MIDWEIGHT WEBSITE DEVELOPER (BACKEND/FULL STACK)

Vertical Leap, one of the UK’s top search and digital agencies, seeks a highly skilled, bright and ambitious full stack or back-end focused web developer to support our existing and help to grow the skills of the development team. This job is based either remotely or in our Portsmouth office, working alongside our talented and friendly team of web developers, designers and UX specialists. Working in our creative team, your focus will be on the technical implementation of web and digital development. You will be expected to create high quality, structured, reusable and annotated code. You will also be proficient using third party open source packages and relevant code libraries. This work will be carried out to a deadline, and to project specification/requirements. Working in our creative team, your focus will be on the technical implementation of web and digital development. You will be expected to create high quality, structured, reusable and annotated code. You will also be proficient using third party open source packages and relevant code libraries. This work will be carried out to a deadline, and to project specification/requirements. As part of a team consisting of Developers, Project Managers, UX Specialists and Designers, you will be able to communicate with these departments, contribute to ideas, and innovate where required. You’ll also be required to provide expert advice to potential and current clients, and recommend the best ways of implementing their needs taking into consideration budgets and timelines. Being able to communicate complex ideas and solutions to people with limited technical knowledge will also be helpful for this role. Familiarity with Agile working will also be advantageous. Required experience High level of PHP, JavaScript, HTML5, SASS knowledge Is fully comfortable with Object Orientated Programming WordPress bespoke theme and functionality development Managing large data sets (CSV, JSON, XML) and importing/exporting from websites High level of API integration knowledge and experience To be very comfortable working on the backend of websites not just frontend To be able to create custom functionality from the ground up To be familiar with Apache server configurations (NGINX also desirable) Database management (e.g. mySQL) skills Standards compliant code, to Google Core Web Vitals requirements (e.g. optimised for SEO and speed etc) Project management with strong communication skills Desired experience Amazon SES – AWS Developing eCommerce solutions (i.e. code & plugins) Twig (and/or other template engines) Version control (e.g. Git) Other CMS’s (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, Craft, etc.) Agile working experience (e.g. Jira) Node and package managers Team culture The creative team is a talented, friendly and supportive group of designers, developers and UX specialists. We have a varied and interesting workload consisting of a mix of retainers and project work, so there’s opportunity to build strong relationships with clients and get to know their brands. We are relaxed and informal in the office or at home and enjoy jokes and cat GIFs, but we also work hard, focus and get stuff done when we need to. We are always looking to develop and add to our skill-sets, and keep up to date with trends and developments in our respective fields, so any new skills you can bring to the table would be appreciated. We have regular team lunches and drinks as well as joining in with company-wide events. We also enjoy tea. A LOT of tea. What we give you Your choice of Mac or PC, plus a £200 office setup budget Positive environment with a focus on learning and development Access to a variety of experienced colleagues who are all happy to help, so you’ll have access a great support network Proper dev work (no downloaded themes or jamming plugins in everywhere) – we build things from scratch as much as possible, and have our own framework that you can add elements to You’ll work on small & large, straightforward & complex projects, so there’s plenty of opportunity to grow as a developer Entirely optional company activities (e.g. yoga, quizzes) Periodic homemade cake Benefits 25-30 days of holiday per year, plus your birthday off Self-scheduled/flexible working hours, and the ability to work from home or in the office entirely dependent on your own preference Private pension and healthcare scheme (after qualifying time period) Cycle to work scheme access Opportunities for growth and development within a growing company Fantastic office located inside Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard Relaxed, collaborative culture where autonomy is valued and encouraged Bring your whole self to work We offer a very open workplace. We want people to feel comfortable being themselves at Vertical Leap from day one without ever worrying that they will be judged or discriminated against. Whether you’re from the LGBTQ+ community, have certain religious beliefs or live / struggle with a mental health challenge, we actively welcome applications from everyone. And we actively encourage you to be open if you feel comfortable doing so – nobody should have to hide any part of themselves at work, and the more we can all encourage and support this, the better workplace (and world) we will create. So at Vertical Leap, you can always bring your ‘whole self’ to work. Employee wellbeing We take at Vertical Leap. We have a qualified Mental Health First Aider, run mental wellbeing sessions and have an internal communications channel where we share wellbeing content. We are constantly working towards removing the stigma that surrounds mental health so that everyone feels more comfortable talking openly about it without fear of being judged.