Full Stack Engineer (PHP/Angular, Backend Leaning) in Liverpool

We are looking for a Backend-focused Full Stack Developer (Mid or Senior) to join our mission of transforming global access to sport. While we use Angular on the frontend, this role is roughly 80% Backend and Infrastructure. You will take ownership of the Playfinder and Bookteq platforms, ensuring our backend logic is robust and our infrastructure is secure and scalable.

Our technical foundations are:

• Core Back-End (Primary Focus): Modern PHP (8.2+), Symfony (6.4+), REST APIs, and SQL/Redis.
• Infrastructure & DevOps: Owning our release management, security, and infrastructure (Terraform/Ansible).
• Front-End Support: Collaborating with our dedicated Frontend Dev using Angular, TypeScript, and SCSS.
• Engineering Quality: A commitment to TDD, SOLID principles, and clear technical documentation.

Why join? You will be the primary technical owner of our backend and infrastructure. Whether you are a strong Mid-level dev looking for more autonomy or a Senior looking to lead architectural decisions, you will play a pivotal role in our next two years of strategic growth.

Package: £45k-£70k (Subject to experience) + Share Option Scheme + 25 Days Holiday + B’day Off

About Playfinder, powering Bookteq: Playfinder is a consumer sports marketplace and SaaS booking software scale-up based in Central London. We want to transform access to sport globally and our mission is to provide the best sports booking software and experience. We do this by providing high quality customer experiences on our search and booking marketplace, Playfinder, that has given over 1 million players access to pitches and courts for over 20 sports through our software annually. Alongside this, we enable self-service access and operations for facility operators and activity providers through our booking software, Bookteq. Together, our products drive increased utilisation of sports facilities, additional income for operators, and greater social impact in local communities, enabling more people in more places to play sports.

Our Core Values; we are…

• Mission-Driven: We’re different to other companies because of our dedication to improve the lives of both operators and players, and we carry this burden by striving to provide the best technology and customer experience to both sides of the experience.
• Change-Makers: We want people who won’t accept the status quo, but who find a way to improve how something is done, repeatedly. Change making is about having the guts and ambition to bring about positive change.
• Specialists: Our people strive to be specialists in their field, to take accountability and, coupled with a passion to learn, do what they do better than anyone else.

Role Summary: We are looking for a skilled and passionate Full Stack Developer to work alongside our tech team, General Manager, and commercial colleagues. Playfinder is in a critical phase in its growth; this role is pivotal to ensure we can meet the needs of an ever-evolving and expanding market. This is also a rare opportunity to join a company that has completed the transition from startup to high growth scale up and has a clear, realistic, and exciting two-year strategic plan. The role would be ideal for someone who wants to take real ownership.

What we’re looking for:

• As a Mid-level candidate: You are a confident and talented coder eager to learn from our leadership team and help shape strategic direction while maintaining a robust PHP/Angular stack.
• As a Senior candidate: You bring architectural thinking, a passion for mentoring, experience in end-to-end delivery, and the ability to influence our technical roadmap.

Key Responsibilities:

• Backend Ownership: Building new features and maintaining our tech stack.
• Collaboration: Providing technical feasibility advice to the product working group and supporting the Frontend Developer with robust API contracts.
• Infrastructure & Security: Owning our releases, managing cloud infrastructure, and ensuring system security.

Skills & Experience:

• Backend: Expert-level modern PHP (8.2+), Symfony (6.4+), and REST API design.
• Front-End: Modern Angular development (Components/State Management), TypeScript, and SCSS.
• Documentation: Proficient in consuming, interpreting, and maintaining technical documentation.
• DevOps & Tools: Experience with (or a strong desire to own) infrastructure as code (Terraform/Ansible), release management, and security best practices.
• Data: Knowledge of SQL, Redis, and performance optimisation.
• Frontend: Capable of working within Angular components when required.
• Quality: Demonstrated understanding of SOLID, DRY, TDD, and technical documentation.
• Process: Familiarity with Scrum/Agile and navigating trade-offs in complex systems.

Bonus Experience:

• Elasticsearch queries, API Platform, and Server Side Rendering (SSR).
• Familiarity with AWS or GCP would be a plus.

Package and Benefits:

• Salary: £45,000 – £70,000 (Subject to experience).
• Time Off: 25 days Annual Leave + Birthday Day Off.
• Equity: EMI Share Option Scheme.
• Wellbeing: Flex Wellbeing Allowance & NEST Pension Scheme.
• Perks: Mac or Linux Laptop, Summer & Xmas socials, and Office refreshments.

Location & Hours:

• Type: Full-time, 40 hours per week (Flexible core hours).
• Location: Remote-First (UK-Based) with Hybrid Flexibility. While our HQ is in Central London, our tech team operates with a degree of flexibility. Ideally, you are within commutable distance to join us in London one day a week (typically Mondays) for collaboration. However, for the right candidate located further afield, we are happy to discuss a flexible arrangement with occasional travel.