Web Developer, PHP​/Laravel, Linux; Ubuntu Sysadmin

Position: Web Developer, PHP/Laravel, Linux (Ubuntu) Sysadmin
Location: Southend-On-Sea

About the role This is an on-site role, based in Southend. Please only apply if you are comfortable working from the office Monday to Friday. We are looking for a practical, capable Web Developer to join a small and growing development business working across a mixture of client websites, bespoke web applications and ongoing technical support. Our work is varied.

Some days you may be developing a new feature for a bespoke PHP application; others may involve improving an existing website, investigating a database issue, fixing a deployment problem or helping to maintain the Linux hosting environment behind a project. Web development will be the main focus of the role, but we are looking for someone who is comfortable working beyond the front end and understands how websites, databases, servers and DNS fit together.

We work closely alongside a range of businesses requiring website development, maintenance and technical support. This is a permanent position with room to take ownership of projects, expand your skills and become an important part of a small technical team. What you will be doing Developing and maintaining websites and bespoke web applications Building new features using PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS and JavaScript Working on existing systems built with frameworks such as Laravel and Code Igniter Investigating and fixing bugs in both new and legacy code Designing, writing and optimising MySQL or MariaDB queries Integrating websites and applications with third-party APIs Maintaining and improving existing client websites Supporting Word Press websites where required Deploying code and database changes to development and production environments Diagnosing website, email, DNS, SSL and hosting-related issues Carrying out basic Linux and web-server administration Communicating clearly about progress, technical problems and proposed solutions Working directly with clients and non-technical colleagues when required Usage of Claude/Codex where appropriate to facilitate speed, however strong core understanding of what you are producing is essential Essential skills You do not need to have worked with every technology we use, but you should have a solid foundation in web development and be willing to learn.

You should have experience with: PHP MySQL or MariaDB HTML and CSS JavaScript Git Building, maintaining or supporting database-driven websites Debugging existing code and identifying the cause of technical problems Writing clear, maintainable code Working independently and managing your own workload A good understanding of relational database design is important. Whilst it will be largely unnecessary due to the frameworks we use, you should be comfortable writing joins, filtering and grouping data, working with indexes and investigating slow or incorrect queries.

Server and hosting knowledge This is primarily a development role, but some basic server-management experience is required. You should be comfortable with at least some of the following:
Linux command-line environments Apache or Nginx cPanel or WHM File permissions and ownership DNS records SSL certificates Email-delivery troubleshooting Reading server and application logs Using SSH, rsync and command-line tools Basic deployment and backup procedures You will not be expected to be a dedicated systems administrator, but you should be confident investigating why a website or application is not working rather than treating the server as a black box.

Desirable experience

Experience with any of the following would be beneficial:
Laravel Code Igniter Word Press development REST APIs Docker or containerised development environments Node.js jQuery or existing JavaScript codebases Linux server administration cPanel hosting environments Performance optimisation Website migrations Email authentication, including SPF, DKIM and DMARC Cloud services or virtual servers Automated testing CI/CD or deployment pipelines What we are looking for We are a business starting out, and flexible regarding formal experience and qualifications.

You may be an established developer, someone earlier in their career with strong practical skills, or a self-taught…