Back-End Software Engineer at Cancer Research UK

Job Expired

Expert Computing. Goal-Oriented Tasks. Continuous Upskilling.

Back-End Software Engineer (PHP & Symfony)

Salary: £40,000 – £50,000 (+ Benefits)
Reports to: Lead Software Engineer
Department: Chief Operating Office
Contract: 12-month fixed-term
Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week
Location: Stratford, London. Flexible working (1-2 days per week in the office).
Visa Sponsorship: Only applicants eligible to work in the UK may apply. Cancer Research UK cannot provide visa sponsorship for this role.

Application Deadline: 06 December 2024, 23:55

This role may close early if a high number of applications are received or if a suitable candidate is identified. Apply promptly to avoid disappointment. If you require additional time due to a reasonable adjustment, please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk as soon as possible.

Recruitment Process:

One competency-based interview.
Includes a technical exercise.
Interview Date: Week commencing 16 December 2024.

How to Apply:
We use an anonymised shortlisting process to ensure fairness and inclusivity. CVs are required but will only be reviewed if you are invited for an interview. Instead, you must complete the work history section of the online application form, which allows us to assess candidates objectively.

About Us

At Cancer Research UK, our mission is to beat cancer.

We’re professionals with a purpose, making progress every day. To achieve our ambitious goals faster, we’re looking for talented individuals like you—those who are eager to develop their skills and make a meaningful impact.

Our Engineering Strategy embraces a modern tech stack and supports a hybrid infrastructure (on-premise & multi-cloud). With the Engage Strategy at the forefront, we’re implementing transformative changes to maximize technology’s role in delivering engaging experiences, inspiring millions to contribute to our mission, and driving growth.

As a Back-End Software Engineer, you’ll join the Fundraising & Trading portfolio and work on various initiatives that helped raise £597m for our life-saving efforts. Your main focus will be developing the back-end of our Online Fundraising Web Application, built using Symfony. This custom solution has supported the creation of 500,000 fundraising pages, processed 2.6 million donations, and raised approximately £65m for the charity.

To learn more about our Online Fundraising application, check out this article written by one of our engineers.

Your Role

You’ll help elevate our Fundraising & Trading products by collaborating with product teams to design software packages and high-quality code, adhering to best practices and advancing our Engineering Strategy. You’ll interact with stakeholders across the charity and work closely with Engineers, Product Managers, Testers, Agile Coaches, Architects, and Business Analysts to address challenges and deliver technical solutions.

This position provides exposure to a cutting-edge tech stack and the chance to use your skills to deliver purpose-driven outcomes. If you have experience in back-end development using PHP and Symfony, this could be the role for you.

Key Responsibilities

Develop software within the Fundraising & Trading portfolio, with a particular focus on the Online Fundraising Web Application.
Build high-quality, supportable, and well-tested code that aligns with Cancer Research UK’s standards and adheres to Agile principles.
Work independently or with Solution Architects to design solutions that fit the Software Engineering strategy.
Deliver backlog items for existing products autonomously.
Collaborate with the Fundraising & Trading product team (e.g., Product Managers, UX Designers, Business Analysts) to identify user needs and iteratively design solutions.
Contribute to the Software Engineering capability team by sharing best practices, developing standards and tools, and reducing technical debt and risks.
Apply Site Reliability Engineering principles to improve the availability, performance, and security of products.

What We’re Looking For

An experienced Software Engineer with a track record of producing clean, testable, and maintainable code using established design patterns.
Proficient in PHP Symfony with some experience in JavaScript/TypeScript and a willingness to learn additional languages, frameworks, and tools.
Familiarity with large-scale code repositories.
Experience building REST APIs and other back-end components.
Hands-on experience with critical services in production and designing scalable, secure, and highly available solutions.
Awareness of accessibility standards and guidelines.
Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical colleagues.

Our Values

Our organisational values guide everything we do:

Bold: Act with ambition, courage, and determination.
Credible: Work with professionalism and rigour.
Human: Strive to have a positive impact on people.
Together: Foster inclusivity and collaboration.

We seek candidates who embody these values to help drive progress in our mission to beat cancer.

If you’re interested but unsure whether you have the exact skills and experience, we still encourage you to apply.

What You’ll Gain

At Cancer Research UK, we offer an environment that supports your wellbeing, along with a generous benefits package, career development opportunities, and high-quality tools. Our policies promote work-life balance and personal growth, helping you achieve your career and wellbeing goals.

Visit our careers page to explore our benefits.

Additional Information

For more details about working with us, visit our website or contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk.

We’re committed to fostering an inclusive culture where everyone feels they belong. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from under-represented groups such as ethnic minority communities.

Let us know if you need any adjustments to perform at your best during the application, interview process, or while at work. Contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400.

Please note: We are unable to hire anyone under 18 due to health, safety, and safeguarding considerations.