling, and AI-assisted approaches. You’ll work alongside experienced engineers, receive mentoring, and have the chance to contribute from day one. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys learning, problem-solving, and building systems that last.

Day-to-day:

• Maintaining and improving our large-scale data collection and processing pipeline
• Automating failure handling and reducing manual intervention
• Enhancing system reliability, resilience, and observability
• Optimising queues, processing workflows, and data throughput
• Integrating new data sources and supporting platform functionality
• Collaborating with Platform and Product teams to deliver Pi’s roadmap
• Contributing to a well-tested, well-structured PHP 8 codebase

You:

We value curiosity, thoughtfulness, and collaboration over years of experience. You enjoy understanding why systems work the way they do and prefer well-architected solutions that endure, over quick fixes. You are open to learning, reflective about your work, and motivated by the opportunity to make a real impact.

You are passionate about the art of software - you keep track of the latest industry trends, technologies and practices and know when’s the right time to put them to work. You know how to collaborate to get things done without creating technical debt.

You’re a great communicator who loves working in a collaborative and supportive environment and you have the energy and enthusiasm to help us become a world-class engineering team.

Absolutes:

• Familiarity with modern, object-oriented programming in PHP 8
• Experience working with SQL databases
• We get together in our office in central Brighton on Wednesdays and you’ll be there too

Nice-to-haves:

• Experience with queues or data pipelines
• Exposure to AWS services (e.g. SQS, Lambda, ECS, RDS, etc.)
• Knowledge of PSR standards
• Experience with Git, Docker, CI, and automated testing
• Interest in performance, scalability, and reliability

The package:

• Salary will be suitable for junior to mid-level developers but depends on experience so please let us know your expectations when you apply
• ~25 days holiday, with an extra one each year
• ~ Central Brighton office to use whenever you like
• ~ Employee rewards via Perkbox
• ~ Half a day each month of Volunteer Time Off to spend on any charity activity you like
• ~ Chance to win up to £1k via “WOW” Cards, our employee-to-employee kudos scheme
• ~ Monthly social events
• ~ Dedicated onboarding programme and strong mentoring