Senior PHP Developer

As a Senior PHP Developer at Mumsnet, your main responsibilities will include developing new features for our high-traffic platform, maintaining existing systems, and collaborating closely with our product team. You’ll influence architectural decisions, contribute to our agile development processes, and help enhance the overall user experience through innovative technology. Your role will allow you to work with a modern tech stack including PHP 8.2 and Laravel 11 while mentoring junior developers.

To be considered for the Senior PHP Developer position at Mumsnet, candidates should have significant knowledge of PHP and the VILT stack, as well as experience working with modern frameworks like Laravel and Vue. A strong understanding of secure development practices, clean code development, and agile methodologies are also key to standing out in the hiring process. Additionally, a passion for mentoring and collaborating in teams will be highly valued.

Mumsnet fosters a growth-oriented environment where professional development is prioritized. As a Senior PHP Developer, you’ll have opportunities to learn and experiment with emerging technologies. We encourage continuous improvement in coding practices and provide avenues for mentorship where you can both learn from others and share your expertise. Our collaborative culture supports knowledge exchange and skill enhancement.

In the Senior PHP Developer role at Mumsnet, you will work with a variety of cutting-edge technologies. Our current stack includes PHP 8.2 and Laravel 11, along with front-end technologies like Alpine.js, Vue, and Tailwind CSS. You’ll also engage with our backend infrastructure implemented on AWS, Aurora RDS, Redis, and use efficient deployment strategies with tools like GitHub, CI/CD via Forge API, and more.

At Mumsnet, the work environment for a Senior PHP Developer is hybrid, allowing for flexibility with two days a week in our Kentish Town office. We promote a balanced lifestyle with flexible working hours around our core times. Our culture is vibrant, supporting collaboration, innovation, and the well-being of our team members, making it a great place for tech professionals to thrive.

To ensure that my code is clean and maintainable, I adhere to best practices like following coding standards, leveraging meaningful naming conventions, and ensuring proper documentation. I also engage in code reviews with peers and actively seek feedback to improve. Utilizing testing frameworks and maintaining a modular approach allows for easier updates and debugging down the road.

My experience with Laravel includes developing several full-stack applications, focusing on leveraging its features like Eloquent ORM and Blade templating for an efficient workflow. I have also utilized Laravel’s built-in tools such as validation, routing, and middleware in creating robust APIs and web applications, ensuring optimal performance and security throughout our solutions.

MVC stands for Model-View-Controller, a design pattern that separates an application into three interconnected components. In PHP web development, the Model represents the data layer, the View handles the user interface, and the Controller processes input and updates the Model and View accordingly. Leveraging MVC helps create a more organized codebase, facilitating better scalability, testing, and maintenance.

I have integrated Vue.js into multiple applications, utilizing its reactive components to enhance user experiences significantly. My experience with Alpine.js has been beneficial for lightweight interactions in applications without the overhead of larger frameworks. I appreciate how both technologies enable efficient data binding and help create interactive interfaces, aligning well with Laravel's backend capabilities.

Optimizing a web application for high traffic involves analyzing performance bottlenecks and leveraging best practices. I focus on efficient database queries, implementing caching mechanisms with Redis, and using CDN for static assets. Additionally, I employ load testing to anticipate traffic spikes and scale resources on AWS dynamically, ensuring seamless user experiences even during high demand.

I have worked with Scrum and Kanban methodologies in various projects. By organizing work into manageable sprints and focusing on iterating quickly, I help teams stay adaptable to changing requirements. I prioritize regular stand-ups for communication, retrospectives for continuous improvement, and user feedback integration to ensure our developments align closely with user needs.

In one of my previous projects, we faced significant downtime due to server overload during peak usage. I spearheaded the initiative to implement load balancing and optimized our database queries to alleviate the pressure on servers. Additionally, we transitioned to using AWS services to auto-scale our instance capacity seamlessly during peak times, ultimately improving our uptime and user satisfaction.

I believe effective mentoring involves patience and encouragement. I aim to create a supportive environment where junior developers feel safe asking questions. I share best practices, involve them in code reviews, and pair program whenever possible, encouraging them to take ownership of parts of projects while providing guidance. I focus on building their confidence and helping them grow their skills progressively.

In a recent project, I needed to learn Alpine.js to enhance an existing application. I approached this by dedicating time to online resources and documentation and started by building small components to grasp its core functionalities. Concurrently, I collaborated with teammates to discuss challenges and solutions, which accelerated my learning curve. Ultimately, I successfully integrated it into our app, improving its interactivity.

Prioritizing security in development starts with implementing secure coding practices, such as using prepared statements to prevent SQL injection. I follow the principle of least privilege for database access and ensure proper authentication and authorization checks across applications. Additionally, I perform regular security audits and keep dependencies up to date to mitigate vulnerabilities.