Job Description

Expert computing. Goal-oriented tasks. Endless upskilling.

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Senior Software Engineer (PHP & Symfony)

54,000 - 64,000 (+ Benefits )

Grade:

P3MP


Reports to: Lead Software Engineer

Contract:

Permanent

Hours:

Full time 35 hours per week

Location:

Stratford, London. Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)

Visa sponsorship:

Cancer Research UK can consider visa sponsorship for this vacancy. If this applies to you, please ensure that this is clearly marked on your application.

Closing date:

01 August 2025 23:55


This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, therefore we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment. If you require more time to apply as part of a reasonable adjustment, please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk as soon as possible.

Recruitment process:

One competency-based interview with a technical exercise

Interview date:

We will be shortlisting on a rolling basis. Please do not delay in applying.

How do I apply?

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won't be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to fully complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly, and objectively.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That's why we're looking for someone talented, someone who wants to develop their skills, someone like you.


Cancer Research UK has an ambitious Engineering Strategy and modern Tech Stack with a complex hybrid (on-premise & multi-cloud) infrastructure underpinning an extensive technical estate. As part of our Engage Strategy , the charity is delivering a range of bold, modern change initiatives and programmes to better harness our technology to deliver more engaging and positive experiences for our audiences and inspire millions of people in deeper, more meaningful ways to join our mission (and in turn drive growth).


As a Senior Software Engineer, you will be part of our Fundraising & Trading portfolio, rotating across a range of change initiatives and products that helped raise 665m towards Cancer Research UK's life-saving work (e.g., our events management product, which enables mass events such as Race for Life , London Marathon , Shine , and individual events). However, you will predominantly focus on using PHP Symfony to develop the back-end of our Online Fundraising Web Application , an in-house software solution that has created half a million fundraising pages for our supporters, processed 2.6m donations, and raised c.65m for the charity. If you want to learn more about our Online Fundraising solution, check out this article from one of our Engineers working on this product.


In this role, you'll play a key role in advancing our Fundraising & Trading products by collaborating closely with product teams to deliver high-quality, scalable software solutions. You'll contribute to our Engineering Strategy by writing clean, maintainable code, championing best practices, and driving technical excellence across the team.


In this role, you'll collaborate cross-functionally with stakeholders from across the charity, including Engineers, Product Managers, Testers, Agile Coaches, Architects, and Business Analysts. Together, you'll turn complex business challenges into impactful technical solutions, while continuously improving the accessibility, performance, security, and reliability of our products.


You'll have the autonomy to lead the development of new features and make key technical decisions. As a senior member of the team, you'll also mentor junior engineers, help shape development standards, and enhance our tooling and workflows.


This is an opportunity for you to gain exposure to a modern tech stack while being part of a diverse Technology team and using your technical skills to deliver purpose-driven solutions. If you're an experienced back-end engineer with strong PHP and Symfony skills, we would love you to join our mission.

What will I be doing?

Delivering specific packages of development for software applications within our Fundraising & Trading Product teams and running these applications in production.


+ This will involve a significant focus on the back-end creation and development of Cancer Research UK's Online Fundraising Web Application (PHP Symfony).
Applying Lean and Agile principles to develop high-quality code that has minimal bugs, adheres to Cancer Research UK standards, and is highly supportable. Working either independently or in collaboration with Solution Architects to design new solutions in line with the Software Engineering strategy. Working autonomously to deliver backlog items for an existing product. Collaborating with Product Managers, Service Designers, UX Designers, Business Analysts, etc to identify user needs, discuss capabilities, and iteratively design solutions. Supporting the development of more junior Software Engineers through mentoring.

What skills will I need?

Experienced Software Engineer with a proven ability to write clean, readable, and properly tested code based on tried and tested design patterns. Must have demonstrable knowledge of PHP and ideally Symfony (however, we're open to applicants with experience of similar PHP frameworks such as Drupal or Laravel) Some knowledge of JavaScript/ TypeScript with an ability and willingness to learn new languages, frameworks, and tools. Experience using large-scale code repositories. Some experience developing REST APIs and other back-end components. Ran critical services in production and designed highly available, scalable, and secure solutions. Awareness of accessibility standards and guidelines. Ability to communicate with technical and non-technical business colleagues. Acted as a Senior or Lead within an Engineering team, starting the development of new features from scratch, defining the overall solutions, and reviewing more junior engineers' work. Some experience in running critical services in production and designing highly available, scalable, and secure solutions. Ideally, available to start on one month's notice or less (however, we're open to applicants with longer notice periods who meet all the above requirements).
Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.


Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination


Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism


Human: Act to have a positive impact on people


Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively


We're looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.


If you're interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we'd still love to hear from you.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.


You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page .

Additional Information

For more information about working with us please visit our website or contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk .


For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: LinkedIn , Facebook , Instagram , X and YouTube .


Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.


We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or

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20 3469 8400 as soon as possible.


Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.