Senior PHP Developer Opportunity in Romford, Essex / 5 hours ago

AllClear Travel Insurance is hiring a Senior PHP Developer. This role is available in Romford or Cardiff. You will lead the design, building, and maintenance of complex, high-traffic, customer-facing web applications. Responsibilities include providing technical leadership, shaping back-end architecture, and collaborating with product teams and front-end developers to deliver secure, scalable, and high-performing solutions.

This pivotal role requires extensive hands-on PHP development experience, focusing on code quality and technical judgment. You will directly influence system design and development standards, enhancing the online travel insurance purchasing journey, especially for customers with specialist medical needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain robust PHP-based applications and services.
• Own the back-end architecture, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, and maintainable.
• Build and maintain integrations with databases, third-party services, and internal APIs.
• Write clean, efficient, and well-structured code adhering to modern PHP standards and best practices.
• Collaborate closely with front-end developers for seamless system integration.
• Optimize application performance, reliability, and security across the platform.
• Contribute to technical decision-making, code reviews, and setting development standards.
• Participate actively in sprints, stand-ups, and planning meetings to ensure timely delivery.
• Maintain clear technical documentation for ongoing development and onboarding.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise Required Technical Experience

• Strong commercial experience with PHP, including modern versions and object-oriented programming (OOP).
• Solid experience with relational databases such as MySQL or PostgreSQL.
• Experience working with MVC frameworks, preferably Laravel.
• Strong understanding of application security, performance optimization, and error handling.
• Experience using Git for version control and collaborative development.
• Strong debugging and optimization skills for both performance and accessibility.
• Experience with observability and logging solutions (e.g., Grafana, Datadog, or New Relic).
• Ability to write clean, maintainable, and well-documented code.
• Experience writing and maintaining unit and integration tests using tools like PHPUnit, focusing on reliable test coverage.

Professional Skills

• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Good communication skills and a collaborative attitude.

Desirable Skills

• Experience building and consuming RESTful APIs.
• Familiarity with front-end technologies and their integration with back-end systems.
• Experience with automated testing and quality assurance practices.
• Knowledge of cloud-hosted platforms and deployment workflows, including hands-on with Docker and modern CI/CD tooling.
• Understanding of back-end performance considerations.

Key Competencies

• Minimum of 4 years of commercial experience in a senior PHP or back-end development role.
• Proven experience delivering measurable business value as part of a team.
• Comfortable working independently and taking ownership of complex systems.
• Strong commercial mindset, understanding the impact of technical decisions on revenue and customer experience.
• Passionate about innovation and challenging conventional thinking.

Benefits and Perks

• Comprehensive Cover: Work with a wide range of travel insurance products (single-trip, multi-trip, specialized policies).
• Generous Holiday Allowance: Starting at 24 days of annual leave.
• Comprehensive Benefits Package: Includes a company-paid health cash plan, company pension, holiday buy scheme, and travel insurance discounts.
• Professional Growth: Access to extensive training and opportunities for career advancement.
• Supportive Environment: Join a team valuing collaboration, innovation, and customer satisfaction.
• Convenient Location: Based in Romford or Cardiff with easy access to local amenities and transport links.

About AllClear Travel Insurance

Since 2000, AllClear has helped over 3.5 million people secure necessary travel insurance, regardless of age, destination, or medical history. We are one of the UK's leading travel insurance specialists, recognized with 5-star Defaqto and Which? Recommended policies, and a 4.9-star Trustpilot rating.

We are a fast-growing company with five offices and over 500 team members. Recognized as one of the top 10 insurance companies to work for, we offer:

• Award-winning culture (e.g., Personal Lines Broker of the Year).
• Flexible working options.
• Competitive pay and benefits.
• Investment in career development.
• Inclusive, supportive.
• 1-Star Best Companies Accreditation (2024).

We value integrity, innovation, and doing the right thing for our customers and team members.