Salary: £85,000 - 120,000 per year Requirements:

We require at least 6 years of commercial-grade PHP development experience, including at least 2 years as a team leader or manager.
We require experience working on large, high-volume transactional systems.
We require experience with CakePHP or another MVC-based framework.
We require knowledge of SOAP, GraphQL, and RESTful APIs.
We require an understanding of relational database design, normalization, and indexing.
We require an intermediate understanding of cloud computing techniques and best practices.
We require experience leading or managing engineers in a team environment, running performance reviews, developing engineers, and hiring and building engineering teams.
We require a strong understanding of delivery management, including planning, estimation, and accountability.
We expect you to adapt quickly and be open to learning new languages.
E-commerce or shipping experience is valuable but not essential.
We require reliable commuting to, or relocation to, Bristol BS1 before starting work.
We require United Kingdom work authorisation.

Responsibilities:

We expect you to contribute across our technology stack, including our PHP/Linux/Apache application, Python messaging application, and development tools.
You will fix bugs, design infrastructure and systems, build features, and maintain our Linux-based development and production servers.
You will work with our wider team to improve our platform and service and build and maintain scalable deployment pipelines.
You will lead a team of 6 or more developers, supporting consistent delivery, high engineering standards, and a healthy, accountable team culture.
You will review and provide feedback on code delivered by other developers.
You will guide junior developers in system design, programming techniques, best practices, and innovative thinking.
You will contribute to internal and external documentation, identify risks, and make recommendations.
You will support planning, estimation, delivery accountability, and the development of engineers on your team.

Technologies:

CakePHP
Cloud
GraphQL
Support
Linux
MVC
MySQL
PHP
Python
SOAP
CI/CD
Exposed
GitHub
Web

More:

We are Shiptheory, a bootstrapped SaaS ecommerce shipping management company whose platform helps retailers streamline fulfilment through automation. We work with brands including Minirig, Wiper and True, Scrub Daddy, and AU Vodka. Our team works collaboratively in a democratic, data-informed culture that values results, autonomy, learning, and action. We are hiring a full-time engineering manager for our technical team in Bristol, working with PHP, Python, MySQL, Linux, Apache, and cloud infrastructure. The role is in person and pays £85,000–£120,000 per year. We offer an influential position in a proven ecommerce startup, autonomy and creative freedom, flexible working hours, and 33 days of annual paid time off, including bank holidays. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment and are an equal opportunity employer. Our hiring process includes an informal call, a practical application test, and a technical conversation.

last updated 42 week of 2026

Software Engineering Manager / Tech Lead (PHP)

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